Sick Milkman Opens Fire on Amish Girls

[Alice Catherine]

http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2006/10/02/489968.html&cvqh=itn_amish

Acted out a grudge. He let the boys go and shot the girls, then himself.

[animeotaku99]

Te hstage situation was in progress for 45 minutes before the police were called, Amish people dont use phones or other electronics

[Alice Catherine]

Lucky one of the teachers had a phone. Everyone in that school might have been killed if she didn't call police.
THIS IS WHY THE AMISH NEED ELECTRONICS.

[Animematt55]

Lucky one of the teachers had a phone. Everyone in that school might have been killed if she didn't call police.
THIS IS WHY THE AMISH NEED ELECTRONICS.
ELECTRICITY IS THE DEVIL!!!

[Chicito]

THIS IS WHY THE AMISH NEED ELECTRONICS.

They need it, but refuse to use it. That's their problem.

IT'S A SIN AGAINST GOD!!!

[Alice Catherine]

Perhaps this incident will teach them. I mean, what's so bad about having essentials? I mean, they don't need TVs, Ipods, or whatever, but GOD, GET A ****ING PHONE.
Shame that all those kids might die. Most of them were 6-12. They didn't get to live yet.

[Soluzar]

If you think that this disaster, or any other, will change the attitudes of the Amish, then you're mistaken. It's their religion. I'm not sure if you have a religion or not, but if you do, then I'm certain that you wouldn't start disobeying the commandments of that religion for the sake of convenience.

[soulreaper]

Eh, it's their choice. Besides, Rousseau says technology is evil. So there.

[Alice Catherine]

I'm certain that you wouldn't start disobeying the commandments of that religion for the sake of convenience.
For the sake of bloody safety I would! I don't believe in anything, yes, but I can appreciate the Amish culture.
However, I'm sure the Amish people love their kids as much as anyone else. I say that just in case another disaster happens, there should be an emergency phone.
Besides, my family lives a half-hour from Lancaster, which is one of the most Amish-occupied town in America.
When my sister went up there, she took a picture of a guy with a CELLPHONE. However, the dumb**** she is, she sold it for a twenty so I can't put it on teh internets.

[Animematt55]

For the sake of bloody safety I would! I don't believe in anything, yes, but I can appreciate the Amish culture.
However, I'm sure the Amish people love their kids as much as anyone else. I say that just in case another disaster happens, there should be an emergency phone.
Besides, my family lives a half-hour from Lancaster, which is one of the most Amish-occupied town in America.
When my sister went up there, she took a picture of a guy with a CELLPHONE. However, the dumb**** she is, she sold it for a twenty so I can't put it on teh internets.
she took a picture of an amish guy wiht a cell phone? and sold it to someoen for $20?

We have som epeople near here that are similar to the amish. They still can have some light tech. but they can't smoke or drink.
On the weekends they come into town to smoke and drink....

[Soluzar]

For the sake of bloody safety I would!
Then you would no longer be a follower of whatever religion you had previously been in. You don't get to pick and choose which parts of a religion you follow. There are rules. Amish who break the rules of their community are shunned, and cast out.

[Neo0tak0n]

even the milkmen are packing these days?

[Alice Catherine]

...then a whole lotta Amish should leave, or the Amish leaders or whatever should change the laws.

Excuse me if I sound ignorant because of my lack of religion (technically I'm Catholic, but my parents don't know that I don't believe a word), and it's true that I do not understand the culture, but I just think that, quite bluntly, if they want there to be any Amish LEFT in a hundred years, they should be more concerned about the safety of the people.
They can still live a simplistic lifestyle even with phones. It's not like they're embracing the entire capitalistic culture, it's just safety.

[Ikari Warrior]

Lucky one of the teachers had a phone. Everyone in that school might have been killed if she didn't call police.
THIS IS WHY THE AMISH NEED ELECTRONICS.
They shouldn't have to need electronics though. This kind of crime is inexcusable, and is no reason to make an entire culture change their ways. Yeah, the guy was a psychopath, but that's life, unfortunately.

[Alice Catherine]

They shouldn't have to need electronics though. This kind of crime is inexcusable, and is no reason to make an entire culture change their ways. Yeah, the guy was a psychopath, but that's life, unfortunately.
...there's gonna be a lot more sick people, love. Every kid's curious, even the Amish. They're gonna wanna know WHY. They're gonna wanna know what device the teacher used to keep them safe.
OK, how about this simple idea?
How about they have just ONE PHONE in a public building, such as school houses and...um...markets?

[Soluzar]

...then a whole lotta Amish should leave, or the Amish leaders or whatever should change the laws.As far as I'm aware, each Amish community has its own set of laws dictating what is an acceptable use of technology, so even if that did happen, it would have to happen in every community.

Excuse me if I sound ignorant because of my lack of religion (technically I'm Catholic, but my parents don't know that I don't believe a word), and it's true that I do not understand the culture, but I just think that, quite bluntly, if they want there to be any Amish LEFT in a hundred years, they should be more concerned about the safety of the people.
I'm not saying that you're wrong. I'm just saying that they most likely won't do it. Allowing the use of phones would mean allowing more contact with the outside world than the Amish are generally comfortable with.

Religion means a lot to some people. Some people would rather sacrifice their lives than their beliefs. That's really all I'm saying.

[Ikari Warrior]

It was my understanding that amish communities have a phone, but it's about 30-45 mins away (walking). I'm not saying they wouldn't be safer if they had phones. I'm saying that they shouldn't have to get phones because of one lunatic, or potential lunatics who follow.

And what about the recent colorado shooting? Or columbine? I'm sure people had cell phones in those situations, but those outcomes were no different than what we see here. The problem is that the people with phones can't contact police until the lunatic is already inside and potentially has hostages or victims. In every instance I've mentioned, the gunman has shot his prospective victims, then ended himself. No more people would have died after he fired the last shot -- he assumed those he shot would die with the first bullet, and then he ended his own life with that sick, twisted satisfaction.

Do I agree with the Amish way of life? No. I like my electronics, and can't live without my creature comforts. Do I respect the Amish way of life? Yes, and I see no reason for them to change.

[Spadesy]

Perhaps this incident will teach them. I mean, what's so bad about having essentials? I mean, they don't need TVs, Ipods, or whatever, but GOD, GET A ****ING PHONE.
Shame that all those kids might die. Most of them were 6-12. They didn't get to live yet.

To be fair, this milkman took advantage of a belief the Amish (a pacifist "following") hold. I doubt an incident like this is going to change something like a whole belief structure.

[Leader Desslock]

If anything, I expect that an incident of this nature would push the Amish farther away from modern technology and the influences of the modern world.

The technology of a cell phone would've alerted police more quickly, but the technology of firearms caused people to die. Technology may be a helpful tool in some situations, but it's a double-edged sword in this case. For every person proclaiming the benefits of additional technology after this incident, there's going to be at least one person pointing out how this incident underscores the DANGERS of technology and exposure to modern culture.

[kenshinbebop]

The AMISH!?

How much further can humanity go into hell? I've said it before and I'll say it again, we're doomed.

This practically "takes the cake" as they say.

[HELLFISH88]

Someone needs to pass an amendmant to arm SRO's with M249 SAW's

[{NG}Fidel]

I dont think we can acurately gauge what the amish will do in the coming years. Their are always rebels within any group that fight for change. It just takes time for them to appear. Regardless its their choice so be it.

[sailornyanko]

The US is getting loonier and loonier everyday. And I'm complaining that nacos whistle at my curves while I cross the street. Shame on me!

I respect that the Amish only accept medical technology. However I find some of their beliefs to be totally awkward. Only female doctors can treat female patients? Believe me, I don't give a crap if you're a guy, I'll treat you equally. I think they should be more free to allow women to build farms too. It sounds fun.

Down here in Mexico we have a community that's kinda like the Amish though they still allow some amounts of technology; they are the Mennonites which are of Dutch origin. They live in remote villages in the northern state of Chihuahua. Sometimes they come to this city to sell cheese.

What I'm ultimately curious about the shooting case is: where are the horses? Okay, so there's only 1 phone in town and it takes almost an hour by foot to get there. Weren't there farmers nearby riding carriages pulled by horses? I bet they could of made it sooner. However, I don't know the full on this case.

[{NG}Fidel]

Trust me the world has always been loonie.
I look at the people that adore JFK and I wonder why the F@#$.
When France held elections about 5 years ago (going from memory) and 16% of the population voted for a racist f#$& that said something along the lines of "I like that muslim women wear those facial coverings, it makes it so I dont have to see their ugly faces".
No one country isnt looney the world is.
And I love it.

[Rain]

THIS IS WHY THE AMISH NEED ELECTRONICS.

Who are you to decide?

Perhaps this incident will teach them. I mean, what's so bad about having essentials? I mean, they don't need TVs, Ipods, or whatever, but GOD, GET A ****ING PHONE.
Shame that all those kids might die. Most of them were 6-12. They didn't get to live yet.

A phone isn't necessarily crucial to one's survival. These were special circumstances, and should accordingly be regarded as such.

They can still live a simplistic lifestyle even with phones. It's not like they're embracing the entire capitalistic culture, it's just safety.

"Let's ditch our current way of life—the only means by which we know how to live—so we can live "safely" with phones!"

:lol: What a plausible concept.

[Kevin K]

well if you think about even if they did have a phone to call police, how long would it have taken them?5, 10, 15 mins in that time the same thing would have happened, and the only thing police are sayin is that in a letter they found it had something to do with a 20 y.o grudge, thats all they stated.

let them amish have their ways, and what ^ Mel said is right, who are we to decide. it couldve happend anywhere. Here in cali i think we've forgotten all the basics and have relied too much on technology, hell theres a study here that compares cellphone users with crack users, the results were that cellphone users were basically like crack users.

And ya the US is loony, all becuz of ..well u know who. and this incident will of course push them ( amish ) away from modernizing, but in a cruel way it has also made them realize that they would have to attempt to modernize in order to possibly protect against such "incidents" in the future again.

[Nami]

I don't think the whole community there will change, but I think this incident will probably makes some individual there have a second thought about their belief. Also, I agreed with {NG} Fidel that

Their are always rebels within any group that fight for change. It just takes time for them to appear. Regardless its their choice so be it.

I agreed with that.

[Alice Catherine]

Who are you to decide?



A phone isn't necessarily crucial to one's survival. These were special circumstances, and should accordingly be regarded as such.



"Let's ditch our current way of life—the only means by which we know how to live—so we can live "safely" with phones!"

:lol: What a plausible concept.
Mel FTW I guess...

[Scandiadream]

That is so sad.

A grudge about something that happened 20 years ago.

Those girls were not alive back then. They certainly were NOT responsible for whatever happened to him.

Disgusting.

[{NG}Fidel]

I agree with that 100%.
I hate it when misguided fools take their anger out on parties 100% unresponsible for their pain. And even if they targeted the right party death for such a small issue is unforgiveable.

[animeotaku99]

I agree, They shuldnt change their belief system because one lunatic went... loony on them.

[ablo]

The families of the victims have already forgiven the killer and his family for the incident. They're very strong in their faith, which is a Calvinist/anabaptist protestant perspective, where people are predestined to heaven or hell, regardless of the person's disposition. For this reason, the Amish follow the Bible very strictly. This means turning the other cheek as Jesus said, at all times, with pretty much no exceptions. A very peaceful people.

[goddessofanime]

The man who did this picked the school because it was close by. This could've happened anywhere.

Such a pity.....poor kids.

What disturbs me even more is the fact that these recent shootings are all targeting females.

Paradise is about twenty miles from where I'm at.

[Reinas]

This can totally be irrelevant, but his choice of community to shoot up might have something to do with the fact his daughter was taken from him so soon.

This (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5404144.stm) article suggests that he was angry at God and himself for the loss of his daughter. And considering that the Amish are a deeply religous community, it might have been a conscious or subconscious choice.

[Kevin K]

still, its happening worldwide, "pick on something that differs from what you believe in."

[EmberAlchemist0]

I practically live in Amish country. They are all around outside my town. I feel for the ones shot that day. As for them using technology/electronics some in fact do. Just last week I believe it was I saw a young amish girl driving a car at Wal-Mart not far from here. I think these Amish are called menonites(SP?). We have lots of those Amish around here but not as much as the original Amish.

[Fobb]

Saying they need something is irrelevant. If they live in a community that is basing themselves off the fact that they DON'T need electronics to survive, then that is the ideal place for them to be living. We only need electronics because we live in an environment that requires us to have them.

[Soluzar]

I think these Amish are called menonites(SP?). We have lots of those Amish around here but not as much as the original Amish.
I could be wrong, but I think that the term "Mennonites" covers a wide range of groups, including the Amish.

[Undrave]

Stupid copycat effect... think we'll see more school shooting soon or it calmed down for now?

[goddessofanime]

I could be wrong, but I think that the term "Mennonites" covers a wide range of groups, including the Amish.

Mennonites are similar to the Amish in some ways, but they are willing to go with some electric/modern day things.