The latest episode of Breaking Amish slides still deeper into what appears to be TLC’s bottomless pit of depravity. This episode is all about sex and they start off by accusing Amish everywhere of being perverts and happily engaging in bestiality. It is starting to look like TLC has some kind of vendetta against the Amish as episode after episode portrays the Amish as being pure evil.
First of all, do Amish men f*** animals? Unfortunately, it has happened. I know of two cases in which an Amish man allegedly (I believe it given the evidence I was presented with at the time) had sex with or attempted to have sex with farm animals. Is it common or widespread like the cast of Breaking Amish would have you believe? I don’t think so.
We see more fake dating by Abe and Rebecca (I say “fake” because they’ve been a couple for a long time and apparently even have a child. Rebecca was apparently married to another guy when she ran off with Abe. Rebecca and the other guy divorced in July of 2012. Apparently there is no limit to how low TLC will stoop when doing a “reality” show.
Jeremiah’s sexism reaches even more appalling lows in this episode as he calls a bunch of women “bitches”, visits a strip club and questions Abe’s masculinity for refusing to be there, and is adamant that women have to do all the laundry and other household chores. Jeremiah is a chauvinist pig. I cannot stress enough that Jeremiah is evil on his own–that kind of evil is not representative of Amish men in general.
In the latest episode of Breaking Amish, we see more melodrama as people cry, people make allegations, people get indignant, people fight (literally), people lie, people whine and complain, etc. These melodrama techniques are unfortunately, pretty common in today’s “reality” television programming which is why I almost never watch reality television. I just find it sickening to watch this kind of brain-rotting crap in which attention-seeking imbeciles engage in ridiculous antics intended to hold the attention of the morons of society so that they will eventually buy useless shit they don’t need and make morally bankrupt people a little more money (yes I know that I just insulted most people). Nevertheless, given my knowledge of the Amish, I feel morally compelled to continue watching in order to give my opinion so that people not so knowledgeable about the Amish aren’t completely deceived.
X Amish Atheist 
You can find the comment on the link below that Rebecca’s ex-husband made in 2010 regarding abe schmucker.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/rufus.hostetler?fref=ts
Rufus Hostetler
October 30, 2010 via mobile.
I am tryn 2 figure out why in th world abe schmucker wud want to b a friend on face book afterall he left wht my wife
All the power to you for watching it… I cannot bear it. I know enough about it from the “backstory” to know that I can pretty safely keep saying that this is not “reality” and that they may as well have hired actors and actresses to play these parts. I refuse to give this stupid show any more attention than that. They say negative publicity is better than none. I’d rather give them none.
Saloma
You bring up an interesting question of ethics. If a large corporation that profits from attention, is lying in order to gain that attention, which course of action is the most ethical: 1) Do nothing, or 2) Speak out against the corporation and expose their lies, but increase the attention they get and their profit in the process? Or is that a false dichotomy? Journalists must come across this dilemma every now and then. I wonder what they would say…
I think that if my original intent was to punish TLC, then it looks like I have failed (if negative publicity is better than none). If however, my intent was to increase the number of people and the percentage of viewers who know that Breaking Amish is being deceptive, then perhaps I have not failed. Even if these people are still watching the show, at least they know that it can’t be trusted as truth.
As far as I know, I was the first to bring forth evidence of the deceptions (by Breaking Amish) and I heavily promoted my pages in an attempt to get the news to go national (and it worked). So, if this negative publicity positively affects TLC’s bottom line, or in some way increases the number of people that watch the show without proportionally increasing the number that realize it’s fake, then I am definitely culpable and will have utterly failed in my attempt to make a positive difference.
You haven’t failed X, your comments and observations have all been spot on, but I think you sell yourself short… your blog has been mentioned in British papers.
Thanks lunylive!
Your posts have been mentioned (several times) in the British newspapers.
And I think it’s important that people know the truth. The Amish culture (other than TLC version) is fascinating and not known to the most, so it can easily be interesting. How bad that TLC decided to keep the fantasy version running…
(Then again, which supposed reality TV would be pure and honest? I can’t believe that all these auction shows would have random art and jewelry worth thousands in abandoned lockers).
I like knowing the truth. Not only about that one show, but also about other cultures etc.
Have you considered doing a reddit IAmA?
A Reddit IAmA sounds look a good idea. Someday, when I have more time maybe 🙂
Your synopsis of reality television is right on point! The whole bestiality part of this episode was just beyond the pale that even one of the cast members (Kate) was totally uncomfortable with it. I don’t see how TLC can stoop any lower.
I agree, Episode 5 was an all time low. Bestiality was definitely odd dinner conversation as was Jeremiah’s comment about the Amish man doing his wife hours after she gave birth in a hospital. He made it sound like Amish men are a bunch of oversexed cretins.
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X, do Amish women have hospital births? I thought they would be having home births with midwives attending, or does it just depend on the woman or community? So many questions, so few answers from this show!
Some Amish women do hospital births and some do home births with the help of midwives. I’m not aware of any Amish community that doesn’t allow hospital births so I would say it just depends on the woman or family. I was born in a hospital but I know that a lot of Amish women prefer home births.
I think in the end the entire fiasco that is Breaking Amish (or as I’ve seen it Faking Amish) with all its lies will do more harm than good to TLC. I’ve said it before, TLC is out to exploit the lurid, and Episode 5 was all that and more: Jeremiah going to a strip club (where the heck did he get the money for lap dances by three women), his obvious sexist views that women are less than men (“Bros before hoes,” the comments in the laundry, his comments to the driver license tester [I would have failed him immediately just on principle]), Kate’s drinking and bikini shopping, all three women getting Brazilians (Sabrina: “Don’t you get tired of looking at vaginas all day?”).
I will continue to watch to see whatever baloney TLC throws at its viewers, although I have to admit, I almost turned this episode off halfway through.
Read the previews for tonight’s episode. Looks like more sex is on the menu!
I really love reading your blogs about the Amish. I love and respect the Amish culture.
I knew that something felt fake about this show from the beginning, especially how disrespectful and nasty they were towards the Amish faith; they went overboard.
I learned more reading your blogs than I do by books and tv shows, and love how you still respect and defend the faith.
Do you know of any updates on the “devil’s playground” documentary?
Did all who returned to the church stay(Joann, etc) and vs?
I hope you keep continuing your work on your blog.
Thanks for these posts. It gives some dignity back to the community. I’ve been astonished at the swearing and ugly attitudes. Also, the money splashed around? That was weird. I now see the people on TV as just trying to be paid, and creating a persona. At least, I hope so, on their part.
I’ve really enjoyed your blog.
Take care –
I watched the sixth episode this afternoon and it is my last. I have an interest in religious cult like groups and the outcomes of people who leave them. However, this show does nothing but perpetuate the myth that when people leave this sort of religious community the only direction they are going is down hill.
A commonality that all strict religious communities has is the warning they give to their young people that they will become the sort of people this show puts forward. And this can become a self fulfilling prophecy.
Young people leaving this group or other groups NEED POSITIVE ROLE MODELS in the media, this show certainly does not empower young people leaving.
I’d love to find a website that chronicles the lives of EX Amish who leave and become positive members of mainstream society not the marginalized trash that this show depicts.
Continue to report on TLC’s show, however. It is my hope that people will start to recognize their current programming trend and stop watching them. Perhaps then they will get back to the tenets of their name and we all might learn something from them in the future.
I know a lot of ex-Amish and most of them are positive members of society. Someone should profile a few of them.
I left the Amish a few years ago to explore what the world had to offer. I have since become a Canadian Citizen and I have never looked back.
It was so bad in my community that I fled the country. I will never return to The United States. There were a many men in my old community that had been sexual with animals. They ripped all my teeth out just like Rebecca’s. The Amish are barbaric people and I wish nothing for those people. I wish NOT PRAY for bad things to happen to the bad Amish people. My community was a lot like what is portrayed in this show.
Dear xamish, been watching breaking amish, and questioned truth about the show. Thanks for you insight. I agree I have not liked how they have portrayed the amish community. They are not all dumb “sheep” humpers. Society loves to place people in “boxes” and “groups”. Because we hear of one group of people within a group doming something radical that right away means the whole group is the same….I hate this. Not all Amish folks f#*k their sheep, not all Christain kill abortion doctors, or beat people with their bibles, Not all Muslims run airplanes into buildings.. you get my point. Maybe Rebecca’s did have all her teeth pulled by a uneducated dentist…I don’t know, but if she did I can’t assume that every Amish community is the same. If that was the case, then I guess as a Christian I sound be standing on the corner waving my Bible at you, telling you your going to hell. Ps….pit bulls kill people…. 😉
I hate auto correct….. :p
Apparently there is some truth to this. A former Amish boy from my hometown was arrested for having sex with a horse. I honestly feel terrible for him because his family was abusive, however I do not know to what extent, and he doesn’t have formal education- certainly has no sex education. He’s a good kid but lacks any social skills that he could have gained in high school and no real friends to talk to. It saddens me because this will tarnish his reputation for the rest of his life, no matter what he can accomplish.
Here’s the police report: http://www.meadvilletribune.com/news/local_news/local-man-charged-with-allegedly-having-sexual-intercourse-with-female/article_72f1e1b6-6b47-5dd0-b115-a953e02c97b0.html