The Worlds Squarest Teenagers

[BatChainPuller]

Anyone else watch the C4 prog with Amish teenagers visiting Sarf London last night ? Quality TV I thought. The bit where the Amish kids watched their hosts doing a breakdancing routine was fabulous - the expression of utter incredulity and puzzlement on their faces was priceless. Charlie Brooker called it the best critique of street dance he'd ever seen.

 

I thought the Amish came out of it pretty well - they didn't really judge anyone and were prepared to have a go at most things. I'm thinking of adopting an Amish lifestyle - without the religion and with added sex-n-drugs and rock and roll, looks idyllic. Bit like vegetarian food - very nice with a bit of meat to accompany it.

[Travis Bickle]

I watched it too, thought the Amish have some pretty good values and they made the London teens have a think about whats really important in life. Then next one looks good too.

[Liquid football]

i watched this too. They have the edge in quite a few ways i think.

 

A little bit of food for thought on the subject of nature vs nuture which comes up on here quite a bit. How many Amish serial killers are there? How many Amish people have ever beaten to death a kid with severe learning difficulties or tortured dozens of animals in their bedroom for their own entertainment over the course of several years?

 

Think of all the sick stories you have read on this forum alone over the past few years and we always come back to the same arguments about how or if the environment has much of an effect on the individual. I think even a quick glance at various communities around the world like the Amish demonstrates quite clearly that the environment in which someone is raised is the single biggest influence on the development of a person. The idea of someone being inherently evil is total (and often kneejerk) bullshit without any shadow of a doubt.

[Strontium]

i watched this too. They have the edge in quite a few ways i think.

 

A little bit of food for thought on the subject of nature vs nuture which comes up on here quite a bit. How many Amish serial killers are there? How many Amish people have ever beaten to death a kid with severe learning difficulties or tortured dozens of animals in their bedroom for their own entertainment over the course of several years?

 

 

Well, here's a story about an Amish man who killed his wife and son before shooting himself.

 

Then there is Edward Gingerich, who killed his wife and gutted her in front of their children.

 

This is an article about an Amish girl who was sexually abused by her stepfather and brothers until she left the community; I would imagine that sort of thing to be rife in such closed communities.

 

I think this image of the Amish lifestyle as a carefree, crimefree one is somewhat idealised, and that these people aren't much different from everyone else.

[Liquid football]

Of course you're going to be able to find the odd story. I think the statistics would make my point blindingly obvious.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Of course you're going to be able to find the odd story. I think the statistics would make my point blindingly obvious.

 

I'm not really sure what point you're making here, mate? Is it just that people are not born with a propensity towards this sort of thing, or is it that our type of society leads to higher levels of violence and crime?

[Liquid football]

Yeah, it's that the environment is by far the most powerful factor on shaping the individual and that a quick look at various communties across the world will demonstrate this quite clearly. People aren't inherently fucked up from birth, like some people would love to believe.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Yeah, it's that the environment is by far the most powerful factor on shaping the individual and that a quick look at various communties across the world will demonstrate this quite clearly. People aren't inherently fucked up from birth, like some people would love to believe.

 

Other than in some notable cases, I agree with that. In the average person's life, upbringing, surrounding, society, and other unknown factors, certainly have a major, possibly overriding, effect on their life. That's true both positively and negatively.

 

I think that there are better ways to raise a child than in the insular indoctrination of religion, but there are worse environments, too. SD was correct, in my opinion, to share those links. It clearly indicates that you get nutters in all walks of life. Whether or not it is disproportionate, I don't know. We'd have to do some research. I'd guess that you get your common all garden nutters everywhere, but that crime - and freedom of thought - is higher in other places.

 

I thought the program was okay, bit lumping them with a family from inner city London where crime is rife is a juxtaposition too far.

[Liquid football]

Other than in some notable cases, I agree with that. In the average person's life, upbringing, surrounding, society, and other unknown factors, certainly have a major, possibly overriding, effect on their life. That's true both positively and negatively.

 

I think that there are better ways to raise a child than in the insular indoctrination of religion, but there are worse environments, too. SD was correct, in my opinion, to share those links. It clearly indicates that you get nutters in all walks of life. Whether or not it is disproportionate, I don't know. We'd have to do some research. I'd guess that you get your common all garden nutters everywhere, but that crime - and freedom of thought - is higher in other places.

 

I thought the program was okay, bit lumping them with a family from inner city London where crime is rife is a juxtaposition too far.

 

I mean, my point wasn't really about the Amish, just that to me, they were another reminder that the environment is the dominant factor when it comes to shaping individuals. It's just unfortunate that my example was a religious group as that usually gives SD explosive dirreah and is unable to think about what is being said like he would normally :whistle: