RNS Clips: Amish Cope With Tragedy Under Glare of Cameras

The Ventura County Star has Tom Feeney’s story out of Nickle Mines, Pa., on how the Amish are coping with the media spotlight following the killing of five girls at an Amish schoolhouse. From the story: As difficult as it might be for the camera-shy Amish to have to stare down dozens of cameras at […]

The Ventura County Star has Tom Feeney’s story out of Nickle Mines, Pa., on how the Amish are coping with the media spotlight following the killing of five girls at an Amish schoolhouse.

From the story:

As difficult as it might be for the camera-shy Amish to have to stare down dozens of cameras at their darkest hour, they may be better equipped culturally and religiously than other communities to deal with the mayhem Charles Carl Roberts IV sowed in one of their one-room schoolhouses.

One thing that works in their favor is a long history of coming to the aid of families in need,

said Donald Kraybill, a sociology professor at Elizabethtown College and an expert on the Lancaster Amish.

Another is their huge support system. The average Lancaster County Amishman has between 75 and 80 cousins, most of whom live very close by, Kraybill said. “They will just surround them with love and care,” he said.

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