Amish Killings

I might joke about the Amish but I do have some admiration for any religious group that has declared itself pacifist and wants little to do with the North American frenzy we call a lifestyle.

I also kid about the Mennonites and Hutterites too, as well as poking a sharpened stick at every other organized religion on the planet, including the Presbyterians.  Especially Presbyterians, the bunch of self-righteous pud-pullers.

Which is why the school shootings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania are heartbreaking.  I’ve been to that area of Pennsylvania and it is beautiful.  The Amish farms are prosperous, the people hardworking and the pace of life is gentle but determined to succeed through hard work and helping each other as much as possible.  I might not subscribe to the Amish interpretation of religion, but I do appreciate it. 

I have even spent an enjoyable few dozen minutes talking with some members of the brethren, over a fence, outside Mechanicsburg, PA.  Oddly enough I was looking for directions to Williams Grove Speedway to watch the sprint cars tear up the track.  They knew where it was and gave me directions, but I stayed and chatted for a while about cabbages and kings.

Yesterday a warped person stormed into a one-room Lancaster, PA school, in a predominantly Amish area.  He took a bunch of young girls hostage, shot up the place, then turned the gun on himself.  So far, five of the children are dead.  Charles Carl Roberts IV came ready for action, with 600 rounds, three weapons, a stun gun, two knives, clothing, tape, hardware, and rolls of clear tape.  This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment freak-out. 

Some reports say that members of the Amish brethren in the area have expressed their regret at the killings.  In the next breath they also express their sincere forgiveness of the the shooter.  

I know I wouldn’t have the courage of my convictions to know that a deeply disturbed person killed my daughter in cold blood, then turn around and forgive him.  Not many people could.  For that sheer courage to not only live the "Christian" life, but to actually act the "Christian" way in a very extreme situation, I can only be impressed and respectful.

This doesn’t mean I won’t crack jokes about the Amish having a coal-fired web server made out of lumber and twine.  At the same time, I’m sad that this group, who have managed to avoid most of the insanity of our modern life, have to go through this sadness.  It isn’t right.  I have no fix for it and no way to make it better.