3 Mistakes We Make about the Amish

Amish get a lot of interest and attention from non-Amish people. Over the years I've noticed these misconceptions and things we get wrong about the Amish. Would you agree?

[theopkingdom]

I like when you pointed out the danger in using "always" and "never" about the Amish. While they share a culture, they are also individuals. When I was attending births in Amish homes, I noticed some of the ways they differed from one another- one young father was very interested in emergency medical services. One mother was artistic and earned money by painting bird houses an Amish man built. Another young woman loved riding horses- she owned her own horse and would go to ride it wearing blue jeans under her cotton dress. 😂 Individuals within a culture.

[susiecox]

Hi Erik, another great video! I speak from my experiences with the Amish. I find them hardworking, smart, and friendly. I think what bothers me most is some people thinking they are not smart because they don't go to high school/college. They run large farms and have many other successful businesses. I love the bulk stores and greenhouses. They put metal roofs on our house and garage. They were here early and relieved each other for break so the work didn't stop until the job was completed. They had a driver and trailer with a generator. I would recommend them anytime!

[thesusanbainbridgeshow]

I know many Amish people and love them all. Their generosity, compassion, care for others, their animals, working in communion with people and animals, is a wonderful life, compared to other people's lives. Though I am not Amish, I love the old fashioned way of living and for the majority do that myself.

I produced and filmed a documentary in the 1990s called Life During the Civil War Era. When a 4 wheeler car sank a muddy field outside of where we were shooting in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the reenactors used their horses to pull and manpower to push the stranded vehicle out of its predicament. The vehicle, which belonged to a spectator had sunk 6" into the field. Because it had rained heavily earlier that day, we wrapped up
production shortly after the rain ceased. That's how we discovered the vehicle.

[naninbfe]

Great content, very thought provoking as always. I myself find that many people generalize about the Amish, as you mentioned. That they are uneducated, or somehow unintelligent is a very common misconception in the "english" world. I have personally learned so much from them! It's sad that for most, education in a formal classroom setting is the only acceptable way to learn! One of the best things about YouTube is channels like yours that educate as well as entertain.

[TheMtggrl]

More interesting content, I don't know enough about the Amish to generalize but I know I have a lot of respect for their hardworking lifestyles along with their faith and their family ways. I'm always open to learning new things so I find your videos to be a source of awesome information.

[mariayelruh]

It always surprises people to find out that there are Amish EMTs. I've run into several in Gordonville, PA

[bkj]

The Amish are great people! I went to high school with them, before they had their own. I live in Kansas. I was raised as a Quaker or Friends. Quite similar except for the clothing. Thanks for sharing your info. God bless you!

[normangerring]

Well said, hope people pay attention because this is true of all

[stantonmagid]

I truly appreciate the information every one of your videos that I have seen gives me some education and I thank you for this

[maryjoymath]

The old order Amish in Iowa, their young boys wear bright solid color shirts to the sale barn. They are not afraid of color, it is not all black and gray.👧🦋🐂🐑🐖🐓

[maxrobertson]

I was told that all Amish where very bad people, and was shown many videos of ex Amish people, I a believed that for the longest time, until I meet a community while visiting a rescue. The people there where lovely and kind and where being safe on the road. After I realized that many Amish are good people, I found your account and you have taught me so much and I will always be grateful

[FrogeniusW.G.]

That's a quite philosophical approach, that should/could be applied to nearly every aspect/topic in life. 😊

[sewcrazybaker]

For the past 50 years I've had many Amish friends. They were all Old-Order horse & buggy Amish. Some were the same age as my parents, a few were older and several were my age or younger. (I was 19 at the time.) Most have been honest, hard working people with a great sense of humor. One of these women, her name was Mary, taught me how to do canning and another taught me how to do hand quilting. I still do both of these things. And then there were the Amish men who built our barn back in 2010. A few months after it was finished, the Amish man in charge came to visit with 2 of the men who actually worked on the barn. They had a driver who brought them up here from Holmes County, Ohio. Even though they had been paid, they did not finish the job. Plus they stole a lot of the building supplies we had already paid for. So I felt really good about tipping off the company who delivered the stone to our site because they had not been paid for that stone. They showed up when the Amish man in charge was sitting at our kitchen table. He demanded payment and got it. If they had not paid him, the stone man would have called the police. So yes, there are good Amish and bad. Thankfully, most are the Good variety!

[CentralVirginian]

Very good points made in the vid. I have also noticed that people tend to make assumptions without a sound basis of understanding, ie "I think the Amish would do such and so and so because There is widespread misunderstanding of why the Amish choose which technology to use and which they reject.

It helps to have detailed knowledge of the Bible text, as the Amish culture is in large part based on their understanding of Biblical instruction.

[jerryvincent]

I have enjoyed my exposure to the Amish in Michigan.🇺🇸🐻

[jerryvincent]

I visited a Amish farm and also a Bakery this summer. My experience was great in both case.🇺🇸🐻

[Tictacpanter]

Great points. I live in a area with a high population of Mennonites and their descendants. There’s similar thoughts and feelings and cultural pressures within this community that seem to apply to the Amish. Thanks for the videos. Always enjoy them and learning about a niche culture within North America

[larrylewis]

Dear Erik,

Another fine and thoughtful programme. Because I have been a student of the Amish for many years, I have had to correct my perceptions over the years. Recently, for example, I have had to update my perceptions of how the mainstream Amish live. I had not kept up with the changes found among them.

In the past, and even currently, I still have a tendency to idealize the Amish. I have to keep this in check. I will say this, I have never been sentimental about their whole way of life. Nevertheless, I continue to see the importance of their whole way of life for Christians during our present times. On many counts, they point to a better way.

Thank you, Erik, for bringing up this topic. It is a very good one, and you handled it masterfully.

Sincerely,
Larry Clarence Lewis
Ontario, Canada.

[carguy]

Every demographic in our modern society has good and bad. The Amish are no exception (I like how the one member of the Amish put it to you, 'Amish are people too'). It goes without saying that all those different demographics tend to get judged by that one member of their group who essentially spits on all of them and ends up in the newspapers or on news broadcasts. We can thank the media for painting all of them with such a broad brush because it sells their written or talking head dogma.

[unknownorigin]

Thanks for your videos. I’ve really learned a lot. They were very helpful when we traveled to PA this summer.