Amish: A silent timebomb

Originally posted by TheRedneck
reply to post by MadDogtheHunter

Yes, it is sort of hard to obtain evidence at the age of nine, but let's say your entire anecdote is true (and I have little doubt it is true). You brought a plastic bat into an Amish household at age 9. I'm sure you meant no harm by this; I am equally sure you didn't think there was anything wrong with doing so. After all, it was a harmless toy, and a child that young can't be expected to fully understand religious differences.

No, no, no....the plastic bat was their kids' bat. It was not mine. I never stated that "I" took it there. In fact, it belonged to their youngest son.

reply to post by MadDogtheHunter

Oh, my apologies... I guess I just assumed it was your bat.

But now I am confused... if it wasn't the bat itself they objected to, why were you punished? There had to be something.

TheRedneck

You really want to know what I did to deserve a plastic bat across my legs? I was being too loud. Yeah, that really deserved a plastic bat across the legs. Why did I say I couldn't remember why it happened in my OP? Because I honestly didn't remember until today. I was talking to my parents today, we were talking about all that stuff from back then. They told me what the Amish woman told them...that I was being too loud. WT!%$#. Ok, I guess I really deserved it huh? Kids aren't allowed to be loud while they're outside, in the country, playing and running around like a 9 year old should. Yep, thats really deserving of that severe a punishment. My Dad told me I had welts on the back of my thighs that lasted for 3-4 days, then bruised up for almost 2 weeks after the welts went away. They DID talk to the town cop, who was also a deputy for the county. He told them that he couldn't go talk to the Amish woman, because the Amish forbid their people to talk to law enforcement. He went there anyway, and he was right. They were quiet and turned their backs to him, and the Amish man, asked him to please leave. That was the end of it. I hardly see where any of this was deserved.


[edit on 7/31/2009 by MadDogtheHunter]

Ooohhhh, fear those horrible lawless Amish. What a terrible pit of child abuse they’ve turned Western Penn into. They’re different from you; destroy them!

Rubbish.

reply to post by MadDogtheHunter

This may sound harsh, but it's their home, their rules. Children can become unruly very quickly; trust me, as a parent of two teens I am well aware of that.

No doubt you felt it was excessive. Quite possibly anyone outside of the Amish community would consider it excessive. But I also have little doubt that the punishment was not intended to abuse, but to control.

As for what happened with the town cop, that's called 'clannish'. The Amish are not the only groups that distrust the police, and are also not the only groups who will band together with each other to make sure those cops cannot interfere with their life. The whole history of my family and region is full of tales like that: families and communities who are so distrustful of outsiders that no one not a member can get information. The cop wasn't saying he had no authority; rather, it sounds like he was simply being practical. If he cannot even question those involved in a productive matter, how exactly is he supposed to build a case against them?

Think about things from their point of view: They were babysitting a child. They have certain expectations, right or wrong, of how children should behave. From the sounds of your story, you were probably being loud and refusing to quieten down when told to. That's not a condemnation; it is rather typical behavior for the majority of children. But the woman knew only one way to enforce her order to calm down: corporal punishment.

It is entirely possible that she hit you harder than she intended. The bat was plastic, not wood as I am sure they were used to using. It is entirely possible that you bruised easier than their children; my wife is a person who is very easily bruised. She will get a bruise form the most minor things; if I have a bruise, I was just hit with a flying 2x4. My son bruises easy, although not as easy as my wife. My daughter is hard to bruise. Perhaps you bruise easily. It is almost a guarantee that the woman was physically stronger than the people you were used to being around, and yet she probably didn't realize this, having not spent much time around others outside of her community. So you can't just say that the bruises were intentional.

As to the reaction to the cops, I myself go a bit defensive whenever I see a police uniform. The reason is a history of dealing with cops who were more interested in throwing their weight around than doing their job. Oh, the stories I could tell you! So I am also defensive around governmental authority. Should anyone ever approach my family in a similar situation, I would demand they leave as well. I would not cooperate. As a matter of fact, I have told the head of our local DHR one one occasion: "You touch my kids and I will bury your ass on this mountain." She did exactly what the cop did in your case: she left.

I don't want this post to turn into a battle over what might have, what should have, what could have happened. All I am saying that your memory has simmered in a nice sauce of hate for many years. You surely remember the bad things that happened to you, while the details of why are probably fuzzy at best. The welts have long healed. The woman who traumatized you can no longer hurt you, if she even still lives. Perhaps it is time to step back and reassess your feelings. Hatred is a toxin as surely as arsenic is a toxin. It sounds to me like you have been poisoning yourself long enough.

Let go your hate. It's more productive than trying to use specious arguments to remove centuries of tradition.

TheRedneck

reply to post by MadDogtheHunter


An Amish conspiracy? And I thought I'd seen it all on ATS!

The OP really became his/her own worst enemy here, getting angrier and more incensed with each post.

I have no doubt that the Amish have bad people in their midst, since all sufficiently large enough groups do.

However, maddog, since you have anecdotal evidence--a personal experience--that hardly enough evidence to impugn the entire group.

Hell man, I mean they make up less than one tenth of one percent of the national population...are you really making the argument that they represent some kind of threat to society at large?

Originally posted by Geladinhu
I have and advice for you and this serves for everybody.
Whenever you see a problem, realize the problem is with you.

Gel, that has to be the most ridiculous, idiotic, lamest statement I ever heard.

When I see a problem, I'm pretty sure that it's not mine.

Originally posted by Nightflyer28

Originally posted by Geladinhu
I have and advice for you and this serves for everybody.
Whenever you see a problem, realize the problem is with you.

Gel, that has to be the most ridiculous, idiotic, lamest statement I ever heard.

When I see a problem, I'm pretty sure that it's not mine.

This sounds better:

"I'm alright....it's the rest of the world thats screwed up"

What's next? Chicken McNuggets and the coming Apocalypse? Alka Seltzer....the new Agent Orange? Mankind Wars Amongst Itself While Ferrets Take Over The Universe?

I just wanted to point out that the Amish youth actually have a big METH problem...

Originally posted by hawkeye1717
What's next? Chicken McNuggets and the coming Apocalypse? Alka Seltzer....the new Agent Orange? Mankind Wars Amongst Itself While Ferrets Take Over The Universe?

I KNEW those ferrets were up to something. They're in tight with the Amish.....and weasels...they're all the same breed anyway

But seriously....the Amish DO have a very good cover though.

[edit on 8/4/2009 by MadDogtheHunter]

Originally posted by Jezus
I just wanted to point out that the Amish youth actually have a big METH problem...

Is it really a problem though?
They are not killing in the streets for it, they are not having an impact on the medical world, they are not bothering anyone... No problem as far as i can see?

Amphetamine was the drug prescribed most in all of history until recently. It was coined "mothers little helper" in the 30's/40's/50's, the rolling stones wrote a song by the same name. Was never a problem until it was called a problem by the governments...

Originally posted by Jezus
I just wanted to point out that the Amish youth actually have a big METH problem...

yup...I would also like to point out it runs rampant in the 'English' community

The Amish that get into meth typically find it during their venture into our world.

-Kyo

reply to post by KyoZero


That's exactly my point...

The corporal punishment doesn't make their children any less susceptible than our own.

Recreational drug use is one thing but an addiction is a sign of emotional issues.