Amish attacking dissenters.

catsmate1 · 13th October 2011, 11:55 AM

Five Amish men in Ohio were arrested this week for allegedly breaking into the homes of other Amish men and cutting off their hair and beards.

The men were charged with aggravated burglary and kidnapping, according to WKYC, related to allegations that they were responsible for a series of six break-in-and-hair-cutting incidents.

The men are from the Bergholz clan, a breakaway clan headed by bishop Sam Mullet, who is also the father of three of the five men. The Bergholz clan has around 120 people and is made up of eighteen families. Seventeen of those families are related to Mullet, WKYC reports.

According to the AP, Mullet became known for excommunicating members and generally being a harsh ruler of the clan, and has even been accused of running a cult. Authorities are trying to link all the incidents to him. Mullet has said he knew about the incidents, but denied that he orchestrated them.

But the incidents were reportedly a retaliation against mainstream Amish for the Bergholz clan's ostracism.

More here, here, here, here and here. With a slideshow of beards......

TimCallahan · 13th October 2011, 12:09 PM

This guy Mullet sounds like the Amish version of Fred Phelps.

westprog · 13th October 2011, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by TimCallahan

This guy Mullet sounds like the Amish version of Fred Phelps.

This outrage certainly puts the Cultural Revolution in its place. The horror!

GreyArea · 13th October 2011, 01:31 PM

I already knew that irresponsible cutting of hair could lead to a mullet. But I didn't know the reverse could be true.

catsmate1 · 13th October 2011, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by GreyArea

I already knew that irresponsible cutting of hair could lead to a mullet. But I didn't know the reverse could be true.

I was waiting for the first mullet joke.

Gord_in_Toronto · 13th October 2011, 05:07 PM

Ah. But that's not true Amishism.

The Norseman · 14th October 2011, 12:20 AM

Y'all thought Sam Mullet was bad? I hear that preacher Jacob Bouffant is a real killer!

Good Lt · 14th October 2011, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Five Amish men in Ohio were arrested this week for allegedly breaking into the homes of other Amish men and cutting off their hair and beards.

Quote:

The men are from the Bergholz clan, a breakaway clan headed by bishop Sam Mullet

See?

The God of the Amish does have a sense of humor.

Corsair 115 · 14th October 2011, 11:37 AM

I guess it's not an Amish Paradise after all.

Maybe we could send in John Book to investigate? He has some experience with the Amish community.

sadhatter · 15th October 2011, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by TimCallahan

This guy Mullet sounds like the Amish version of Fred Phelps.

You know, i do have a red flag set off that this guy might be worse in the future, but atm....

He is a hell of a lot better than most cult leaders. No kool aid, no child rape, just hair cutting. If the jonestown massacre involved nothing more than everyone getting a Chelsea cut, the world may just be a nicer place.

catsmate1 · 23rd November 2011, 02:40 PM

Bump. According to the BBC there have been further arrests and charges have been brought, including carrying out religiously motivated physical assaults, causing injury by use of a dangerous weapon and other offences.
There are also allegations of sexual impropriety on the part of Samuel Mullet, that he took married women into his home so that he could "cleanse them of the devil with acts of sexual intimacy".
BBC
N Y Times
Reuters
ABC

Bikewer · 24th November 2011, 06:01 AM

Sounds like typical cult-leader personality to me. Since so many of these people are textbook "types", I wonder if this couldn't be a diagnosable condition?

Eddie Dane · 24th November 2011, 06:08 AM

Originally Posted by sadhatter

You know, i do have a red flag set off that this guy might be worse in the future, but atm....

He is a hell of a lot better than most cult leaders. No kool aid, no child rape, just hair cutting. If the jonestown massacre involved nothing more than everyone getting a Chelsea cut, the world may just be a nicer place.

Especially when you consider that Jonestown took place in the seventies, when many people really needed a haircut.

AlaskaBushPilot · 25th November 2011, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by catsmate1

There are also allegations of sexual impropriety on the part of Samuel Mullet, that he took married women into his home so that he could "cleanse them of the devil with acts of sexual intimacy".

Look, he explained he was screwing the devil out of these women. So what's improper about that?

TubbaBlubba · 26th November 2011, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by sadhatter

No kool aid, no child rape, just hair cutting.

On the other hand, if he cut their hair into a mullet... Shudders!

The Central Scrutinizer · 9th February 2013, 12:40 PM

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...271856364.html

Are these guys related to Larry, Darryl & Darryl?

Puppycow · 10th April 2013, 12:50 AM

Gang of ruffians are headed to the hoosegow.

I hope they don't beat up the other inmates.

Seriously, they look harmless, especially the women, but a crime is a crime.

Doctor Plop · 10th April 2013, 12:53 AM

No one expects the Bergholz Beard Burglars!

..I'll come back in.

MarkCorrigan · 10th April 2013, 02:00 AM

This is possibly simultaneously the least threatening and most awesome sectarian violence ever.

Also, kudos on us as a whole for waiting a full 3 posts before making a mullet joke. I'm impressed the OP didn't make one.

catsmate1 · 10th April 2013, 02:38 AM

Originally Posted by MarkCorrigan

This is possibly simultaneously the least threatening and most awesome sectarian violence ever.

Also, kudos on us as a whole for waiting a full 3 posts before making a mullet joke. I'm impressed the OP didn't make one.

I have *some* standards..........

Eddie Dane · 11th April 2013, 04:09 AM

Saw a trailer for Amish Mafia on Discovery.

Has anybody caught that show?

Sounds preposterous.

catsmate1 · 11th April 2013, 04:25 AM

Originally Posted by Eddie Dane

Saw a trailer for Amish Mafia on Discovery.

Has anybody caught that show?

Sounds preposterous.

Not personally but I believe its "reality" status has been severely questioned, to the point of it being mostly fictional. As the show says: "re-creations are based on eyewitness accounts, testimonials and the legend of the Amish Mafia."

The Norseman · 11th April 2013, 07:48 PM

Originally Posted by Eddie Dane

Saw a trailer for Amish Mafia on Discovery.

Has anybody caught that show?

Sounds preposterous.

"Jeremiah, if thou wouldst not wish a beating upon thy brow verily enough to bringst thou to stand in front of our Lord and Savior, then hasten thou to thy house and fetch me all thy silver. If ye not, thinkest thou that thy barn mayhap go a'burnin'."

jasonpatterson · 11th April 2013, 08:51 PM

This is local news for me, so I hear all about it. They're now claiming that being imprisoned apart from one another and outside of OH is cruel and unusual punishment. IIRC, Mullet Sr. got 15 years over this.

StankApe · 11th April 2013, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by The Norseman

"Jeremiah, if thou wouldst not wish a beating upon thy brow verily enough to bringst thou to stand in front of our Lord and Savior, then hasten thou to thy house and fetch me all thy silver. If ye not, thinkest thou that thy barn mayhap go a'burnin'."

NOMINATED!!!

It's not pith really, but it was damn funny!

Pup · 12th April 2013, 03:31 AM

Originally Posted by StankApe

NOMINATED!!!

It's not pith really, but it was damn funny!

Unfortunately, these are Amish, not Quakers. (Hint: they speak a German-based dialect to each other, not an Elizabethan-English-based dialect.)

StankApe · 12th April 2013, 12:47 PM

always someone who has to ruin the fun for everyone........

The Norseman · 12th April 2013, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by Pup

Unfortunately, these are Amish, not Quakers. (Hint: they speak a German-based dialect to each other, not an Elizabethan-English-based dialect.)

German has the formal and informal voice just as English once had which is why I went that way.

But, still DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE, MAN!

Baffled · 12th April 2013, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by jasonpatterson

This is local news for me, so I hear all about it. They're now claiming that being imprisoned apart from one another and outside of OH is cruel and unusual punishment. IIRC, Mullet Sr. got 15 years over this.

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Maybe they'll get time off for good grooming.

The Norseman · 12th April 2013, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by Baffled

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Maybe they'll get time off for good grooming.

Don't you mean "good behairvor"?

TimCallahan · 15th April 2013, 10:04 AM

Considering the hair-cutting and beatings, I was reminded of two passages from the end of the Book of Nehemiah, in which that priest took action against various Jews (emphasis added):

Neh.13:23 - 25: In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab; and half their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but the language of each people. And I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your to their sons or take your daughter for your sons or for yourselves.

Neh. 13:28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son in law of Sanballat, the Horonite; therefore I chased him from me.

13th October 2011, 11:55 AM	#1
catsmate1 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dublin (the one in Ireland) Posts: 7,240	Amish attacking dissenters. Five Amish men in Ohio were arrested this week for allegedly breaking into the homes of other Amish men and cutting off their hair and beards. The men were charged with aggravated burglary and kidnapping, according to WKYC, related to allegations that they were responsible for a series of six break-in-and-hair-cutting incidents. The men are from the Bergholz clan, a breakaway clan headed by bishop Sam Mullet, who is also the father of three of the five men. The Bergholz clan has around 120 people and is made up of eighteen families. Seventeen of those families are related to Mullet, WKYC reports. According to the AP, Mullet became known for excommunicating members and generally being a harsh ruler of the clan, and has even been accused of running a cult. Authorities are trying to link all the incidents to him. Mullet has said he knew about the incidents, but denied that he orchestrated them. But the incidents were reportedly a retaliation against mainstream Amish for the Bergholz clan's ostracism. More here, here, here, here and here. With a slideshow of beards......

13th October 2011, 12:09 PM	#2
TimCallahan Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,211	This guy Mullet sounds like the Amish version of Fred Phelps.
TimCallahan Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,211

13th October 2011, 12:20 PM	#3
westprog Philosopher Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 8,928	Originally Posted by TimCallahan This guy Mullet sounds like the Amish version of Fred Phelps. This outrage certainly puts the Cultural Revolution in its place. The horror!
westprog Philosopher Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 8,928	__________________ Dreary whiner, who gradually outwore his welcome, before blowing it entirely.

13th October 2011, 01:31 PM	#4
GreyArea Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,000	I already knew that irresponsible cutting of hair could lead to a mullet. But I didn't know the reverse could be true.
	__________________ _{I am the 0.0000000142857142857143% Tradition is a murky and dangerous bog.}

13th October 2011, 05:07 PM	#6
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,422	Ah. But that's not true Amishism.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

13th October 2011, 03:01 PM	#5
catsmate1 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dublin (the one in Ireland) Posts: 7,240	Originally Posted by GreyArea I already knew that irresponsible cutting of hair could lead to a mullet. But I didn't know the reverse could be true. I was waiting for the first mullet joke.

14th October 2011, 12:20 AM	#7
The Norseman I Void Warranties Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Treasure Valley Posts: 3,297	Y'all thought Sam Mullet was bad? I hear that preacher Jacob Bouffant is a real killer!
	__________________ "I have always thought that a wild animal never looks so well as when some obstacle of pronounced durability is between us." "Sticking the flounce is the hardest move in forum gymnastics." -tsig

14th October 2011, 10:43 AM	#8
Good Lt Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Satellite of Love Posts: 1,487	Quote: Five Amish men in Ohio were arrested this week for allegedly breaking into the homes of other Amish men and cutting off their hair and beards. Quote: The men are from the Bergholz clan, a breakaway clan headed by bishop Sam Mullet See? The God of the Amish does have a sense of humor.
	__________________ Sorrowful and great is the artist's destiny. - Liszt Certainly, in the topsy-turvy world of heavy rock, having a good solid piece of wood in your hand is often useful. - Ian Faith

14th October 2011, 11:37 AM	#9
Corsair 115 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tranquility Base Posts: 8,675	I guess it's not an Amish Paradise after all. Maybe we could send in John Book to investigate? He has some experience with the Amish community.
	__________________ "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our abilities and skills, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

15th October 2011, 08:19 AM	#10
sadhatter Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 5,743	Originally Posted by TimCallahan This guy Mullet sounds like the Amish version of Fred Phelps. You know, i do have a red flag set off that this guy might be worse in the future, but atm.... He is a hell of a lot better than most cult leaders. No kool aid, no child rape, just hair cutting. If the jonestown massacre involved nothing more than everyone getting a Chelsea cut, the world may just be a nicer place.
sadhatter Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 5,743

23rd November 2011, 02:40 PM	#11
catsmate1 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dublin (the one in Ireland) Posts: 7,240	Bump. According to the BBC there have been further arrests and charges have been brought, including carrying out religiously motivated physical assaults, causing injury by use of a dangerous weapon and other offences. There are also allegations of sexual impropriety on the part of Samuel Mullet, that he took married women into his home so that he could "cleanse them of the devil with acts of sexual intimacy". BBC N Y Times Reuters ABC

24th November 2011, 06:01 AM	#12
Bikewer Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: St. Louis, Mo. Posts: 9,612	Sounds like typical cult-leader personality to me. Since so many of these people are textbook "types", I wonder if this couldn't be a diagnosable condition?

24th November 2011, 06:08 AM	#13
Eddie Dane Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,472	Originally Posted by sadhatter You know, i do have a red flag set off that this guy might be worse in the future, but atm.... He is a hell of a lot better than most cult leaders. No kool aid, no child rape, just hair cutting. If the jonestown massacre involved nothing more than everyone getting a Chelsea cut, the world may just be a nicer place. Especially when you consider that Jonestown took place in the seventies, when many people really needed a haircut.

25th November 2011, 10:22 PM	#14
AlaskaBushPilot Graduate Poster Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,609	Originally Posted by catsmate1 There are also allegations of sexual impropriety on the part of Samuel Mullet, that he took married women into his home so that he could "cleanse them of the devil with acts of sexual intimacy". Look, he explained he was screwing the devil out of these women. So what's improper about that?

26th November 2011, 08:00 AM	#15
TubbaBlubba Knave of the Dudes Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Communist Kingdom of Sweden Posts: 7,477	Originally Posted by sadhatter No kool aid, no child rape, just hair cutting. On the other hand, if he cut their hair into a mullet... Shudders!
	__________________ Disagreement begets progress.

10th April 2013, 12:50 AM	#17
Puppycow Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Japan Posts: 16,014	Gang of ruffians are headed to the hoosegow. I hope they don't beat up the other inmates. Seriously, they look harmless, especially the women, but a crime is a crime.
	__________________ “Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

10th April 2013, 12:53 AM	#18
Doctor Plop Suspended Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Breathing on your back Posts: 191	No one expects the Bergholz Beard Burglars! ..I'll come back in.
	Last edited by Doctor Plop; 10th April 2013 at 12:56 AM.

10th April 2013, 02:00 AM	#19
MarkCorrigan Winter is Coming Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Middle of nowhere, UK. Posts: 7,167	This is possibly simultaneously the least threatening and most awesome sectarian violence ever. Also, kudos on us as a whole for waiting a full 3 posts before making a mullet joke. I'm impressed the OP didn't make one.
	__________________ Naturalism adjusts it's principles to fit with the observed data. It's a god of the facts world view. -joobz Now I lay me down to sleep, a bag of peanuts at my feet. If I should die before I wake, give them to my brother Jake.

10th April 2013, 02:38 AM	#20
catsmate1 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dublin (the one in Ireland) Posts: 7,240	Originally Posted by MarkCorrigan This is possibly simultaneously the least threatening and most awesome sectarian violence ever. Also, kudos on us as a whole for waiting a full 3 posts before making a mullet joke. I'm impressed the OP didn't make one. I have some standards..........
	__________________ Yes I gave in and configured an avatar.

11th April 2013, 04:09 AM	#21
Eddie Dane Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,472	Saw a trailer for Amish Mafia on Discovery. Has anybody caught that show? Sounds preposterous.

11th April 2013, 04:25 AM	#22
catsmate1 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dublin (the one in Ireland) Posts: 7,240	Originally Posted by Eddie Dane Saw a trailer for Amish Mafia on Discovery. Has anybody caught that show? Sounds preposterous. Not personally but I believe its "reality" status has been severely questioned, to the point of it being mostly fictional. As the show says: "re-creations are based on eyewitness accounts, testimonials and the legend of the Amish Mafia."
	__________________ Yes I gave in and configured an avatar.

11th April 2013, 07:48 PM	#23
The Norseman I Void Warranties Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Treasure Valley Posts: 3,297	Originally Posted by Eddie Dane Saw a trailer for Amish Mafia on Discovery. Has anybody caught that show? Sounds preposterous. "Jeremiah, if thou wouldst not wish a beating upon thy brow verily enough to bringst thou to stand in front of our Lord and Savior, then hasten thou to thy house and fetch me all thy silver. If ye not, thinkest thou that thy barn mayhap go a'burnin'."
	__________________ "I have always thought that a wild animal never looks so well as when some obstacle of pronounced durability is between us." "Sticking the flounce is the hardest move in forum gymnastics." -tsig

11th April 2013, 08:51 PM	#24
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,196	This is local news for me, so I hear all about it. They're now claiming that being imprisoned apart from one another and outside of OH is cruel and unusual punishment. IIRC, Mullet Sr. got 15 years over this.
	__________________ Sandra's seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins' gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susie spied an elf, But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself. - Shel Silverstein

11th April 2013, 09:01 PM	#25
StankApe Banned Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 4,643	Originally Posted by The Norseman "Jeremiah, if thou wouldst not wish a beating upon thy brow verily enough to bringst thou to stand in front of our Lord and Savior, then hasten thou to thy house and fetch me all thy silver. If ye not, thinkest thou that thy barn mayhap go a'burnin'." NOMINATED!!! It's not pith really, but it was damn funny!
StankApe Banned Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 4,643

12th April 2013, 03:31 AM	#26
Pup Illuminator Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 3,626	Originally Posted by StankApe NOMINATED!!! It's not pith really, but it was damn funny! Unfortunately, these are Amish, not Quakers. (Hint: they speak a German-based dialect to each other, not an Elizabethan-English-based dialect.)
Pup Illuminator Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 3,626

12th April 2013, 12:47 PM	#27
StankApe Banned Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 4,643	always someone who has to ruin the fun for everyone........
StankApe Banned Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 4,643

12th April 2013, 01:06 PM	#28
The Norseman I Void Warranties Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Treasure Valley Posts: 3,297	Originally Posted by Pup Unfortunately, these are Amish, not Quakers. (Hint: they speak a German-based dialect to each other, not an Elizabethan-English-based dialect.) German has the formal and informal voice just as English once had which is why I went that way. But, still DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE, MAN!
	__________________ "I have always thought that a wild animal never looks so well as when some obstacle of pronounced durability is between us." "Sticking the flounce is the hardest move in forum gymnastics." -tsig

12th April 2013, 01:25 PM	#29
Baffled Critical Thinker Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Transcona Posts: 314	Originally Posted by jasonpatterson This is local news for me, so I hear all about it. They're now claiming that being imprisoned apart from one another and outside of OH is cruel and unusual punishment. IIRC, Mullet Sr. got 15 years over this. Hair today, gone tomorrow. Maybe they'll get time off for good grooming.
	__________________ Wants to be a saint rather than a knight.

12th April 2013, 03:07 PM	#30
The Norseman I Void Warranties Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Treasure Valley Posts: 3,297	Originally Posted by Baffled Hair today, gone tomorrow. Maybe they'll get time off for good grooming. Don't you mean "good behairvor"?
	__________________ "I have always thought that a wild animal never looks so well as when some obstacle of pronounced durability is between us." "Sticking the flounce is the hardest move in forum gymnastics." -tsig

15th April 2013, 10:04 AM	#31
TimCallahan Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,211	Considering the hair-cutting and beatings, I was reminded of two passages from the end of the Book of Nehemiah, in which that priest took action against various Jews (emphasis added): Neh.13:23 - 25: In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab; and half their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but the language of each people. And I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your to their sons or take your daughter for your sons or for yourselves. Neh. 13:28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son in law of Sanballat, the Horonite; therefore I chased him from me.
TimCallahan Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,211