Je’dult met aundre
Part 1: The
Amish Sam Mullet Gang.
Forgive the
terrible pun, but two recent news items have given ethnic Anabapatists cause to
consider the definitions and boundaries of the ethnic-religious cultures and
how these cultures are seen by those looking in from the outside.
Renegade
Amish leader (now a cliché) Sam Mullet is being arraigned for potential hate
crimes against fellow Amish. His
defense, that this a matter internal to
the Amish community.
Meanwhile, a
tax dispute between Mexico’s Manitoba Colony of Mennonites and local
authorities are leaving ethnic Russländer Mennonites wondering if they are
being targeted for exploitation. Is
Mexico really taking a page from Europe’s Medieval past to pass off its
financial excesses onto the backs of “ethnic minority enclaves” or ghettos?
In the first
instance, Pennsylvania and the United States are wondering if the Amish have
lost their ability to tolerate each other (mutual internal toleration). In the second, is the Mexican majority losing
its ability to tolerate minority cultures (external cultural toleration)?
