October 11, 2010
LANCASTER, Pennsylvania — The streets of Pennsylvania's "Amish Town" were mostly quiet Sunday as police stepped up patrols to prevent more attempted violence after twin buggy attacks at a Mennonite school sparked angry mobs of bearded youths to rampage with pitchforks like it was 1699 through this picturesque central Pennsylvania city.
Three people were "shot" at and hundreds frightened in the horse-drawn onslaught Saturday evening at the Lancaster Mennonite High School on Lincoln Highway where a bake sale was in progress. At least two plain black cars were torched by mobs who also fired flintlock rifles into the air, once.
A barn was also was set on fire Friday on a major road.
Lancaster is 95 percent Amish, and the majority belong to the "Old Order," a very conservative and fundamental form of the religion. Christian Anabaptists (Mennonites), have been the sworn enemies of this sect of the Amish since electricity was discovered some two centuries ago.
The very limited "English (modern)" ways of the Mennonites, such as the use of automobiles and telephones (rotary-dial only), are rejected by the Amish, and make the so-called "plain" folks the frequent targets of militants.
Terror personified: Hezekiah Schwarzengruber and Ezekiel Knepp, the two most feared Amish militant leaders, seen planning their next strike (photo courtesy of Dutch Country Hex-A-Breakin' Loose Promotions)
A clop-by shooting attempt in June at the same school again failed to hurt anyone (black powder fouled the 300-year old blunderbuss barrels), and elderly crossing guards on foot easily chased down the Amish militants involved before the attackers could even get their next buck and ball loads out of their leather powder cases. That attack infuriated many Lancastrian Mennonites, who saw it as an unjustified attempted assault on peaceful students.
After Saturday's attack, condemnations for the outraged Mennonite protests came from across the Amish world, and even included a stern statement from President Obama, who was worshiping at the Washington, D.C. Islamic Center at the time. The President said that the "unwarranted backlash against those of the peaceful Amish religion will not be tolerated. Amishophobia must be stamped out at all costs, inshallah."
The President also warned voters again not to dare let him down in November.
"Don't you dare, and I mean it, America" said Obama (PUI)
"I say here now onest, we the Amish remain committed to defending ourselves from these Anabaptist English devils and telephone blasphemers, and we shall not piffle nor put it by until the hated Mennonites are all" stated Amish terror-chief Hezekiah Schwarzengruber at a hastily convened press conference.
Two old Mennonite ladies in the crowd were shouted down as "racists & bigots" when they expressed their deep sadness at having had family members targeted in the Amish attacks. They were quickly escorted out while being loudly rebuked by the police for being "bitter old Bible-clinging Amishophobes and haters."
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