Catoblepas

I wish it didn’t upset my guts, because it’s by far my favorite :(

Oh, sorry, I didn’t get you were doing a bit. Although that does now make me wonder if there are Amish communities of any size outside the US, or outside the northeast US even.

Yes? Amish people have businesses, they make money.

I’m not sure the Amish are a great example of communes taking care of the elderly and disabled. In some communities (the Amish don’t have centralized leadership, so practices vary) it’s basically voted on by the men (and only the men) whether or not it’s worth it to pay for a community member’s medical treatment. If they decide not to, fuckin sucks to be you.

I don’t disagree with what you’re saying broadly, I just think the Amish get given too many passes in general and have purposefully cultivated a false quaint image to allow it to keep happening.

My grandparents remembered the local extinction of American chestnut trees. They still had other nut bearing trees (pecan and hickory), but they missed the chestnuts. They’re gone but my family still lives in the same place, and I’d love if they could add chestnut trees to the other trees on their property some day soon.