...but War is interested in you.

The death toll is now at 5 from the shooting at the Amish school in Pennsylvania. I lived for six years in the heart of Amish country while going to grad school. When I took the back roads I learned to watch out for "Amish rush hour", Sunday afternoon when meeting was over. I suppose you could call them religious fundamentalists but they show the world how to do it nicely. I never detected any hostility to me, very fond of machines and technology. I received many cheerful waves from small children in the backs of those buggies. I quickly learned that stopping at the little stands selling *really* home-made bread and pies was a Good Idea.

It's true the killer was a local. Who knows for sure why he picked that school to act out the sickness in his head. I can't help but wonder, though, if he knew--that no-one would fight back, or know how to fight. That there would be no telephone to call for help. (Those who escaped had to run to a neighboring farm to call 911). The impulses to pacifism may be noble, but the painful result is a belief in non-violence must be shared to work. The killer didn't share it, and five innocent, peaceful girls are dead. Let me be clear: I do not blame the Amish in any way. It just points out my contention that belief counts for nothing if in conflict with reality. They were not interested in War, but War was interested in them.