What? The Amish are into rollerblading? It's news to me, but here's a 1996 New York Times article attesting to this cultural quirk:
''It's faster than a horse, and it's fun,'' said Mr. Herschberger, 20, who skates the 25 miles in two hours, almost twice as fast as an Amish buggy. ''You just feel free.''
Mr. Herschberger has abundant company on the roads of southeastern Pennsylvania. In the last few years, hundreds of Amish, most of them young, have taken up in-line skating to run errands, play hockey or just zigzag for pleasure.
Among the 150,000 or so Old Order Amish, who live in 230 settlements in 22 states and Canada, in-line skating is justified as an efficient, sensible means of locomotion, another example of how the modern can square with the traditional.
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"I never wear buttons but I got a cool hat And my homies agree, I really look good in black"
Ratz; I think they are just drawing the line at electricity. They've been trading with English forever so it's not as if mass produced goods are beyond them.
What I want to know is why not bikes. Seems it would be quicker and loss prone to roller-discos. And when do they have time for hockey?! Must be very liberal.
The amish are not luddites, they're a strict religious society. They place strong emphasis on simple humble clean living. Whether they accept a technology has more to do with it's perceived effect on their family and community than the means of production.
The rollerblade thing has been going on for at least ten years now. They've looked at using cell phones as well, but I don't think that stuck. I doubt they'll ever get into the internet because of all the porn.
i have to agree tho that a normal bicycle seems like it should be an ok thing...they use scooters and occasionally i've seen inline skates but around here anyway they aren't often used
they play hockey on sunday afternoons when they also have various organized games like volleyball among the young unmarrieds
Roller blades offer no mechanical advantage. You'll see plenty of adults riding scooters, too, many of which are bikes modified to eliminate a chain.
I take it you have never heard of Rumspringa At 16 They are required to experiment and explore with the " Real World" They throw massive parties where kids come for 100's of miles , Drive , smoke, get cell phones, drink, and only come back to the community if they want too.
As for why they don't get roller skates the in lines just work better on the types of roads they have