I have lived in Lancaster County for ten years and have gotten quite familiar with the Amish
and their ways. I have varying views on them, both positive and somewhat negative and sometimes
just downright confusing.
Let's start with the horse and buggy. Older order Amish are not allowed to drive, however,
they can own a car. They hire a driver. Or they'll take a taxi. Kind of like saying you can't have a beer
in your house but you can at a bar. Also, their buggies' wheels are made of steel and they tear up
the roads something fierce. Not to mention being stuck behind them, especially on Sundays. And their
horses leave big piles of mess everywhere which I'm always dodging when I'm out for a bike ride. I've
also seen them treat their horses very inhumanely. Last summer I saw one horse frothing at the mouth
while the buggy driver was whipping it to go on. The horse fell over. They're not all like that, I'm sure, but
I've seen my fair share. Plus puppy mills were mentioned and they're quite common among the Amish out
here.
Electricity... anywhere but the house. Phones. Most of them own cell phones. I see them talking on them
quite frequently. I'm not fooled one bit about their keepint totally separate. It's impossible really.
Child abuse. I work in the legal system at the courthouse and it really is a HUGE problem in the community.
Like the JWs they tend to deal with in "in house." Most of it doesn't get reported. Megan's Law website has
several Amish men listed as perps in this area alone. One lives down the road from me.
It's really pretty much like the JW religion only JWs shower every day, have no facial hair, and actually drive the cars.
These are my mixed feelings on the Amish.....