my experience with Amish folk at the zoo.

hopijng someone here knows a lot about the Amish.

the wife and i took our 3 kids to the zoo here in cincinnati last weekend. when we arrived we encountered a gaggle (20-30) of Amish folk.

the wife looked at me and asked how they got here if they can't drive. i stated that the loophole is that they can't, but that someone can drive for them. i think that's right.

anyways, we weave our way over to the white lions (very cool) and there are two male lions just laying there. all very open with a large trench separating them from the visitors. as i'm standing there i notice that a laser pointer is being flashed into one of the lions eyes. to which the lion was not reacting kindly too.

i mentioned it to the wife and wondered where the hell it was coming from. about 30 seconds later a guy next to me, with a fancy 30mm digital camera in hand, yells out, "okay, who's the jerk with the laser pointer? i'm trying to take a picture here."

at this moment a mid 40ish aged Amish guys raises his hand and says, "me."

the camera guy asks, "could you stop doing that please, you're irritating the hell out of them. besides, i'd like a picture that won't have a red dot on it's face."

the amish guy turned his head, never apologized or said a word. in fact a few other snickered.

my question.

why the hell does an amish person have a laser pointer?

also, why the hell would they point it in the eye of a canivorous wild animal?

also, i thought they were supposed to be all morally righteous and shit. how come he never even attempted an apology?

you had to be there. straight twilight zone shit.

Hutterites are much more accepting of technology.

And I've read that some Amish are using technology more frequently.

Of course none of this excuses them from being a dick with a laser pointer.

like this -

They drive and use a lot of different modern things you wouldn't think they would.

To Ft Wayne, Indiana and when I lived in that area the locals told me that was one of the big differences, the Mennonites could drive.

i only assume amish because this is cincinnati, and i know there's an amish village northeast of here.

i could be wrong.

We have a broad range of religious diversity here in Waco. But we seldom ask why a person dresses funny. It's just not what we do.

Contributions to stereotypes are not tax deductible.

Hell, just going to the zoo is kind of weird. What with the shunning the modern world and all.

In a sort of related matter, I remember reading that there are some serious health issues within the Amish community because of the lack of varied genetic partners.



Edit: found a reference to their genetic problems in wiki...

Amish populations have higher incidences of particular genetic disorders, including dwarfism (Ellis-van Creveld syndrome),<52> various metabolic disorders,<53> and unusual distribution of blood-types.<54> Amish represent a collection of different demes or genetically-closed communities.<55> Since almost all Amish descend from about 200 18th century founders, genetic disorders from inbreeding exist in more isolated districts (an example of the founder effect). Some of these disorders are quite rare, or unique, and are serious enough to increase the mortality rate among Amish children. The majority of Amish accept these as "Gottes Wille" (God's will); they reject use of preventive genetic tests prior to marriage and genetic testing of unborn children to discover genetic disorder. Amish are willing to participate in studies of genetics diseases. Their extensive family histories are useful to researchers investigating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and macular degeneration.

The Amish are conscious of the advantages of exogamy. A common bloodline in one community will often be absent in another, and genetic disorders can be avoided by choosing spouses from unrelated communities. For example, the founding families of the Lancaster County Amish are unrelated to the founders of the Perth County, Ontario Amish community.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#cite_note-53

hard to work with a gene pool as shallow as that.

sad.

Personally, I would have found a zoo employee and demanded the jackass be thrown out of the zoo for abusing the animals.

Either that or put him and his laser pointer in with the lions and let nature take its course.

but of course my wife is non-confrontational.

i was waiting for the lion to get up and come at us looking for it.

just really rude shit.

I do know they run some good restaurants in the Sarasota area. Nothing quite like seeing your Amish waitress uses a cordless phone or going to the beach after wards and seeing an Amish family.

In Ohio and Pennsylvania they operate a lot of puppy mills, for example. Mistreatment of farmed animals is also unfortunately very common on Amish farms. I suspect that this comes from the older Christian thinking that humans have souls and are therefore special, and that non-human animals are without souls and are therefore unfeeling automatons, or at least that behavior toward them is of no moral consequence.

As far as using the laser pointer, from what I understand there are a lot of loopholes about what technology the Amish can use- for example some communities apparently permit cell phones now, though I assume there are restrictions on who uses them and for what. From what I can tell technology that helps in tasks that are traditionally mens' work are generally permitted, while technology to aid in the running of a household or other womens' work is more likely to be verboten.

Just another bullshit religion.

Seth Green as a foul-mouthed Amish...mechanic. Amish gals French-kissing and flashing in the Amish mosh pit. And a 1969 Pontiac GTO!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135985/

can't believed i mised your post.

added to netflix, thanks! looks entertaining in the least.

:hi:

Sorry, I couldn't resist. And I hope you enjoy the movie. I thought it was a hoot.

Being a minor-league motorhead, I remember reading in some car magazine about the "Black Bumper Amish." They drive cars, but buy the plainest cars possible and paint the chrome trim black.

The magazine noted that Amish kids back in the Sixties would try and convince their parents to buy hardtops, since they didn't have sinful extra door posts like sedans. Hardtops were also sportier, when the Amish kids went cruising...well, wherever they cruised. The Dairy Queen in Blue Ball? Intercourse?

I found this mention of the BBA at Vermont Public Radio:

To the Mennonite creed of nonviolence was added reluctance to adapt to new ways - which is why to this day most Amish farm - and don't use tractors or drive cars. Those that compromise are sometimes called "black bumper Amish." These Amish accept the convenience of cars, but they paint the bumpers black in order not to show off.

I didn't know this, either:

The Amish are a branch of the Mennonites. They take their name from Jakob Amman, who in the sixteen hundreds led a contingent of Swiss Mennonites in a break from the main church. Ammann stressed purity of the sect: those not following doctrine should be shunned, for example. He taught that church members should dress in a uniform, plain manner: simple garb worn even today by the Amish.

http://www.vpr.net/episode/33037/

(On edit: somewhere in another post, I mentioned that I named my car "the Amish Mustang" because it's all black.)

I remember seeing that bumpersticker when I live in Ohio.