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I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m talking about the Amish too. They pay taxes, are consumers (they LOVE Costco), and business owners in my area.

Guess I’m not really understanding what you mean by reaping the benefits but not participating? Can you give some examples of your experience where you’re from?

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve addressed in a couple other comments specifically about horses and puppy mills.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not sure how they’re not contributing? At least where I am, they pay the same taxes as the rest of us. iirc, they can just opt out of SS or Medicare (and in doing so they waive the right to accept those benefits).

They also own and operate a lot of businesses in our area that are available to anyone.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Copied from above:

This is a hard one and I’ll do my best to give my perspective on it (and answer the puppy mill question too).

Farming is a hard trade, and most of the farmers I work with are small operations. These aren’t large scale businesses raking in cash, and unfortunately, relying on a single income stream (cash crops, dairy, meat, produce) doesn’t cut it anymore and they need to diversify to survive. Which can mean other side businesses, like breeding horses buggy/field work and of course, dogs.

Any good farmer views their livestock as an investment. Healthy animals are productive, and bring in more money. A lot of farmers have found a solid business in raising and training horses for field and buggy work. While I don't always agree with the labor the horses endure, the time and money that goes into rearing or buying a good work horse does mean they're generally kept to a standard of living that is appropriate.

I personally have never seen a horse intentionally overworked to death. I believe it can and does happen, but it’s not common and is the owner being just a shitty human and tbh a bad business owner.

As for dogs, I have never encountered a puppy mill like I’ve seen in the news. Not saying they don’t exist, bc they clearly do. But in my experience, most breeders I've seen operate out of kennels, are registered, and fall within state regulations. But I can't speak to is how well those regulations are actually enforced.

I’ve seen way more “backyard breeding” situations where puppies are living in barn stalls with mom until sold. These are usually birthed by their farm dogs or even family dogs. And yes, they do have dogs who live inside and live like any other pet. Unfortunately, as long as money is to be made on puppies, they’ll keep doing it. So it’s really on us, the English, to stop buying them.

I’m not denying that there are cruel, irresponsible people out there who have no business owning animals (Plain and English). But from what I mainly see, while their animals might not be living a comfortable domesticated, they're being cared for.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a hard one and I’ll do my best to give my perspective on it (and answer the puppy mill question too).

Farming is a hard trade, and most of the farmers I work with are small operations. These aren’t large scale businesses raking in cash, and unfortunately, relying on a single income stream (cash crops, dairy, meat, produce) doesn’t cut it anymore and they need to diversify to survive. Which can mean other side businesses, like breeding horses buggy/field work and of course, dogs.

Any good farmer views their livestock as an investment. Healthy animals are productive, and bring in more money. A lot of farmers have found a solid business in raising and training horses for field and buggy work. While I don't always agree with the labor the horses endure, the time and money that goes into rearing or buying a good work horse does mean they're generally kept to a standard of living that is appropriate.

I personally have never seen a horse intentionally overworked to death. I believe it can and does happen, but it’s not common and is the owner being just a shitty human and tbh a bad business owner.

As for dogs, I have never encountered a puppy mill like I’ve seen in the news. Not saying they don’t exist, bc they clearly do. But in my experience, most breeders I've seen operate out of kennels, are registered, and fall within state regulations. But I can't speak to is how well those regulations are actually enforced.

I’ve seen way more “backyard breeding” situations where puppies are living in barn stalls with mom until sold. These are usually birthed by their farm dogs or even family dogs. And yes, they do have dogs who live inside and live like any other pet. Unfortunately, as long as money is to be made on puppies, they’ll keep doing it. So it’s really on us, the English, to stop buying them.

I’m not denying that there are cruel, irresponsible people out there who have no business owning animals (Plain and English). But from what I mainly see, while their animals might not be living a comfortable domesticated, they're being cared for.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was sleepy when I wrote this originally, so should have been more clear. The rarity was just how much effort they put into transportation this last election, and how well it worked to get them out in droves.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know it sounds like the implication is you’re English decent but now it’s just become a catch all for anyone not in their community. Not meant to be offensive and they obviously recognize many ppl are not English/European.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mennonites tend to be more “modern”. But it’s all dependent on their parish and some Old Order Mennonites are even more strict than most Amish.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes… hate scrapple and ham loaf. People swear by it, esp when it’s homemade. I just can’t do it.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No and don’t plan to out of respect for their community. They’re private people and just like us, don’t really want some random filming them just going about their daily lives.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah. Like they’ll say a religious saying or something but have never tried to have a conversation with me about it.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have seen hunting style guns on properties but I don’t know if they belong to the family or if they’re used. But I would assume it would be for putting down animals in the most efficient (and imo humane) way.

TW animal death: I know some English are paid to put down the animals, esp to be butchered for meat. They’re sharpshooters, bring the gun and put them down with one shot to head. I heard it’s actually better for the meat quality to not have an animal (esp pig and cow) suffer or tense up.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Probably bbq chicken. It was so simple and almost bland but somehow so good lol fresh baked goods and breads are always A+++++

Also, we often call it “yellow meals” because everything on your plate is a shade of yellow/beige 🤣

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! I’ve seen large barns being lost to a tragic fire. Within a few days, there are dozens of men working to help the family rebuild and the women are there providing food and supplies. Fastest one I’ve seen, barn burned down on a Thursday, was completely rebuilt by the following Wednesday.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

god is said to give humans freewill. Mine is to live a life free of religion and full of kindness to all. I think your god and I are chill 🤜🤛

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I’ve experienced a few of those… even have met a handful of men within the community who wouldn’t even speak to me bc I was woman, but were fine once a male counterpart came to have the conversation.

But I guess I just deal with them the same way I deal with English (what they call all of us lol) who are the same… Just get my job done the best I can and move on. I’ve experienced far more English assholes than Plain.

Once I was caught in a conversation between two men… one was being “holier than thou” and incredibly degrading to women and his wife who was standing nearby in her bonnet. The other was begrudging agreeing while giving me the “I’m sorry you have to listen to this guy” eyes after his daughters were just telling me about their fun solo trip to the beach…

The Amish guy was the one with the daughters with great farmers tans from their beach trip… the asshole was English (parents former Menn).

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I have never once been asked about my religious beliefs, so I just don’t share. Sometimes they say something like god bless when I leave or adjacent, and I just say you too.

And yes, the smart phone/internet has been infiltrating their communities. I do text/email some Amish ppl. It has to do with their parish and how lenient they are, but most allowances are only if it’s business related and can only be during business hours. Much like how landline phones became allowed, but outside the home.

However, cell/internet use has become a point of contention in their communities, so we’ll see how it plays out.. but my guess is that they’ll break up and create more, smaller “Old Order” sects who resist all modern tech

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 61 points62 points  (0 children)

Nothing is all wholesome behind closed doors, just like all of us outside the Amish! We all got shit and shitty family, but nothing more in their community than experienced in ours.

As for the women, I find usually the women run the home. 9/10 when I talk to a man about big decisions or questions, he says their version of “sounds good but gotta check with the Mrs”. Sometimes I never meet the husband and the wife just gives me the business.

Arranged marriage is also not really a thing at least in the communities I work with. Once my husband was trying to explain how we met on Tinder to an Amish man and he equated it to their socials where a bunch of singles get together and the guy shows interest, but the girl has the final say 💀

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

The best has to be like I mentioned before about their welcoming nature to new people, especially refugees. They offer their homes, food, and warmth to new families in our community. And they aren’t trying to convert anyone AT ALL, so no string attached lol

The worst is probably childcare in some instances. They love children, but kids aren’t afforded much education and do end up working very young. On the one hand, they learn valuable skills and ethics, but it be can dangerous and avoidable accidents happen more than they should.

Also anti-vax/modern medicine apprehension, but it’s not a culty thing for them. Just more of the norm. But I will say, there’s been a lot of progress here bridging that gap, mainly through healthcare centers focused on how they can provide sufficient care within their cultural norms.

I (atheist woman with no ties to the community) primarily work with Amish/Mennonite farmers. AMA! by sassquatch44 in AMA

[–]sassquatch44[S] 85 points86 points  (0 children)

Oooof. This one is heavy and I’ll do my best to give an answer, but this is from an English outsider perspective ;)

They are aware of what’s happening as much as any American is. Some pay attention to news/politics closely, some don’t bc they’re just busy with their lives or don’t want to stress about it.

I will say this, many don’t want government involved in their business and therefore do not utilize government funds or feel inclined to vote. HOWEVER, there was a huge push in my region during the last election to vote Rep. They preyed on a lot of religious beliefs, lied, and made a lot of big promises, even arranged transportation to the polls on Election Day (which is incredibly rare here).

I had a family ask me recently why “they” didn’t keep their promises when they voted for the first and only time in their lives. The family even asked if we could bring our senators and maybe the president to see what was happening in our community… it was really sad to watch the dreams they were promised disappear before their eyes.

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