Chicagoist: Indiana Amish Leaders Make Exceptions for Workers during Recession

that_girl

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:31:46 -0600

All true -- they will use technology if it does not break down community. That's why it's OK to hire drivers to take groups to the hospital, airport, Wal-Mart, etc., but not for individuals to own them. And when the "shifty Mennonites" Simpsons ep aired, I had about a half-dozen people mention it to me excitedly. Matt Groening's father (and grandfather, Homer) was Mennonite.

Von Erich

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:25:39 -0600

People could learn a lot from the Amish. It's not that they have a refusal to use modern technologies, it's that they will not use them if there are other conventional ways to do the same thing. That aside, the treehouse casino in The Simpsons where the Amish installed the electricity and the "shifty Mennonites" were gambling was priceless.

that_girl

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:36:32 -0600

Slow news day? My parents live in Goshen. It's been pretty devastated; this isn't really news. I find the curiosity factor of the Amish angle pretty entertaining... they're just people. People who don't drive cars, and who dress plainly, yes, but still just people. (I was raised Mennonite, and I can't even tell you how many people have asked if I'm Amish... I wear pants, people!) I actually can't decide which amuses me more: that Elkhart County is getting all this attention or that this story is "curious" enough to make it onto Chicagoist.

that_girl

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:35:58 -0600