To drink or not to drink

that is absolutely correct. the difference is that in those societies wine is used as a COMPONENT of a dinner designed to interact with flavor from food, NOT as an intoxicant. when i lived in germany the legal age, i believe, was 16. but guess what? you never saw 16 year olds drinking it up in bars. they knew their place, and alcohol had no mystical taboo associated with it. do peope in europe drink to excess? of course, but generally it is associated with a specific celebration, not 'just because,' which is the american justification for wanton intoxication.

 

Just wondering at whome this is directed, and unless you know this person/'s on a personal level who are YOU to say what they believe and what to them is beneficial or a celebration?...
like when i see someone i havnt seen all year, i see it as a reason to celebrate just for the fact that i may not see them next year.

I have met quite a few people and grown to love them and then hear they were in an auto accident or something and never get the
chance to say goodby or lovin you or give em any hugs. We should not take life for granted
we should celebrate everyday as if it were our last because it could be!!!

now for the pros and conns

taken from

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol/SC00024

(Alcoholism),is a problem for a lot of people and is not beneficial or a reason for celebration as with any substance abuse...ie (salt,sugar,
fatty foods)
even too many Zu-zu's can cause problems. lol had to throw that in

As with anythng folks we have to take care of ourselvs and eachother..


puff puff pass...

 

Why don't them that don't like booze start their own gathering and just say no booze at our thing? Let them other ones have their A-camp and the whole shootin match but make something new that meets somewhere else. I guess you'd have to think of a new name. I don't know what.

 

woah yer way outta line there bro. whats worng with a buz?? some people like it and i know plenty FAMILY who drink so tone your judgements down a bit

 

How bout "Crazylegs Gathering"

 

I am of the frame of mind that we all need to remember that we are all family and in such we respect all others of the family. I will drink at a gathering, maybe, but it is in a way that will not offend other family or push my way on to them as it should be with anything. In cases and this is on both sides of the issue family need to be more tolerable and less bullheaded about there views. I do firmly believe that gatherings are a place for us to gather and share fellowship with our family and as with any family when members cause turmoil within the family it has to be dealt with accordingly. If people that want to drink or for that matter do drugs to the point that it causes turmoil within the family and that person or persons continue to do that then they have no respect for the family so why are they with family. Been to biker events that didn't have some of what i seen at rainbow...it is called respect for family and self. If all you think gatherings are just one big party then maybe those that think that ought to find a field, get as trashed as they can and have a good time without bothering others. Come on lets us show the world what love and fellowship is///
Blessing to you all and loving you

 

all this keep it low key stuff might work with a few hundred people, I dont see it working with 10's of thousands.... just my opinion

 

word. my thoughts exactly.

 

Keepin' it low key, or at A camp has worked very well for MANY years. It is just recently that things have begun to change. I'm talkin' Nationals here, it's harder to do at some regionals (some regionals actually have a BAD rep due to drinking, we've probably all heard those rumors...), and that's one reason why I don't usually go out of my way to attend regionals.
The harder the FS guys try to keep us "under control" and where "they" want us, the more accessable the site becomes and the easier it becomes to import alcohol...

 

less guud shit 2 get up on, dah more bad shit to get down vit.

 

i want to avoid drunks n explosives on july fourth [the tartuforical holiday of independence , whatever that means in a continent wide prison colony called the united states note that independence and united are oposing terms].....i like to celebrate the absolute fact that whatever systems of hierarchy and domination exist we are interdependent......i have no probs with a camp ....i rarely go there .....if rainbow gatherings turn up as having fireworks n booze .....i aint going !!!

 

We counseled about drinking at Rainbowland. It isn't Rainbow to go against the consences that our brothers and sisters counseled on.

 

I keep my flask in my pack!!

 

the secret compartment of my ring , i fill , with a underdog super energy pill

 

hi everyone..

has anyone here read tom robbin's books. they're the ultimate freethinking, postmodern, and well, hippie books ever..

 

Precisely. If a lot of people plan on being drunk around the main circle, I'd just rather not go even though it'd be easy this year. I'd love to take my boyfriend and let him see how wonderful it is to meet like-minded spirits, but neither of us will be much fun if the gathering becomes drinking focused.

 

Anyone who knew Luke knows a keg at Main Circle on the 4th was no fitting tribute to his memory. Luke was Family all the way and Family does not drink in church. Ever, let alone on the 4th at Main Circle. A beer at the RV is quite another matter.

This discussion should be about AGRO drunkenness, not drinking in general. Personally, I don't give a f*** what you put your body....until you start spreading AGRO energy and justifying it by pretending that only the drunks "do anything" and everyone else is just a "high holy" sitting in council "telling people what to do."

Council is the only time "we" exist as "us." And it's become all too rare. Council is where "we" decide how to do things together for the common good. It's the foundation upon which the Family is built. Without council, it's just a hippie campout in the woods.

Rainbow is about peace, love, and most of all, RESPECT. Get with the program or do something else....whether you drink or not.

 

If alcohol were freely allowed at the Gathering, it would be nothing more than a big drunken party in the woods. That's just how people are, at least in the United States. There is really no way around this, and I think the A-Camp system is the best possible compromise.

I drink frequently, but moderately, when I'm living in the city. At my first Gathering, I had a bottle of wine stashed in my pack that I brought out one night to sip on and share around the fire. A sister came up to me and told me that, by longtime consensus of the Family, there was no alcohol allowed inside the Gathering proper. I hadn't known about that, but once she told me, I realized it should have been obvious, because of all the hippies and bohemian types present, not a single one of them was drunk. If alcohol had been allowed, most of them would have probably had beers in hand, and a lot of them would have been obviously intoxicated. In fact, the absence of alcohol was a HUGE reason why the atmosphere of the Gathering was so healthy, positive, and pleasant.

Gatherings are places of special purpose and intent. I know that many of our brothers and sisters "CAN'T" abstain from the pleasure of alcohol, but that's what A-camp is for! Why can't the rest of us make the Gathering a time to at least take a break from alcohol. It really is good for the mind and spirit. I feel that the magic of the gatherings would be lost if alcohol energy had free reign.

 

I love you ALL! ...and I love the Long Trail IPA I'm currently enjoying...just sayin'. I think most "drunks" are obnoxious and shouldn't be allowed into sacred ground, but I also feel that if approached sacramentally my hops are far from harmful. Don't get sloshed, at a gathering or otherwise, just enjoy and avoid gluttony. Ultimately however, council decides. And what is concensus, is my path...I can always enjoy the juice of the barley before/after entering sacred space.

 

When we gather be it at a regional or the national our numbers often are larger than the local towns. As Luke said at the last Ocala Gathering council, every town has it's drunks/alcoholics& social drinkers. In every town there's a bar for them to go to and hang out. If we are true Rainbow brother and sisters then we accecpt everyone. Don't fight about, bitch about or complain about it. Build a bar for those who wish to drink and "GATHER" socially, pitch horse shoes or pic a guitar (no drums allowed)).It works and we've proved it. So come eat some meat and drink a beer this year in Ocala with us at THE RAVEN's NEST/A-Camp...