UPN Show Is Called Insensitive to Amish

NY Times ^ | 3/3/04 | BERNARD WEINRAUB

[anniegetyourgun]

I wonder when UPN will try this with the Nation of Islam.

[Guillermo]

How about a reality show "Homosexuals in Saudi Arabia."

We could watch as the religious police beat them with their canes as they flirt in public.

The last one to be beheaded for sodomy wins a million dollars.

[Peter J. Huss]

I suggest everyone do what I did years ago and dispose of their TV.

The benefits are endless.

[anniegetyourgun]

Or perhaps UPN could do "Kabbalah Kinks in Hollywood" - oh, wait....that would be a reality show.

[kittymyrib]

Or how about "Somalies in Maine"...first snowstorm, first flushing toilet, first electricity, first food stamps. I'm sure Les would not have any problems with that concept since Muslims have such a great sense of humor.

[anniegetyourgun]

Yeah....so much material there that the Muslims would appreciate....

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Will they be as sensitive as Weird Al?

[anniegetyourgun]

Almost as good as "Secular Humanists Gone Wild"....oh, wait that too would be a reality show....

[RogueIsland]

I was going to pitch my "Amish Gone Wild" videos, but given the criticism of UPN, maybe I should rethink my marketing strategy.

[angkor]

During this period some teenagers elect to experiment with the world outside that is not otherwise available to them.

Perhaps Moonves and Ostroff will try to tempt them with illegal drugs and bordellos, and take them to all night X discos in Las Vegas.

That'd be a real hoot. /sarcasm

It's beyond a simple judgement call. These TV execs are very sick people.

[R. Scott]

"The Amish are probably more knowledgeable about the world than the CBS and UPN people give them credit for," said Mr. Bontrager, an insurance executive from New Holland, Pa., who grew up Amish and is now a Mennonite.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Amish among the media elite (WOW! Is that a newsflash?).
I grew up in Amish country - Crawford County, Pennsylvania. I return occasionally just because it’s a nice area in which to relax.
Yes, when a man marries he grows a beard. That makes it hard for a woman to say she didn’t know he was married. It makes it hard for the man to deny he’s married.
The forgo buttons and mustaches because they were seen as symbols of the military.
The forgo modern equipment and conveniences like tractors, cars and trucks, electricity etc., and guess what? They have the most prosperous farms in the county.
They are not prohibitionists. While drinking is not encouraged, it is not prohibited either. Many of the roadhouses have hitching rails - when the men have had a few they get into the buggy and tell the horse to head for the barn.
When I was in high school so long ago some of the teens would pool their money and buy a car, storing it at an outsider’s home. They would enjoy the local amusement park and other attractions. When they came to their senses they return to the fold and give up on what they learned was not needed.
It isn’t uncommon to see Amish families in the Big City on shopping and sight seeing trips. While not owning a car, travel by car, train, air and bus is allowed.
If the producers expect to find country bumpkins wowed by the Big City, they’ll have to hire actors to play the role.
The Amish I have known impressed me as generally being hard working, industrious and friendly - and no at all like “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

[Prodigal Son]

I suggest everyone do what I did years ago and dispose of their TV.

The benefits are endless.

Yep. Got rid of mine over a decade ago. I put it right up there with quitting smoking as far as 'important things you can do to improve your life'.

If enough people would dispose of television it would accomplish a number of very positive things. For one, it would get rid of the Network News Media, thereby relieving ourselves of a constant negative pressure on our society. No more Peter Jennings saying 'Let Us Roll'. No more Katie Couric making ugly eyes at Republicans. No more Hillary sound bytes.

Another good benefit is you drastically reduce the amount of advertising you and your family are exposed to. This has many ecomonic benefits. Personally, I find that I don't want to go out and buy a lot of stuff. I drink about one Coca Cola per month whereas when I still had a television, I would drink several per week. I rarely go to Burger King or McDonalds. Maybe once every six weeks. There just aren't too many things I feel like I need to go out and 'Get it now, while supplies last!' This is a good thing.

It also brings a lot of peace into your life. You never have to get agitated because of some liberal running his/her mouth on the tube.

[Peter J. Huss]

Without the TV, I have oodles of time to spend with my kids and wife, not to mention the work I get done working on and around our home.

With 4 kids at home under the age of 6, I have yet to reap the benefits of 'peace'.

[mhking]

"Come 'n listen to a story 'bout a man named Jebediah...
Worked all day 'n at night started a fiyah..."

Just damn.

If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[Born Conservative]

An Amish boy and his father were visiting a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two, shiny silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again. The boy asked, "What is this,
Father?"
The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."
While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a fat old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls
closed and the boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up sequentially.
They continued to watch until it reached the last number and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order.
Finally the walls opened up again and a gorgeous, voluptuous 24-year-old blonde woman stepped out.
The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son, "Go get your mother."

[agrace]

I too grew up in Amish country - central PA - and am delighted to say that we are soon returning - eastern OH.

We had wonderful Amish living in our county. For example, the neighbor of a family friend had a fire that burned his barn to the ground, and within that same week, his Amish neighbors had built it back up for him, and he wasn't Amish himself.

Barn building as an Amish concept has become cliche', but it really does happen just like in Witness.

My parents still live in central PA, and there's nothing more relaxing than sitting on the swing in their back yard and watching the Amish kids from across the road plow the field up behind my parents' house.

[Slings and Arrows]

I know I shouldn't, but...

Q. What goes "clip-clop clip-clop clip-clop *BANG!* clip-clop clip-clop clip-clop..."?

A. Amish drive-by shooting.

[R. Scott]

Back in the mid ‘70’s there was a bad tornado that came through the county.
By the time the insurance adjusters were arriving in town, the Amish had rebuilt the damage to their farms.

[Alouette]

Amish in the City

They could do a "trading places" thing and put some Hasidim from Brooklyn on a farm.

[anniegetyourgun]

Or having some queer guys redecorate their barn?