What's with the Amish?

[Tickle]

I've been voting since 1976. I've never heard about Amish people voting. Now I'm flooded with headlines of Amish people voting. Anyone else?

[Think. Again.]

1. I doubt it.

I read that the trump campaign thought they could get Amish votes, but I think that's just stupidity mixed with wishful thinking (you know, standard trump campaign strategy).

[KS Toronado]

18. bye

[Walleye]

2. Look like about four buggies with giant flags on them

[JohnSJ]

3. Here is some perspective on that

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/oct/29/tweets/claims-about-180000-amish-registered-voters-in-lan/

[Tickle]

8. Thanks

Basically there are 17 k votes to be had. NOT 180k!
Blood pressure is going down now. I'm going to sleep for 48 hours

[JohnSJ]

13. From what I personal have observed, it appears that republicans are going full bore on a disinformation campaign to

confuse voters.

[wnylib]

35. It is very unlikely that more than a hundred Amish men would vote.

The Amish avoid "worldly" things as a basic tenet of their religious beliefs. Each Amish community is guided or "ruled" by its own bishop who determines what is acceptable behavior for the community as issues come up. Some are less conservative than others. But no way are large numbers of Amish going to vote in a presidential election. They would need permission from their bishop.

[D_Master81]

4. Coworker told me about this

Apparently in Pennsylvania some well known Amish guy had his farm raided for selling unpasteurized milk so they feel it’s an a front to their way of life. Whether any of this is true who knows.

[woodsprite]

22. I don't know if it was the raw milk as much ad

It was the homemade meds he had available as well. I saw a vlogger doing a review of Shady Maple Smorgasbord, and he also stopped at several local stands. One he stopped at was a Land O’Lakes cooperative farm and they had raw milk for sale.

Is raw the same as unpasteurized?

[travelingthrulife]

29. Fresh from the cow. I was raised drinking it. We were rarely sick, just

transmissible stuff picked up at school/church. Best fresh cream ever for baking!

I don't advocate for drinking it now, it's just the way it was in dairy country.

[Wiz Imp]

33. Not sure about other states, but in PA sale of raw milk is regulated

A farm requires a permit in order to sell raw milk. This is so the state can make sure it is safe and not going to make thousands of people sick. The significant outbreak of avian or bird flu this year has significantly impacted dairy farms. Pasteurization is effective at inactivating the virus, so most milk sold at grocery stores and the like is fine. But raw (unpasteurized) milk can carry the virus and drinking it can make people sick, and in extreme cases even cause death. States that have a good regulatory structure around raw milk are probably fine, but in states that have little or no regulation of raw milk, drinking raw milk should be avoided.

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/05/25/g-s1-460/bird-flu-virus-raw-milk-safety

[DeepWinter]

5. Where I grew up

There's an Amish community. They are politically involved, but they're not vocal at all about it. Super nice folks, but fairly conservative overall community.

[wnylib]

36. I have lived in PA (my native state), Ohio, and now NY.

All 3 states have significant numbers of Amish communities. There is one very close to where I live now. There's another Amish community in my county besides the one near me.

I see them in grocery stores and on buses. They participate in the local farmer's market each summer. I usually buy from them because the quality of their produce is good and the prices are lower than other farms. I have had chats with them about my German immigrant grandparents whose families were Mennonites a couple generations before coming to the US as Lutherans.

I have never met an openly political Amish person. It's possible, of course, that they just don't speak about politics among "the English," or that they discuss it in their German dialect (a little of which I can understand), but more likely that they just don't do politics and voting.

One obstacle to Amish voting, especially in a national election for President and. Congress, is that they are totally pacifist. Participating in a national election would mean voting for someone who can authorize war. It would be like condoning war.

[DeepWinter]

42. I agree

entirely with that statement. I don't think you'll get much of any political statement from them. Certain things are very insular among them, politics being one.

[yellowcanine]

6. And immigrants are eating Fido.

About as reliable. Amish don't vote in large numbers.

[LisaL]

7. Trump campaign was targeting them this election as far as I can tell.

Whether they turn out or not remains to be seen.

[yellowcanine]

10. Trump campaign also targeting women.

We will see how that works out.

[LisaL]

11. Not so good for Trump is a good guess on that one.

NT

[mobeau69]

14. Yep, I think women are coming for him. They have not forgotten.

[bdamomma]

17. No

we have not forgotten. WE are not going back!!!!!! In all aspects.

[wnylib]

37. Especially not good for Trump if they are aware of

his personal life and his criminal convictions.

[Scrivener7]

12. Yeah, but harassment and assault is a different definition of targeting.

[Tickle]

9. 😂😂😂 NT

[Deminpenn]

15. The Amish are more modern than you think

Yes, they don't drive cars and all dress alike, men have beards and women were bonnets, but there are many Amish roofing and building crews around where I am. They use modern tools powered by electricity. They shop at Walmart and other stores. They have non-Amish drivers to drive them for deliveries of their cookies, produce, etc. While they can and do make furniture (it's beautiful) to specific measurements, they make and stock standard size cabinets and drawers to mix and match and use standard hardware.

The Old Order Amish are different, though. They follow the strict protocols of their religion and culture. They do want to have their picture taken as they believe that's the sin of vanity. These, I believe, are the non-voting Amish.

[Homoudont]

19. Amish Mennonites

There are Amish, Mennonites and Old order mennonites. I am not going to pretend I know the differences but at first glance seeing someone in a horse and buggy dressed in black and you automatically think Amish. Isn't always the case. I went to college in south central PA and the guy that would work on my bike was a Mennonite. Great mechanic and even better guy. My bike broke down once riding up the hill to his shop and he fixed it and told me to make payment whenever I had the funds available. As a college student I would ride to his shop just to look at the bikes he had for sale.

[Deminpenn]

34. The Mennonites are

not as strict as the Old Order. They have and watch TV for example meaning their homes have electricity.

I believe the Mennonites are 3rd group of Amish in addition to Old Order and traditional Amish.

[wnylib]

38. What you are describing sounds more like

Mennonites than Amish.

Amish are an offshoot of Mennonites and they often have communities near each other. Mennonites range from very conservative "Old Order" to almost indistinguishable modern orders, with varying degrees of adherence to separatism in between.

Years ago, I once commented to an Amish woman on the perfect evenness of the stitching in her bonnet. She laughed and said, "Oh, we have sewing machines." But they were treadle machines, mechanically operated by foot, not by electricity. During the covid lockdown, when surgical and N95 masks were not available, the Amish in my area made cloth masks on their sewing machines at home for distribution to everyone, Amish or not. Some took jobs at companies that made masks with modern, electrically run machines. OTOH, there were Amish who would not wear masks themselves.

Some might use electrical tools, but all Amish and Mennonites are very pacifist. Voting in a national election would mean selecting someone who could authorize war or lead people in war.

[milestogo]

20. I don't know if they have televisions

and I doubt they use social media.

[doc03]

23. In Ohio they use computers and cell phones in their business places. I am sure

especially the young ones are also exposed to social media. They all have electric bicycles now.
I still peddle my bike so they are more modern than me in that case.

[obamanut2012]

24. Then they are Mennonite, not Amish

[doc03]

27. That is in Ohio Amish country where there may be both but they call themselves

Amish for business purposes. I asked an older Amish gentleman about the electric bikes. He said
all the farms either have solar power or a generator for their milking machines so that is how they charge
their bikes. They frown upon connecting into the electric or the telephone grid but God gives us the sun. That
is sort of like socialism to them to connect to the grid.

[debm55]

31. Mennonites in north east Ohio drive their own cars also.

[wnylib]

39. The accepted behaviors in each Amish community

are decided by the ruling bishop. So, some might allow electric devices, but others do not. It's not possible to say that what applies to one group applies to all.

I have been on a bus going out of town that had several Amish passengers. None of them had a cell phone but one guy needed to make a call to a Mennonite friend who would pick them up at their destination. I Ioaned him mine, but had to dial the number for him and end the call when he finished because he was not familiar enough with cells to operate one.

[Tickle]

21. NT

[LastDemocratInSC]

25. Many Amish have land-line phones for their businesses.

They are usually installed in a barn or small shed so they aren't convenient to use. And plenty of the Amish young have MP3 players that they listen to privately.

[Jan24]

26. Amish

Many of the Amish in western Pa. are distrustful of the government and avoid putting their name on documents. When we had a group of Amish here
to redo siding on our barn my husband asked them if they vote. They said no and would never do it. But, if they did they would not vote for a woman. Hilary was running for president at the time. I don’t believe they have changed any of their view points since that time.

[wnylib]

40. That's my experience with the Amish that I've encountered, too.

Not only would they be unlikely to vote at all, but, as you said, if they did vote, it would not be for a woman candidate. And if any Amish did vote, it would only be the men. Women's responsibilities are home and children.

[yardwork]

32. I'm from Amish country in Ohio.

I believe it was W Bush who first made significant inroads into persuading Amish to vote in elections.

As this thread reflects, there are many different groups of Amish (and similar groups, including Mennonites). Individual communities have autonomy, with rules determined by their leaders. One constant is that men always have more rights than women and children. The men may have jobs that allow them to ride around in air-conditioned trucks, while the women are still cooking on wood fires. It's not uncommon to see electric wires to barns, but not the houses. The men work in comfort; the women and children use kerosene lamps.

Most Amish have beliefs that align fairly well with MAGAT rhetoric. They are deeply patriarchal, exerting control over women, children, and animals. There's a lot of abuse and cruelty.

I don't have positive feelings for the Amish, for the most part. I don't view them in the romantic halo that many progressives choose to wrap around them.

When I was back home last fall (a year ago), I saw many Trump signs on Amish barns and in fields. I expect there are many more now. They will vote and they will vote for Trump.

[wnylib]

41. I doubt that they will vote in large numbers.

Yes, the Amish and Mennonites are very patriarchal societies.

For the Amish men who voted for Bush, I wonder how they reconciled Bush's hawkish wars with their pacifism.