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  • From: sjc <indexer AT fairpoint.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] was It's almost over, now wending to Amish response to aggression
  • Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:14:22 -0500

bob ford wrote:
That was all very interesting Susan. I didn't know nuch of what you wrote. 'just a curiosity about the obvious. The groups are not large. How do they keep new bloodlines?.
Historically, rather poorly, but now that they are wiser, better. But for all the things they let themselves open to genetically, they win environmentally: things pretty common in the english are unknown to the Amish: "hyperactivity" (seen as: kid needs more work than average, usually works slick as a whistle), autism, and social pathologies are so rarely seen they are so far uncountable. I can credit them and their ideas (and patience) with the fact that I was able to rear an autistic kid through the seventies and into the Marine Corps, where his ASFABs stood at 98. He is now an air traffic controller in the VA Air National Guard. Wouldn't have been their goal, but every uncle, aunt, cousin, Dunkard or Amish, is proud of him. I don't think it would have happened that way in an english world. So what they've given up in one arena they've made up in another. David (my son) wins.

Do people come from state to state or whatever to date and marry?
Yes.

The German Baptists do it better though: they have an annual meeting, all members attend. We used to snidely call it the "Bring-Your-Little-Dunkard-to-Meet-My-Little-Dunkard" meeting when we were kids. But that group has always been more open to interaction with the world and more apt to educate (note they have 6 colleges, even), so they caught on a lot sooner.

Annual meeting last year was held 2 farms away from the one where I grew up, and how I wished I could have gone to the Bring-Your-Little-Dunkard-to-Meet-My-Little-Dunkard meeting. How one's perspective changes over time!

Just went looking for a pic of annual meeting, try: http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/Brethren.html

The group discussed on that site is a notch 'up' from the group south of Dayton, VA, which is itself 2 notches 'up' from the group I grew up in, which was very conservative. Not worth it to the incomer to try and keep track of groups, too many.

SJ





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