[lbo-talk] Amish (was: school uniforms)

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Mon Aug 25 11:31:47 PDT 2003



> Okay, in the interest of anthropological accuracy I'll forsake lurkdom
> to point out that the only folks who spin flax around here entertain
> tourists down at the farm museum.
>
> The Amish, if that's who you're referencing, favor polyester and
> polyester blends. Crepe for bonnets, double-knit for pants and vests
> -- all plain, of course. And more or less uniform.
>
> Duncan M. Clark
>
> Lanc. Co.
> Southcentral PA (which, BTW, is nearly the nasty,
> Christ-obsessed hinterland Wojtek claims)

If I understand the Amish - they are not luddites as popularly thought. In fact, they use a lot of modern technological inventions, such as refrigerators, trains, buses, etc. Their main point (with which I wholeheartedly agree) is that they use technologies SELEVTIVELY - i.e. they select for use only those technologies that they think will have beneficial effects on their community, and reject those that they think will have negative ones.

For example, they shun automobiles because they believe auto ownership will destroy they community by giving people greater mobility and thus "attaching" them to the outside world. Ditto for electric power (but they use propane powered refrigerators and lighting).

It is clear that the Amish are a handful of group in the US that were able to resist corporate propaganda and instead make the choices themselves, as a community. I wholeheartedly applaud that principle, albeit I would most likely made different choices than the Amish.

As far as the Lancaster co is concerned - it is a very different mix, imho, than the rest of the flag-waving, gun-toting, god-fearing, outsider-bashing, and Repug-infested central PA. Multi-ethnic and surprisingly progressive - or so my spouse who runs some social programs there says.

Wojtek



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