A Win for the Amish

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MaxPC
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A Win for the Amish

Post by MaxPC »

Maine Amish Hunters Can Now Wear Red (Instead Of Orange)

Despite a very divided vote by the legislature’s IFW Committee, the state’s Amish hunters won the right to wear red instead of orange while deer hunting in Maine...

...One state representative called this “one of the toughest bills I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
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Josh
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by Josh »

I wonder just how much Amish spirituality is represented by the "right" to wear red vests instead of orange.
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Wayne in Maine
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by Wayne in Maine »

MaxPC wrote:
Maine Amish Hunters Can Now Wear Red (Instead Of Orange)

Despite a very divided vote by the legislature’s IFW Committee, the state’s Amish hunters won the right to wear red instead of orange while deer hunting in Maine...

...One state representative called this “one of the toughest bills I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
Not a win when you really think about it. What really is the difference between red (a color many plain folks used to avoid) and blaze orange except that you are safer wearing orange. It will make sensational headlines if one of those Amish boys is killed during hunting season.
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Josh
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by Josh »

And I'd point out that the majority of Amish are fine with orange reflective safety equipment, such as a slow-moving vehicle emblem on their buggy.

One particular group that does not represent the Amish as a whole at all, and indeed believes it is the only true church and probably the only group that is saved (not sure on the latter one), does not recognise other Amish as legitimately Amish or believers, refuses to really use any modern safety equipment or reflective equipment. Their buggies where I live continue to have small lanterns at night, and barely-visible white barely-reflective tape on the fringes. Very hard to see at night. (Yet despite their insistence on not modernising, they sure don't mind rolling around at 11 PM or 1 AM at night on modern, paved roads with vehicle traffic.)

It's really baffling that they are OK with wearing red, too, because red sure isn't OK adorning any women in their group, and most of their objection was to bright colours at all.

It sounds like hunting was the big priority here, along with just some kind of random visible sign "we aren't like you", distilled down to the absurdity of refusing orange but accepting red. And I'm afraid they aren't the only group for whom hunting is a really high priority - higher than vehicle and highway safety.
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MaxPC
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by MaxPC »

They're still Anabaptists. I don't see them bashing Mennonite choices.

Shouldn't we be glad that religious freedom still counts in some places instead of nitpicking their choices? Negativity in comments, particularly regarding non-doctrinal choices aren't very conducive to encouraging seekers.
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by ohio jones »

MaxPC wrote:I don't see them bashing Mennonite choices.
Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does.
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by Bootstrap »

This isn't just about differences between Amish and Mennonite groups, it's just as much about differences between Swartzentruber Amish communities and other Amish communities, with whom they do not fellowship or intermarry. I imagine they would see most Mennonites, including plain Mennonites, as very worldly. I think it would be extremely hard to get close enough to them to understand their spirituality well enough to be able to discuss it intelligently.

From a legal perspective, I wonder what the criteria are for a valid religious objection to a law. I wonder how we protect valid religious claims without making religious claims so flexible that they are used to funnel political money, as a pretense for using drugs, etc. In this case, the legislature passed a law exempting them, so they didn't have to find this out.

From a Christian perspective, I wonder how they decide what ways of being different are spiritually motivated. If their spirituality is impacted by the choice to wear red versus orange, why? I doubt I will ever understand that without being Schwartzentruber for many years, which is extremely unlikely to happen.

From a Christian perspective, I also wonder about the amount of political lobbying and court cases that the Schwartzentruber seem to be involved in. Somehow, that doesn't feel like the best way to withdraw from the world, though it's not a violation of 1 Corinthians 6. I do wonder if they shouldn't pick their battles sometimes - not only with American law, but also with other Amish groups.

From a legal perspective, I wonder how many people get arrested or fined for not wearing hunter orange. Has anyone heard stories of this? I know that some Schwartzentruber did get arrested because they refused to use orange safety triangles on their buggies.
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Hats Off
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by Hats Off »

I would have thought the simplest and most sensible solution would have been for them to avoid guns and hunting. Hunting for sport does not seem to fit well with the Schwartzentruber life style, in my opinion.
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Valerie
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by Valerie »

The Amish we have in our county are the Swartzentruber. I have talked with them from time to time, either at their roadside buggy 'bake or basket' sales or at the produce auction they have from May thru early November. It has been a huge ordeal, this color orange problem as they will not put the orange SMV triangles on the back of their buggies. Finally, after so many accidents they came up with a compromise- reflector tape & these white pvc pipes that are attached to their wheels that stick out to be noticed- again an exception was made for them. The rest of the Amish have complied with the law about putting the orange SMV triangles on the back of their buggies, plus have added pretty elaborate lights, and reflective tape. Last year I finally asked one of the Amish men at the auction who does the sales, what it is about the orange, if it was religious or what (thinking about the Halloween color of orange & black, if orange represents something?). He said he really didn't know. It cannot be 'worldliness' because orange is no less worldy or 'loud' than red. There has to be some other reason but finding out what it is? Since they don't question things, often they don't know- Swartzentrubers are always in the news it seems, but I like our community. For a Christian witness? It seems wherever Amish relocate people seem so happy about it they tend to want to give them exceptions. Probably because they are quiet and don't bother anyone-
Last edited by Valerie on Fri Jun 02, 2017 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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MaxPC
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Re: A Win for the Amish

Post by MaxPC »

ohio jones wrote:
MaxPC wrote:I don't see them bashing Mennonite choices.
Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does.
So who will be the first to have the courage and the brotherly love to stop this negativity, these insults and the cycle of disrespect?
[bible]1 Peter 2,17[/bible]
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Max (Plain Catholic)
Mt 24:35
Proverbs 18:2 A fool does not delight in understanding but only in revealing his own mind.
1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God
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