A gentle people living a simple life THE AMISH A gentle people living a simple life

Who are the Amish? They are members of a particular Christian denomination. They are best known for their simple living, plain dress and for resisting modern conveniences like technology. Amish communities are usually entirely self-sufficient and deliberately separated from the outside world. The Amish way of life originated in Switzerland, but these days exists only in the U.S. (mainly Pennsylvania) and some parts of Canada.

Parts of North America that contain Amish communities

Typical Amish clothing/dress

The Amish church’s rules The rules of the Amish church, which is called the Ordnung, are quite strict and must be obeyed by all. These rules cover most aspects of day-to-day living. Those who do not follow the rules, and will not repent for having done so, can be excommunicated/shunned from the church/community.

These rules include: No powerline electricity Limiting the use of phones Not owning or using motor vehicles Wearing a specific style of dress Not buying insurance Not receiving any form of government welfare Not serving in the military Marrying partners from within their own community Only being schooled up until Year 8 Using corporal punishment to discipline children Practising manual labour, mostly in rural chores

Amish forms of transportation

The “clash of cultures” between the Amish and the “outside world” can make for some unusual observations.

An Amish sewing machine The Amish have learned how to get by without technology very effectively An Amish sewing machine

An Amish farmer at work

The Amish in popular culture Several films, TV programs, books, plays and songs have revolved around Amish themes. Perhaps the most commonly known of these is the film Witness, which will be the focus of our film study this term. It is about a police investigation into a murder which an Amish boy witnessed, and the clash of cultures which ensues between the detective and the boy’s community. The film won an Oscar for its screenplay in 1985.

Other films… Another movie based in an Amish community is For Richer or Poorer, starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley. It is a comedy about a rich city couple who “hide out” amongst an Amish community after being caught by the government cheating on their taxes. They unsurprisingly struggle with the adjustments that this more “simple” life requires.

Amish in the City In 2004, a reality TV show called Amish in the City was produced. In this show, five Amish teenagers were placed in a house with six “mainstream” American teens, and their lives were filmed. This played on the traditional Amish phase of Rumspringa (which means “running around”), which allows certain short-term freedoms to Amish teens. This period precedes the time when young Amish people must decide whether or not they wish to join the Amish church (Amish people are generally not baptised until the age of 18).

Devil’s Playground In 2002, a documentary called Devil’s Playground was made. It was about Amish teenagers going through their phase of Rumspringa, and focussed on their experiences in sampling the “English” (non-Amish) world, which is referred to as the “devil’s playground”. In the film, many of the teens drive cars, get jobs, have romantic/sexual relationships, and experiment with alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Most of the teens return to their community, although one girl is later “shunned” after leaving the church.

Amish Paradise “Weird Al” Yankovic released a song in 1996 called Amish Paradise, which was a parody of the rap hit Gangsta’s Paradise. In the song, the “narrator” praises his plain, uncomplicated existence. As you will come to see, some of the scenes in the music video are references to the movie Witness.

Tragedy in 2006 An Amish community made world headlines recently when a shooting took place in its one-classroom school. It rocked the community of Nickel Mines in Pennsylvania to its core. During the incident, the shooter (Charles Roberts IV, pictured right) took the students and their teacher hostage before killing five young girls and then himself.

Forgiveness…. Following the shooting, the Amish community shocked many by immediately and notably expressing forgiveness for the killer, who himself was married and had three young children. To many, it perfectly encapsulated the gentle nature of the Amish people, and their willingness to carry out God’s will.

Quotes from the community… “We must not think evil of this man.” “He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he's standing before a just God.” “I don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts.”

Further acts of forgiveness… A Roberts family spokesman said an Amish neighbour comforted the Roberts family just hours after the shooting and extended forgiveness to them. Amish community members visited and comforted Roberts’s widow, parents, and parents-in-law. One Amish man held Roberts’s sobbing father in his arms, reportedly for as long as an hour, to comfort him. The Amish have also set up a charitable fund for the family of the shooter. About 30 members of the Amish community attended Roberts’s funeral, and Marie Roberts, the widow of the killer, was one of the few outsiders invited to the funeral of one of the victims.

A private people unwillingly thrust into the world’s spotlight Here is a video which contains images of the events that occurred on the day of, and the days that followed, the shooting. The community has since demolished the school and built a new one, which was deliberately and decidedly different to the original. It was renamed the New Hope School.