re: Another one
An excerpt from the quote by Ayaan Hirsi Ali on why she has quit her left-wing party, in your link:
But multiculturalism is an inconsistent theory. If one wants to let communities preserve their traditions, what happens when these traditions work to the detriment of women or homosexuals? The logic of multiculturalism amounts to accepting the subordination of women. Nonetheless, the defenders of multiculturalism do not want to admit it.
And a quote from you, from another page, today:
It's good to live in a country where people like the Amish can live in peace their own way.
And a quote from the Lancaster, PA, Intelligencer-Journal, from a series on abuse in the insular Amish and Mennonite communities called "Silenced by Shame", written by Linda Espenshade and Larry Alexander (July 14, 2004):
[Note: I accessed this through ProQuest, and I regret I can't supply a link to the whole article.]
Caleb's parents wondered why he started reacting so strongly to anyone who came up behind him or tickled him when he was only 8.
Yet his parents never expected to hear what Caleb told them when he was 11: An Amish man, Samuel, had been sexually assaulting him for three years, while Caleb did chores at his farm.
That night Caleb's father confronted Samuel and together they went to the bishop of their Amish congregation. The bishop required Samuel to make a confession at church the next morning. Samuel was excommunicated for six weeks, the source said.
It wasn't Samuel, however, who received the brunt of the congregation's anger. Caleb's parents were blamed, the source said, because they "didn't shove it under the carpet."
"Caleb was wrong, wrong, wrong and (his parents) were wrong to listen to Caleb," said an anonymous source, describing the opinion of many church members.
Their opposition only increased when police came knocking on their door and Caleb's parents allowed their son to explain what happened. Caleb's parents also took him to the doctor, who confirmed physical damage from the abuse.
After Samuel was arrested, church members blamed Caleb's mother for talking to people outside the Amish church about it, one of whom probably called police. One Sunday morning, the congregation debated if they should excommunicate her.
Church leaders urged her to deny that Caleb had been abused, but she would not, the source said. Caleb's mother was worried about the effect that denying the truth would have on her young son, according to the source.
Even her father and husband urged her to compromise with church leaders, not because they disbelieved Caleb, the source said, but because they wanted the church conflict to calm down.
Through a contentious decision, Caleb's mother was not excommunicated. The conflict didn't go away, though, the source said, and for a while there was talk of the congregation splitting over the issue.
The pressure Caleb's family felt to deny abuse is not unique. Almost every victim of child abuse who spoke to the newspaper talked about pressure by family members and Mennonite and Amish church leaders to deny or minimize the abuse once the victim spoke up.
The Amish don't advocate child sexual abuse, but they strongly believe that we ought to suffer what is given us to suffer, and that prayer will solve all problems. This is their tradition. This attitude is changing, but only because some church members have refused to shut up and go away, and because of the interference by government authorities who don't honor or appreciate this particular aspect of Amish tradition.
It would be so nice if things were simple. They aren't.
It would be nice if the bad guys always wore black hats, too. There are bad Amish, and good Muslims, and bad people on the right, and good people on the left, and vice versa to all that.
If you want a score card, you'll have to live at the ballpark. Out on the street, there is none.
