I know I could of googled but figured some here know.

I ran into a construction crew of them.

So they do not like grid power? But will use gas generators to produce power? The generator could of been for compressed air not electricity though.

I am curious about this.

I grew up 14 miles from the largest Amish Mennonite community between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

The way I understand it Amish is not cut and dried one size fits all.

Every community has a high leader and he may bend, twist, or even fabricate new rules and regulations that must be followed and his rules may be changed upon his retirement.

But yeah, generators fine.
Grid power not good .

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,

There’s a lot of Amish folks around my area. I really don’t understand them. A lot of them have cell phones but don’t have electricity in their houses (not sure how they charge the phones). There are several that frame houses. They will hire someone to pick them up and drive them to a job site, sit there all day, then drive them home. So they will ride in a vehicle but won’t drive one because technology is evil.

They also use some power tools like chainsaws….so some technology is evil but some is ok.

Bendable may be right about a head person that makes rules for their group. I also know that a lot of them own guns and many are very wealthy.

I worked in a jurisdiction with a fair representation of Mennonite and Amish. it wasn't unusual to see a horse and buggy hitched at the court house. I don't believe they think technology is evil per se, just that it can overly complicate the simple lifestyle they choose to lead.

It is a patriarchal society dominated by one male leader. I learned early on that they did not like speaking to law enforcement, other than pleasantries. Being a cynic I always wondered how many cases of incest, child abuse and domestic violence were concealed in the sect. I only hope that they are as "innocent" as they present. But then again, where I was, the males would prevent the women from getting mammograms, even from female docs and NPs.

There are probably several factors determining if a specific technology is or isn't acceptable but years ago I read that one of them is whether it increases or decreases the sense of community/fellowship. Seems electricity would increase the amount of social time. :shrug:

Dan

Three former Amish worked on my pole barn. I was curious as to why "former" and some of the stories they told me about every day Amish life were... disturbing.

It is my understanding -

They do have a small group of people as leaders (council if you will) for each church group. They set the rules for the group.
There are ultra conservative branches. No motor vehicles, no electricity, no ties with the “English”
Some groups allow a little more slack, gas motors on the farm equipment for example. Perhaps a phone, but not in the house.
Even more “relaxed” branches allow cars, but the must be black, without shiny, “prideful” parts like chrome plating. They are called (by us English) Black bumper Amish.

As far as being in construction, they are exceptional at almost everything they set their minds to do. I would expect an Amish built barn or house to be very well built.

Why the split from traditional farming? There aren’t enough farms to go around. They may (for example again) live in a nice home on the family farm. With a dozen kids the senior male can’t provide for them all, especially when they are fully grown. They find acceptable work elsewhere. Construction is one avenue. Small businesses may fit in (ie leather work, cabinetry, blacksmithing, etc.

The size of each church will/can vary.

As needed they may interact with the English, again as permitted by the particular church.

In my experience they are all good people.

They use a lot of battery powered tools and also have generators, but they do not hook up to the grid.

The outside world is “English” and they do not desire to be a part of this world including being connected to their power grid.


I’ve never seen any Amish driving cars, I think there’s some confusion between Mennonites and Amish. Mennonites do drive cars but they traditionally from what I was always told do not buy cars with any chrome or will paint the chrome black because that is considered “prideful” and of the outside world and therefore sinful.

Just know that after the nukes drop - the only survivors will be Cockroaches, Twinkies and the Amish!

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:
Just know that after the nukes drop - the only survivors will be Cockroaches, Twinkies and the Amish!

Not sure about that

They’re pacifists and don’t have guns

Any hungry hordes of survivors will take them down pretty quick.

Fairly common knowledge some run puppy mills. And they are certainly NOT kind to the dogs.

Bendable got it right. The bishop makes the rules for the local community. You can ride in a car if you’re going to a doctor in a neighboring town but not to go in to the local hardware. Some here will use cordless tools (without the bishops consent). Others won’t and in fact might snitch on an offender and get them shunned.

I ran across this video about a year ago and was fascinated by it. Peter Santanello is doing some really interesting videos across America and in this one (and a few more about the Amish) is very interesting. He has recently done a series of videos on rural Americans such as farmers and ranchers, I think they were very well done, informative, and eye openers. If you are interested look at his list of videos. Here is one of 2 Amish/Mennonite videos in Pinecraft FL. It seems that some of these Amish/Mennonite winter in Florida (no idea how they travel back and fort) and some may live there year around. Fascinating. This video brings up questions and answers being asked here, including cars and electricity, especially at the 17 minute mark.

Grab a beverage and some popcorn and enjoy.


.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I ran across this video about a year ago and was fascinated by it. Peter Santanello is doing some really interesting videos across America

Be ready to go down the rabbit hole with his videos. He has many about the Amish and other subjects. Some really good ones on the border issues and the Hasidic community in New York.

quote:

Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
Fairly common knowledge some run puppy mills. And they are certainly NOT kind to the dogs.

NOT kind to their horses, either. (Amish)

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:

Even more “relaxed” branches allow cars, but the must be black, without shiny, “prideful” parts like chrome plating. They are called (by us English) Black bumper Amish.

Our local Amish have dark blue Chevy vans with black bumpers and black wheels. We refer to them as "Yoder Toters".

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I ran across this video about a year ago and was fascinated by it. Peter Santanello is doing some really interesting videos across America and in this one (and a few more about the Amish) is very interesting. He has recently done a series of videos on rural Americans such as farmers and ranchers, I think they were very well done, informative, and eye openers. If you are interested look at his list of videos. Here is one of 2 Amish/Mennonite videos in Pinecraft FL. It seems that some of these Amish/Mennonite winter in Florida (no idea how they travel back and fort) and some may live there year around. Fascinating. This video brings up questions and answers being asked here, including cars and electricity, especially at the 17 minute mark.

Grab a beverage and some popcorn and enjoy.

.

Thanks Gene. Been down the rabbit hole of Hasidic Jews on that channel for a couple hours now…

You can never really understand the Amish until you've seen the following
- Standing in the front yard on a pay phone mounted on a pole
- A team of horses pulling a large tractor so the PTO can be used to power a stationary implement
- A buck board towing a 16' open bow ski boat with a Mercruiser stern drive

quote:

They’re pacifists and don’t have guns

They might be pacifists and all…but they do hunt…I’ve seen a few buggies in the parking lot of Benton Shooters Supply here in SE Tennessee. (We have a fairly large Amish population here)

https://amishamerica.com/5-facts-about-amish-hunting/

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:

- A team of horses pulling a large tractor

I was out in Amish country here in PA last week and saw big teams of horses pulling plows just like it was 1822 AD or even 1822 BC

The young girls in long dresses and aprons and bonnets pushing Honda lawnmowers outside their houses was a funny juxtaposition of old and new