Community Will Destroy Amish Schoolhouse

[Tab]

NICKEL MINES, Pa., Oct. 8 -- The one-room Amish schoolhouse where five young girls were shot to death and five more were wounded last week will be torn or burned down and rebuilt elsewhere, according to a member of the close-knit community.

Those students who survived the shooting rampage will probably receive lessons at home for the rest of the school year, according to Daniel Esh, who said he learned of the plans from a nephew who attended a meeting on the matter.

"It would just be asking too much of them to go back," said Esh, whose three grandnephews were inside the school when Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, stormed it.

Roberts released 15 boys and four adults before tying up and shooting the 10 girls. Roberts had come armed with a shotgun, a rifle, a handgun and a stun gun.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800763.html

[LostinVA]

1. Excellent decision -- good for them n/t

[jhrobbins]

2. Once again I have to comment on the amazing capacity ...

of the Amish community in the aftermath of this tragedy. Nor only are they sharing the money that has come in from all over America with the widow of the killer, but they asked her to come to some of the funerals of a couple of the girls and even more amazing (I keep using this word, but I can't think of a better one), some of them went to the funeral of the killer himself.

Amazing Grace!

[AndyA]

3. They will be rewarded for their actions.

True forgiveness does indeed come from within.

[woodsprite]

4. That was the topic of our sermon on Sunday.

Our minister stated that this week we have all seen outstanding, amazing examples of the love and forgiveness that Jesus wants us to live. We prayed for the families of all involved, including the Roberts' family. Our minister then ended the sermon by asking us to ask ourselves if we would be willing or ready to not only "talk the talk" of Jesus as many churchgoers do, but to actually "walk the walk".

We talked with our friend over the weekend. She was one of the ER nurses who worked on the little girl who was flown to Delaware. She said the hardest thing she ever had to do in her life was bring the father in to identify the girl. She watched as with shaking hands, he raised the bandages to see her face for one last time. She said all attending were crying.

[ricoroark]

5. They can rebuild another one in, like, three hours.

Inappropriate. Sorry.

[LostinVA]

9. That was supersonic fast

[texpatriot2004]

6. That is the way it should be nm

[jwirr]

7. Has anyone looked into exactly why this man did this? And why

these peaceful people?

[LostinVA]

8. It appears he was mentally ill

And, he possibly targeted the school because he knew there was no phone on the premise.

[happyslug]

28. No, According to local News reports, it was the nearest School

To his home, thus it was just location not the lack of existence of a phone.

[poverlay]

10. If everyone in the world were as capable of producing such amazing

practice what you preach behavior, we would be living in an amazing place...

[lpbk2713]

11. Are they accepting donations for a new schoolhouse?

I know they are a humble people and avoid help from outsiders but I would gladly contribute.

[kestrel91316]

14. There is a fund that has been set up to help with the medical

expenses of the children. Every dollar they DON'T have to spend toward medical expenses is another dollar these folks have to spend on the school, so please consider contributing. A link has been posted on at least two of the threads about the shooting but I don't have it.

Mennonite Central Committee /Mennonite Disaster Service also has a fund for them. You can Google them.

[Number9Dream]

18. Our workplace donated as a group...

Funds have been established for those who would like to donate to assist those who are affected by the tragedy at Nickel Mines School.

There is the Nickel Mines Children's Fund and the Roberts Family Fund.

Donations can be mailed to:

Nickel Mines Children's Fund

Coatesville Savings Bank

1082 Georgetown Road

Paradise, PA 17562



Roberts Family Fund

Coatesville Savings Bank

1082 Georgetown Road

Paradise, PA 17562

[wakeme2008]

19. probably the best and the one I donated to

http://www.afweb.org/foundation/nmsvictimsfund/


I posted that here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=280&topic_id=20815&mesg_id=20845

[walkon]

12. No! No! No!

It must be used to build fear in the community. It must stand as a testimonial, a memorial to the vulnerability of children everywhere. The day MUST be set aside and all of the awful actions must be relived on every anniversary (and it must be mentioned in every public discussion from this point forward). 10/2 changed everything. Walls must go up around all Amish properties as, clearly, they and their beliefs - even their freedoms - are under attack. All Amish everywhere must donate to a fund for the perpetual war that MUST be fought against ALL Haulers with a grudge - perhaps over in New York so they can be fought there and not HERE.

I guess when you are not consumed by the drive for power and control and wealth the human being is not such a bad animal.

[Laughing Mirror]

20. Good post.

How true what you say.

[Miss Chybil]

21. Amen. nt

[goforit]

23. great irony!

[Vidar]

13. Makes sense to me.

[MadMaddie]

15. Good......

[yellowcanine]

16. I was surprised by this at first but I think I see why they will do this.

The Amish are eminently practical people so I figured they would clean up the schoolhouse, install new windows, and be back in business. But I suspect they were concerned not only that it would be difficult for the children to go back there but also that the building would become a shrine and tourist attraction if it remained. The Amish are very much opposed to shrines, as they are seen as idolatry. One of the reasons they do not build churches is to avoid the building being seen as some kind of sacred spot and an idol.

[kestrel91316]

25. I had not heard this before:

"One of the reasons they do not build churches is to avoid the building being seen as some kind of sacred spot and an idol.".........but it makes sense to me, knowing a bit about their beliefs.

I read (I think in Hostetler's Amish Society) that the house churches arose out of the need for secrecy in the 16th century when Mennonites were murdered for their beliefs. I think the trend toward church buildings (as Mennos became less persecuted) was one of the driving forces behind the splitting off of the Amish in the 17th century.

[yellowcanine]

27. Yes, the need for secrecy early on was certainly part of it but there

also was a reaction among the Anabaptists to the ornate cathedrals and churches that Catholics and Reformed groups erected in Europe in the 16th and later centuries. In fact, even the groups which chose to erect buildings for worship, such as the Mennonites, Brethern, and Baptists, tended to refer to them as meeting houses rather than churches. Most of these were built without decorative features such as stained glass, steeples, and giant crosses. To be sure, some of these groups who formerly worshipped in meeting houses have in recent years erected some rather fancy churches that their Anabaptist forebears would likely not feel comfortable in or recognize as an Anabaptist meeting house. So maybe the Amish had a point. If a meeting house is never built in the first place, there will be no temptation to "pimp" it to enhance the worship experience.

[goclark]

17. The Guns Old Party just keeps on

wanting to arm everybody.
Pretty soon they will get their wish.

I had to visit a high school last week. It was a sin and a shame. Their were so many chains and locks on the gates and doors that the children were prisioners as well as the staff.
When will it all end!

[Kali]

22. Schools have always been like that

at least the ones I have gone to. It's part of the indoctrination of the system.

[SoCalDem]

24. An era has passed..

The grounds of my high school was so beautiful that people picnicked there on weekends, and our cafeteria served such good food, that local businesspeople actually ate lunch there. They paid a higher price, but their money helped support the cafeteria.

The stage doors were always left unlocked so the "artsy kids" could come and go on weekends and evenings to work on their projects..no one ever vandalized or stole from our school..

The track area and the sports fields were always available to the surrounding neighborhood kids for them to use..

The only locked areas were the equipment areas..

Modern kids are going to prison schools.. :cry:

[bobbieinok]

26. high schools in Tulsa were 'open campus' until about 7--8 years ago

(There were some problems with students leaving and not returning but in general it was felt the benefits outweighed the costs.)

Then an unhappy ex-employee at a fast-food place where many students at one hi-school ate lunch brought a gun to the restaurant and opened fire. As I recall, no one was killed but 10 (?) students eating there were wounded.

As a result, the superintendant and the school board decided to make all schools in the district 'closed campus.'

(The restaurant and school are within a mile of where I live.)