NERF - is it still alive? Anyone else Rainbow in the New England area?

Just cooling off in swimming holes, feeding my rabbits, picking blackberries and scraping all the frosting off what's left of summer here in So. Vt. ...and wondering if there are any rainbowers in the near vicinity. I'd love to hear from you.

 

im from new england nothern rhode island. some day i want to move up north like vermont or new hampshire. what is the rainbowers any way?

 

Um, Rainbow Family of Living Light. I believe there is a description of the family at the beginning of this heading. Where in Rhode Island? I've got a cousin down that way.

 

woe read up on it and sounds realy cool. Im from glendale rhode island in burrillville. glendale is near pascoge and burrillville is near north smithfeild and woonsoket. im pritty much in the nothern stix of rhode island. So where dose you cosin live?

 

I live in Shelburne, VT, near Burlington and just returned from the Quebec Rainbow Gathering. It was two of the most wonderful, magical weeks I've ever spent. Given that my partner of 20 years is Quebecois (We met at the 1985 U.S. national in Missouri), the Quebec gathering served to deepen my love for that Quebecois joie de vivre.

The gatherings in Canada are a far cry from the ones in the States: NO A-CAMPERS -- a huge relief to me. The last Vermont regional gathering I attended in 1998 was dominated by both hard-core boozers and dopers (And I don't mean ganga and mushrooms, either; I mean the hard stuff: heroin, cocaine, meth).

I got so disgusted that I didn't even bother to unpack my gear; I walked back to my car and drove home. If all I wanted to do was to get wasted, I could have gone to any bar in downtown Burlington to do that. And I wasn't willing to put up with the openly hostile and aggressive behavior and attitudes of the A-campers under the influence.

Alcoholism is a serious issue for me personally: I lost my mother to it. When she died in 1972, her blood-alcohol content was a fatal 4.5. As an ACA, I know all too well how alcholism destroys lives.

And the American Rainbows wonder why they're getting so much shit from The Man? I refuse to attend any Rainbow Gathering in the U.S. as long as the Rainbow councils remain unwilling to do anything about what I consider to be a plague on the U.S. gatherings.

For this reason, I've washed my hands of NERF.

-- Skeeter

 

Skeeter, That's a horrible description of a regional you give. I'm glad I didn't see that. It's true, the last few (regionals) I attended had nobody taking to task the people who's negative behaviors were the antithesis to what I'd come to expect at Rainbow's of the past. The first time I saw people walking around with cameras at a regional (Red Mill Brook, Woodford Vt.) I attempted to fill them in - but it was like trying to walk upstream - they didn't know that they weren't supposed to have them there and - once told - didn't care. The first national I attended, Watersmeet - all this stuff; protecting the water, protecting kid village, even the fire watch - was really well taken care of.
I'm sorry that I couldn't get up to Canada for that regional, it sounded nice, but work - ya' know
I read somewhere about a local thing in the National Forest down this way last summer, and so attempted to check it out. Not one person had walked up in where it was reputed to be - but on the way out I met a band from up your way - the Jug Town Pirates - and enjoyed myself the rest of the eve.
Zenmunchie, I believe my cuz is in Woonsocket right now.

 

oh kool, woonsoket is a rocks throw away from where i live. I used to live there as a todeler.
so where and when are these rainbow meenings. they sound realy kool. exept for the ocasional people who say theres vilolence. but the majority say the oposet. so i guess the people that have bad exsperienses are eather in the wrong place or not the right time.

 

N.E.R.F. is definitely ALIVE & WELL! Though we are scattered all over New York and New England, we still come together for councils, potlucks, Nationals and Regionals. Try calling the N.E.R.F. lightline at (845) 774-4100 for info on happenings.

Despite the recent post about a bad regional scene, I don't think it's an accurate view of all of our N.E.R.F. sisters and brothers. I ran into a similar scene at the 2000 Colorado summer regional. Some bad vibes, yes, but not caused by everybody. The majority of us are kind and peaceful folks just trying to help each other along on our journey through life. We are truly dedicated to all of our brothers and sisters and our Mother Earth. When we gather on the Land, we manifest a very tight kitchen to feed the masses...good and wholesome food made with love. And as far as alcohol and the hardcore things that some people do, that's all left in Babylon (this is just and opinion based on observation, though naturally the opposite may sometimes be true).

Ok, time to get off the proverbial "soap box". I hope this info helps. WE LOVE YOU!!!

 

That may be true, but until the so-called "majority" of NERF Rainbows finally takes a stand and does something about the alkied-up and strung-out A-Camp "Drainbows" in their midst, I'm not going to attend any Rainbow Gatherings in New England -- or, for that matter, anywhere else in the U.S. -- at any time in the future.

To say that aclcohol and hardcore drugs are "left in Babylon" is to be in denial of reality; they ARE a plague on Rainbowland that's threatening to destroy it.

The longer the "majority" of Rainbows in the U.S. do nothing about this problem, the longer the whole Family in this country will continue to get harassed by The Man and treated like shit by everybody else.

-- Skeeter