[incredulous joe]

There is a documentary about the Ahmish rite of passage, Rumspringa, the film is called "Devil's Playground". In it the 16 to 20 year olds basically go wild in full site of their parents; with the boys getting involved in, cell phones, video games, narcotic sales and pornography. The girls pretty much stick to illicit sex and beer. All the while the parents stand back and let the evil work it's way into their children so that they may return as full fledged members of the church. It's very disturbing the way that they give up their moral responsibility as parents and has really altered my view of "the quiet people".

One girl in the film actually left the church and she was shunned by her community, which for her entailed not ever being allowed to see her family, which included brothers and sisters which she had effectively helped to raise for her parents. Very sad.

I do keep in mind that what is presented in a documentary could be slanted by those making the film, but even if this were half true about Amish life it would be an indictment of their culture.

BTW, no mention of how the girls managed to come away from this rite of passage without many of them being knocked up - also no mention of contraception. abortion, or adoptions of unplanned results of getting wild?

[incredulous joe]

"Devil's Playground" - 2002

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293088/

[fr_freak]

All the while the parents stand back and let the evil work it's way into their children so that they may return as full fledged members of the church. It's very disturbing the way that they give up their moral responsibility as parents and has really altered my view of "the quiet people".

Why is it disturbing? It makes perfect sense to me. Accepting the Amish religion and lifestyle is not easy and so must be the choice of the person doing it. When they are kids, they have no choice, but every member of the church has made the conscious choice to join as an adult. Given the severity of the punishment from the community when one breaks the rules, you would want your members to join with their eyes wide open.

[Rakkasan1]

I saw that program,too. Pretty interesting.
Wish I could have partied with those Amish chicks when I was a yute.

[Dan Evans]

It's very disturbing the way that they give up their moral responsibility as parents and has really altered my view of "the quiet people".

But it sounds like the parents were discouraging her. They told her she was never to wear jeans again. Try that with your daughter sometime.

Reading the story I was somewhat surprised that the Amish kids were "cop magnets". The reason given was that unguided buggies would run red lights. But I suspect that something else is at play. I wouldn't be surprised if the police are encouraged (maybe even money under the table) to bust the kids if they get out of line. Getting a bad taste of the Yankee world could give Amish teens an incentive to stay with the flock.

Rumspringa makes perfect sense. If they are exposed to the outside world but manage to resist the temptations, they will be better off because they will have known what they were giving up. But if they are to leave the community it's better to find out when they are young rather than after they have joined the church.

[freedomfiter2]

I do keep in mind that what is presented in a documentary could be slanted by those making the film, but even if this were half true about Amish life it would be an indictment of their culture.


I grew up with most of my neighbors being Amish and to this day, many of my friends are still Amish. What you wrote is not far off for some Amish communities. There is a good deal of variation from community to community as to how wild the youth get, but it's universal that the parents are limited by the church in restraining the children. Shunning isn't practiced unless the wayward individual had joined the church. In fact I know of some cases where the father encouraged one of his sons to not join so that he could own a vehicle for the use of the family business.

[twigs]

A friend of mine who grew up near Amish country (she never was) just received an abused dog which was rescued from one of their puppy mills for which they are renowned. When I mentioned how "good" they're supposed to be, she assured me that they are very good to their own community members but not so with people outside their community. Or to animals. I know that they were very kind to the widow of the man who shot their children recently, but from what my friend says, they are not necessarily good in general to folks outside their tight-knit community. This is from her observation of growing up around them.

[twigs]

A friend of mine who grew up near Amish country (she never was) just received an abused dog which was rescued from one of their puppy mills for which they are renowned. When I mentioned how "good" they're supposed to be, she assured me that they are very good to their own community members but not so with people outside their community. Or to animals. I know that they were very kind to the widow of the man who shot their children recently, but from what my friend says, they are not necessarily good in general to folks outside their tight-knit community. This is from her observation of growing up around them.