Toward a Healthier Trade Circle

AH, sitting in trade circle on a nice sunny afternoon. Up in the Seirra Nevada'a kickin it with the kids. Over here a librarian trades away books for stories, I heard some great ones. This guy has some cool rocks and fossils, where did they come from? Wow we relived some great memories there. This guy has food, how shwag, so we pass him by. I sit with the people, it's great to swap stories and to see each other again. It's fun to bless the children, to give them a story, or a trinket, and see thier little faces shine with excitement.
I know it is a little too exciting for some, thats not why they came into the woods in the first place. But it is an important and fun part of the gathering for others. It's my chance to meet up wit people. Not all traders are blissninies, or walmart. There is lots of beautiful items. Some of my most special and meaningful stuff came from gatherings.
There are good traders out there, as mentioned. People giving things away, people helping out. It does get out of control sometimes, but I'm not sure what is the best way to go about changing that other than trying to set a good example. As I have heard that mentioned already a few times on this thread. Yelling at people and demanding is not usually a good way to go. So lets all deep setting a good example and not trade with those we find offensive, but kindly suggest ideas toward a better vibe.

 

I have confronted the trade circle head on before. In michigan ('02?).
We were saving one small meadow for main circle, the traders said that's too bad we are here now. We said counsel was here first, they said too bad this is a rainbow gatherng and we can do what we want.
There was dog shit all over the ground and the traders wouldn't even pick it up (that's not my dogs shit, my dog shits in the woods). They didn't have a compost or garbage, but were trading food, and compost and trash were everywhere.
They wanted to trade all night, since the trade circle was accessable that year to locals driving in with more beer, candy, and cigs. They built a fire so thier customers could keep warm while they traded by flashlight, but they had no shovel, bucket or water. Everybody said 'thats not my fire' but they kept getting wood for it night after night. I asked around and got them a shovel and bucket. They watered thier dogs with it, lost the shovel (or traded it), and never even smoked me out.
We got some old men together (6) and went to talk to them, and got the run around. We tried to call a shantisena, but there were more kids (chaos) acting stupid in the parking lot, and we ended up having to bandage some kids head, and put out a plastic fire.
They also didn't have a shitter so folks were shitting behind the bushes and leaving the paper on the ground (this happens every year in trade circle). When we mentioned this one fellow said he would put a crew together. That's when we found out they had 'lost' the shovel. The shitter never got dug.

If you don't believe me, go to a big trade circle at the nationals and ask for a work crew to set up a shitter and compost and recycling station for them. Go there at noon and watch most folks trail off to eat (in shifts so no customers are missed), then come straight back. Watch them as they do that everyday. Call a shanitsena and see that only the two folks with handmade stuff even get up.

The problem with trade circle is the same problem with A-camp and Lot. They have no circle/counsel. There is no peer value placed on counsel, just on capitalism. I am not talking about the few folks who trade a little and then go dig, i am talking about the majority who trade. The majority trades every day, and does little else.
This has to do with the feds and the permit and everything. The reason for the permit/cops is because the folks can't/won't do the right thing. I think the counsel should be considered our system of address, and if you don't have a circle then maybe THEY (non circlers) need cops.
Capitalist only respond to reward and punishment. If you pay them not to trade (profit) they will stop, but if they can still trade somewhere else without getting caught they will lie and do it, until they get caught and punished.

I am not talking about the few little blissninnies that want to give away cookies. Real traders don't come on these forums, because they don't really care about rainbow during the rest of the year.

It is a sin to profit at a rainbow gathering. #

 

You have a great way of putting words to things that I cannot begin to even think of how to describe.



Az

 

It takes me an hour or more to write a post like that. My wife loves me but sometimes she wonders why it matters that i type to a poor phucker who might not even be listening. But you know she knows love lovely love, love.

Are you coming to the colorado gathering this year?

 

I won't be coming down. When I have to cross the border, I always have to hike. Now that I have a child, my priorities have changed, and I do not feel comfortable making the hike like I used to. Getting caught and sitting in jail would not be too helpful for our family. Plus we just recently got my immigration application going again, and would not risk messing it up.

We will be at the Quebec gathering though and are eagerly awaiting it's arrival!

My other half and son will be shooting down to Maine to see David Grisman in a few months.

She used to want to go to a US gathering, maybe she will one day when it is back out this way!

Az

 

Hey Rastapatch, you know that trade circle isn't the only place with problems as far as shitters & fires are concerned, those are problems all over the Gathering. In MO'96, Krishna kitchen set up across the meadow from It's a Beautiful Day @ Popcorn Palace & they kept sending people over to use the shitters that our kitchen dug & to make matters worse the trade row by our kitchen was using the shitters our crew dug. Our '96 shitter digger crew deserved a f#%*ing medal for all the shitters they dug!!! In MT'00, a coffee kitchen set up 20ft from where our shitter was & refused to move when we told them that they were camped by a shitter that had been in use for a week or more. What about the crazy fires in AZ'97 during the burn ban?!?!

As far as A-camp goes, we've heard that things have changed drastically since our last Gathering...there used to be councils of a sort in A-camp...not your typical feather passing councils, mind you, but there was a form of respectful communication in A-camp & between A-camp & the Main Gathering.

Yeah Rainbow isn't a perfect utopia, but it's better than being in the middle of Babylon. The biggest thing we've learned from running a kitchen all those years is that the best lessons are the ones learned by following good examples....the running theme here, keep setting good examples.

A smile of a Rainbow note here...a young brother came up to us in MT and asked if he could be a part of the kitchen crew, after he shared sacrament with all in the circle and offered all a zuzu. Several days later, we asked the brother who had turned him on to Rainbow world. He said close friends had told him about Rainbow then added 'Yep, they said find a kitchen where you like the people and the vibe' He laughed and told us "They said that I should share sacrament with the crew and offer whatever help the kitchen needs." All we can say is we sure wish others showed up at their first Gathering with teachers such as this brother had! He was an excellent worker too!!

 

First let me add that i think there is more good than bad.

The reason focused on trade circle is that was the name of the thread, and i agree with what you said. I also believe that sometimes the attempt to let folks do whatever can lead to the blind leading the blind and the knowledgable being held hostage to fix it all later.
Not that i think there should be leaders and laws. I think folks should become more involved in sharing thier common sense earlier in the moment. And more folks should share thier opinion in 'calm groups'.
Sometimes One person cannot tell another person what to do, but a big enough group with enough calm sense can almost always talk sense into a folk.

That's my suggestion. PEER INTERACTION.

 

thank you for an excellent point papabear.
thank you all who have participated in our fair and loving exchanges.
off to flo 2morrow. see u all at home