Amish Reality show on TLC

[The Protector]

I'm interested in what your perceptions are of the Amish reality show Breaking Amish on TLC. I'll be writing a review of the first episode. I think this has some bearing on us in how they chose to portray an alternative or insular or more old school family lifestyle and considering the fact that TLC produced Sister Wives and might possibly put out more episodes, spinoffs with Cody's children, or another polygamy show.

Here is the link to the website. For now, the first episode is available for streaming with lots of other clips.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/breaking-amish/videos

 

[CecilW]

Lived in Intercourse, PA, for a time/ A few miles from Lancaster. With a wife who gre up oppressively conservative Mennonite (NOT like those portrayed in this show.

I find the show accurate as to the challenges they face.

Aside from that, and the religion itself with some of it's technology restrictions (after all, I earn my living writing software!), we found the Amish lifestyle very attractive. If terrorist deploy an Electro Magnetic burst, destroying electronics; if they find a way to knock out the power grid over a large area, such that the cities are rioting and starving, the economy is in the toilet, and men's hearts are consuming them with fear, what will be the likely Amishman's response? "Yah! Mebbe so. What's for dinner? Got cows to milk." Doesn't sound so bad.

Lot'as of thought provoking stuff for thoe of us intent on living according to our own lights rather than family's or church's or state's traditions.

 

[Isabella]

I have a great respect for the way the Amish live, they are so self sufficient and non materialistic, many of us can afford to be this way. I saw the clip of the teens in New York and they seem far more worldly wise and they do not have a strong accent like the other Amish I have seen.

I went to Lancaster County when I was a child and loved it, I would love to go back and see what, if anything has changed. I wanted to run off and be Amish SO much, their peaceful, quiet ways appeal to me, perhaps because I have almost always lived in and amongst noise.

 

[Ephraim]

The video doesn’t seem to work for me. Anyway, we live in an Amish community. It is very peaceful here and little changes. We have friends who are Amish as well. I can’t comment much on this show because we’ve never seen it (don’t have TV either). But I have heard of various TV programs about the Amish and have seen a few. Some shows have been accurate but I thought most tend to focus on an extreme; portraying the Amish as either super righteous with all the answers or having dark secrets hiding under the surface. Other than lifestyle and the reasons why they live that lifestyle, the Amish are a lot like everyone else. There are those who can be good, bad, or indifferent, although; they do tend to have more positive traits than most other groups.

 

[FollowingHim2]

It is good not to get hung up on material things and mod cons. But living like the Amish isn't exactly easy and fun. It seems like it would be, but trust me, I'm half way there, pioneering you might say. It is HARD! Just be thankful every single time you turn on your oven, flush your loo, run your heater, or even boil your jug for a cup of tea in the morning. I can't do any of those things, and I'm doing it with 4 kids. It's not a bed of roses I'll tell you that!

I knew some people who were ex Amish. Some of their rules seemed so strict and ridiculous. It certainly didn't sound peaceful to me.

 

[eternitee]

We had some old order Amish friends we would stay with. Took me a while before I was like "Hey - how do you have a fridge if you don't have electricity?" They explained they had a propane tank that they used to work the generator and that is how they had an electric fridge (but no electric lighting in the house - they used lanterns). They do not object to electricity - they object to having a physical connection/reliance on the outside world.
Their neighbors (related - I forget how) similarly had electric cow milking that was run by propane.

 

[eternitee]

I have never understood this line of thinking. They are just as dependent upon the outside world as a supply line for propane as they are for electricity, just making a few more difficult junctures along the way. Unless they are harvesting the gas from their own property, it is the same thing, just more difficult.

Yeah - I remember asking them about that because I thought the same thing. Unfortunately I do not remember their response!

 

[darlene]

I'd love to go back to the way i was brought up and the way the amish live, wthout all the beliefs they have.