Re: Electric bicycles, social policy & culture

On Thu, 10 Apr 2025 12:40:59 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

On 4/10/2025 12:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/are-e-bikes-a-godsend-or-the-road-to-
perdition-an-amish-community-is-torn/ar-AA1CAple

>
A couple remarks:
>
Last night, after playing tunes with some acquaintances up north, we
drove home after dark through an Amish area. I saw more ebikes than I
normally see, but I can't say for sure that the riders were Amish. But
at least in that area, Amish buggies now have headlights as powerful as
those on cars. I assume this is partly due to LED technology. Many Amish
households in that area have solar panels, useful for charging batteries
and other things.
>
And regarding "in that area": I've been told that unlike many other
churches with well defined "top down" authority structures, the
practices of the Amish vary parish by parish or bishop by bishop. Way
back when we did our first bike tour across Pennsylvania, a farmer at an
Appalachian campground said some Amish in that area were allowed to
drive cars, because the grades were too much for horses and wagons; but
that the chrome on the car had to be painted black.
>
Holmes County, Ohio is quite hilly. We did a weekend there, riding
tandems with our best friends. One little side road marked the first
time we ever had to dismount and walk a hill despite our tandem's low
gearing. I can see why the Amish there would be motivated to accept
electric assist.
>
Finally, while I'll never be Amish, I can admire that a culture has
priorities other than "How much shit can we buy before we die?"
Community is very important to the Amish, and community is a good thing.

Community can be a good thing, but whether or not it is depends a lot
on the community.
https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/new-sanctioned-encampments-just-one-step-in-helping-people-experiencing-homelessness/

It also depends a lot upon how much control the "community" has over
it's members.

https://www.condocontrol.com/condo-association-guide/rules-and-regulations/https://www.condocontrol.com/condo-association-guide/rules-and-regulations/

--
C'est bon
Soloman