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Originally Posted by shakran
1) recent studies have shown that inbreeding isn't as dire as you might think. After all, royalty has been inbreeding for hundreds of years in Europe and I don't see any of them walking around with 3 arms.
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Where are these recent studies that show that the effects of inbreeding aren't dire? Amish communities have been inbreeding for over 200 years and their pool of available mates is far smaller than the pool of mates available to European royalty over the same period. Inbreeding has few benefits. The only one I can think of is the opportunity for research. Researchers flock to Amish communities to study them and the many disorders that are a result of their inbreeding. For a news reference:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...ountry?mode=PF
It's perfectly reasonable to respect the Amish, but their mating patterns do lead to many genetic abnormalities which in turn lead to increased human suffering.
An argument from effect doesn't make much sense to me. Suffering of all kinds here and abroad may not affect me directly, but I can still care about its existence and hope for its end.
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1) Bullshit. They wear dresses. When they go outside they wear bonnets. No face-hiding hoods, and if you see their wrist or their ankle, no one gets mad.
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Does anyone have any evidence for or against the claims of misogyny among the Amish? I don't have any evidence either way, but I have heard claims of misogyny before.
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Idiotic examples that have plenty of parallels in other societies. Remember a couple of years ago when dads were leaving little kids to cook to death in the car all day? Guess that means regular American society has little regard for human life too.
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I don't know whether or not Amish children are treated poorly. And if they are, whether it is widespread. However, whether or not the same abuses are present in non-Amish american society is irrelevant. Is your argument the anthropological equivalent of "But Clinton did it to!"?
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Originally Posted by hightheif
And all Jews are shylocks, and Hitler should have finished the job.
Sounds real nice, Belt. Just make blanket accusations about an entire religion and hope for their demise.
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I'm not sure how comparing Superbelt's comments to Hitler is helpful. It rarely seems to be in threads I've seen. I also don't think he hoped for their demise. Rather, he hoped for the demise of their culture.
I certainly feel sympathy for the loss this community has experienced, but that is not the topic of this thread. I do think that some of the cultural practices of the Amish are problematic. Whether or not other cultures evidence the same problems is irrelevant.