Amish cell phones?

Have you ever wondered what would’ve happened if 21st-century technology magically appeared in the 1800s? Earlier this month, people across the USA received emergency alert system tests as notifications on their smartphones. In some cases, it worked a bit too well. Amish are a very old-style Christian church whose members seek to live without modern conveniences. That means no cars, tractors, or even electricity. Also, absolutely no cell phones. There have, been reports that some Amish men have gotten themselves in hot water with their community. When the FEMA emergency alarm began sounding across multiple Amish farms, men had acquired contraband cell phones that went off at the same time as every other phone in the country. Since the Amish don’t really follow the news, the phones’ owners had no idea the alarm was about to happen. As a result, they have now been officially shunned by their communities. They’ll just have to make amends for their misdeeds and return to a life without cell phones.

But how did the Amish manage to get the cell phones? One of those ex-members is Eli Yoder. The ex-Amish has helped several of his former brethren acquire phones. “Over the years, there’s been quite a few Amish men that reached out and wanted phones. So whenever they request to have a phone, I’ll do everything I can to try to get them a phone.”  October 4th “Three of [my friends] replied back to me today and said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna have to lay low for a while, I just got shunned,’” said Yoder. “I said, ‘How’s that happened?’ They said, ‘That emergency alert that went off? Yeah, we had our phones on vibrate, and it still went off.’” So, the men are now shunned. What does that mean exactly, though? To the Amish, family and community are the center of their lives. They do many things together as a group, be it tending to the fields, building houses and barns, or gathering for worship. Shunning severs that link between an Amish member and their community. The shunned individual may not do business with other Amish, take rides or eat with them, or even give gifts to another Amish. In other words, shunning bans the person from all Amish communal activities. It’s a big deal because it’s very, very hard to live in an Amish community without the support of others. That’s particularly true for the people who have lived the Amish way all their lives and rely completely on that communal order. Shunning is one of the most serious punishments the Amish can dole out on a person. You have to know a bit about how their lifestyle works.

Yet, the shunned person isn’t completely abandoned. Others may still talk to them and will come to their aid if in a serious emergency. Shunning doesn’t last forever, either. The shunning period usually goes on for a few weeks, and the shunned is expected to make amends for their misdeeds. As long as they do so, all will be forgiven and they’ll be welcomed back to the community. After all, if there’s one thing the Amish are the masters of, it’s forgiveness.

Amish Humor

What was the punishment for the Amish boy who went streaking at school?
He got suspendered.

Why did the Amish girl get kicked out of her house?
Too Mennonite.

How can you tell if Amish people live on a particular road?
It has a “no outlet” sign.

I conducted an online survey. I found that out of the world’s population, 0% of people are Amish.

October 18th Birthdays

1956 – Martina Navratilova, 1951 – Pam Dawber, 1984 – Lindsay Vonn, 1985 – Freida Pinto

1961 – Winton Marsalis,  1960 – Jean Claude Van Damme, 1988 – Zac Efron, 1992 – Tyler Posey

Morning Motivator:

Learn from the mistakes of others.
You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.

Is that your pocket buzzing?

/