Amish Controversies

Do the Amish get an unfair share of finger-pointing for their collective or individual behavior as regards COVID-19? Holmes County officials have formed a “defense team” to address different COVID-related topics, some of them regarding PR. First, what’s the team all about? Addressing statewide media queries, quarantine guidelines after exposure and updates for local status […]

Continue Reading Holmes County Forms Covid-19 “Defense Team”; Push Back Against “Amish-Blaming”

The Amish are in the news again, this time as a backdrop to a speech given by President Trump in Lititz, Pennsylvania yesterday. You can see several young Amish-looking fellows in this clip below. This has gotten some strong reaction online, with multiple people claiming they are “fake Amish” or even “paid actors”. Jump to […]

Continue Reading Are These “Fake Amish”? (Updated: Not Fake)

This is a follow-up to the Missouri abuse case story widely covered last month. From KY3: MARSHFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A Webster County judge Thursday sent two Amish brothers for prison for violating terms of their probation. Petie and Aaron Schartz of Seymour, Mo. will spend 15 years in prison for their sexual abuse convictions. […]

Continue Reading Amish Brothers Violate Probation, Sentenced To 15 Years Prison In Abuse Case

An interesting letter just appeared at Lancaster Online. An excerpt: I have an idea for the state to make a chunk of change. Why not make the Amish register each of their buggies and have a yearly inspection and safety check, just like those of us with motor vehicles are required to do? I believe […]

Continue Reading Should Amish Buggies Have A Yearly Safety Inspection?

An Amish friend who saw the title of the post last week had this to say: “Plain Parade – what an oxymoron”. I think that is an astute observation. The quotation marks were meant to suggest the term be taken with a grain of salt. Especially, as noted in the original post, since the actual […]

Continue Reading A Follow-Up On The “Plain Parade”

There was kind of a quirky “Amish” story that emerged last week in France. Not being a French speaker, I have mainly heard of it secondhand from French readers of this site, who have kindly kept me informed. I wanted to share a brief guest post from Romain Speisser on the topic with you today, […]

Continue Reading The Amish, Macron & 5G

This is a really ugly story which has been making its way around the web the past few days. I take no joy in covering this but it is an “Amish” story, and one that is getting attention for reasons which raise questions about equal treatment. Two adult brothers plead guilty to molesting their minor-age […]

Continue Reading Amish Brothers Escape Jail Time In Abuse Case

This caught my eye yesterday. I’ve not often seen an online fundraiser for a person who left his or her Amish community. But that’s what this is, for a 27-year-old woman named Millie: Hi everyone, Millie may the decision to leave the Amish very recently. She had been shunned by her family and they would […]

Continue Reading A Go Fund Me For An “Amish Escapee”?

I’m not loving sharing all these bad happenings on the roads with you. But after posting the sad case of a drunk driver who killed a young Amish father in Wisconsin last week, I surely can’t overlook this latest story. An 18-year-old Amish male was charged for “recklessly operating a buggy while drunk.” I don’t […]

Continue Reading Amish 18-Year-Old Runs Stop Sign While Drunk, Buggy Tips Over, Ejects Passengers

A disturbing story reported yesterday out of upstate New York: TOWN OF DEKALB, N.Y. (WWNY) – State Police are investigating suspicious incidents just outside the St. Lawrence County village of Richville last Wednesday. Troopers said a man and woman reportedly pulled into the driveway of an Amish household on Welch Road, where a sign was […]

Continue Reading Suspicious Couple Visit NY Amish Home, Attempt To Lure 13-Year-Old Girl Into Car