Update on Gathering Situation

Well Said! I have made the arguement for gathering on private lands in a previous post. It would eliminate the need to worry about the permit issues, for one. Moreover, I'm coming to the conclusion that gathering on public lands is only opening us up to harassment from the authorities. This is not to say that we'll be completely immune from law-enfrocement harassment while on private land, but it will be much less likely. Several folks have posted in this section inviting rainbows and others to gather on their properties. Let's take them up on it! It's time to support those in our own community.

I'm in complete agreement with your idea of purchasing land for permanent gathering spots. If you were to ask me, I think that government owned properties would make good acquisitions, but that's another discussion! I think, though that we should still try to meet in the US if at all possible.

 

Very interesting observation. we tend to see the FS as the government entity which is forced into the role of regulation enforcement but kind rangers slowly become individuals and are Rainbows in their own right.

 

just 2 quick notes, 1 on the fs, & 1 on the land issue (for gathering info see my notes in the just back from gathering thread)
at 1 gathering i saw a fs ranger come back in plain clothes with his family..& even saw him walking down the trail naked..maybe noone but me even noticed cause when he was in uniform they only saw the uniform not the brother wearring it
also i met regular police officers who had worked 1 gathering & told me they couldnt wait to go to one out of uniform & truly get to experience it..they really are just like us they just havea tough job to do..& like most jobs sometimes they have to do things they may not agree with..ofcourse some individual bellies might be more openminded & loving then others & some may be true assholes.. but theres only 1 way to tell the difference..approach with love..if you get all agro & aproach them as an enemy..naturaly thats what u will get back..every time..but if u approavch with a smile & love..you can see in theyre eyes & in theyre hearts who the real assholesare & who the brothers & sisters doing a shitty job are
when you see the fs people rip the fs patch right off theyre uniform & trade it for a bead..you know theyre a true rainbow at heart

oik..land issue:
private land...this is how most countries do it cause they have no real public land..however..every single bump or bruise or broken bone represents a possible law suite for the land owner..dont forget this isstill america..not to mention if there isadeath then there would be a huge investigation..& possibly even the land owner would be held responcible simply for the favct that they alloweed the gathering to take place but more importantly, if we did give up our right to peacefully assemble on public lands isnt that just like saying go ahead & trash the constitution?

owned "rainbow land" this is the dream of many..a permenant gathering site..i too share the dream..however i foresee some possible problems, & only 1 possible real sollution
rainbow is constantly growing exponentialy..every year 1/2 or even 2/3 of the gathereers are 1st timers..we are slowly gaining recognition as a true nation...a nation withoput borders or leaders
imagine if we had 1 & only 1 permenant rainbow site..& it grew daily people from all over the world flooding in creatting acity of possble millions..& we acted as a true nation within the borders of america..you know exactly what will happen..we'd be declared a terrorist state bent on thedestruction of the great democracy & enemies of freedom..& evil doers..& we'd be bombed out of existance..the end..ok i thought of asecond possible sollution while writting this..so here it is...
so what are we to do? i say continue as is gathering on public lands..which should never end.. but also have some mommentum towards permenancy for those who are less nomadic
2sollutions are many smaller permenant spots maybe for 1-5 thousand each
15-20 of them scattered throughout the country
or..if its at even possible..an island in international waters outside the jurisdiction of any other country (anyone know anything about the floating man made reed islands made by some south american tribes?)
odviosly the many smaller farms & gathering spaces are easier to work out..but then you need to ask..whos land is it? someone must own the land on paper right? rainbow cant own land since rainbow really only exists in our hearts
it may be nice to have permenant places we arealwayswelcome..but for now our strength & beauty is in the fact that we truly are everywhere all the time, & have no pre defined borders
you put rainbows inside a permenant rainbowland & wont you lose the everybelly feel? everyone outside the box will be them..& we will be us...no better then any other nation with borders
having no true home except the home in our hearts allows us to see the world as 1 whole..we are all one people..the ceo of mcdonnalds has a bellybutton too..so does the brother in iraq staring down the barrel of a gun at another brother with a bellybutton & another gun staring back.. we wake up 1 belly at a time & sometimes it takes dropping a gathering in someones back yard to wake em up
thats why i feel the gathering should always be mobile, & continue spreading throughout the world

 

OK, we're back. Been to the cranberry for a week. All the bickering, arguing, bad attitudes about the site, the permit, the cops, it's all just a silly soap opera. The cops only were hassling those who seemed to be needing hassled. We drove to town nearly every day, and were never pulled over, or harassed in any way. We never saw so much as a FS person pass by our camp. In fact, the state police showed up to have horseshoe tournaments with the hippys up by A-camp. The site worked well, aside from no swimming hole, and a shortage of parking. Maybe just a bit overly accessable because of the FS roads, which led to more alcohol consumption, but it also made things a little easier for supplies, handicapped, etc. A much bigger problem was that the majority folks were first timers and didn't seem to have an awareness of just how things are supposed to work. This led to there being more alcohol consumed openly than I've ever seen, and apparently not enough of us to put a stop to it. People we spoke to who had been to Elkins site said it wasn't a bit better than the Cranberry site except for swimming, and yes there were environmental concerns there. I met the guy who signed the permit for Cranberry. A very intelligent, sane, and pleasant brother who had his feet planted firmly on the ground. And one of the hardest workers I met the whole time I was there. He did not appear to have been ostracised, but rather he seemed to be quite indespensible. The type of soul who makes the gathering work. People are far too quick to judge situations before they know the facts.
For all those who didn't come simply due to fear of cops or politics, well, too bad for you. You totally limited yourselves by having such paranoid, antisocial attitudes. The real problems were these: There were FAR TOO MANY DOGS!!! The smell of shit was strong along some trails, but it was human shit too. Shitters never seem to be well enough marked. The excessive alcohol consumption around the perimiters led to some fights, mostly guys beating up their girlfriends, and very few people stepped in to stop things, again, too many first timers. Most folks who camped farther in probably didn't notice.... All in all, a pretty typical gathering, aside from the lack of knowledge of "Rainbow etiquet". So, as far as I see it, all the shit stirers, propaganda spreaders, and know-it-alls just made great big fools out of themselves. HAH! Ain't gonna say I told ya so, but...

 

OK, we're back. Been to the cranberry for a week. All the bickering, arguing, bad attitudes about the site, the permit, the cops, it's all just a silly soap opera. The cops only were hassling those who seemed to be needing hassled. We drove to town nearly every day, and were never pulled over, or harassed in any way. We never saw so much as a FS person pass by our camp. In fact, the state police showed up to have horseshoe tournaments with the hippys up by A-camp. The site worked well, aside from no swimming hole, and a shortage of parking. Maybe just a bit overly accessable because of the FS roads, which led to more alcohol consumption, but it also made things a little easier for supplies, handicapped, etc. A much bigger problem was that the majority folks were first timers and didn't seem to have an awareness of just how things are supposed to work. This led to there being more alcohol consumed openly than I've ever seen, and apparently not enough of us to put a stop to it. People we spoke to who had been to Elkins site said it wasn't a bit better than the Cranberry site except for swimming, and yes there were environmental concerns there. I met the guy who signed the permit for Cranberry. A very intelligent, sane, and pleasant brother who had his feet planted firmly on the ground. And one of the hardest workers I met the whole time I was there. He did not appear to have been ostracised, but rather he seemed to be quite indespensible. The type of soul who makes the gathering work. People are far too quick to judge situations before they know the facts.
For all those who didn't come simply due to fear of cops or politics, well, too bad for you. You totally limited yourselves by having such paranoid, antisocial attitudes. The real problems were these: There were FAR TOO MANY DOGS!!! The smell of shit was strong along some trails, but it was human shit too. Shitters never seem to be well enough marked. The excessive alcohol consumption around the perimiters led to some fights, mostly guys beating up their girlfriends, and very few people stepped in to stop things, again, too many first timers. Most folks who camped farther in probably didn't notice.... All in all, a pretty typical gathering, aside from the lack of knowledge of "Rainbow etiquet". So, as far as I see it, all the shit stirers, propaganda spreaders, and know-it-alls just made great big fools out of themselves. HAH! Ain't gonna say I told ya so, but...

 

OK, we're back. Been to the cranberry for a week. All the bickering, arguing, bad attitudes about the site, the permit, the cops, it's all just a silly soap opera. The cops only were hassling those who would normally be hassled anyhow due to moving violations, irratic driving, or looking suspicious in some way. We drove to town nearly every day, and were never pulled over, or harassed in any way. We never saw so much as a FS person pass by our camp. In fact, the state police showed up to have horseshoe tournaments with the hippys up by A-camp. The site worked well, aside from no swimming hole, and a shortage of parking. Maybe just a bit overly accessable because of the FS roads, which led to more alcohol consumption, but it also made things a little easier for supplies, handicapped, etc. A much bigger problem was that the majority folks were first timers and didn't seem to have an awareness of just how things are supposed to work. This led to there being more alcohol consumed openly than I've ever seen, and apparently not enough of us to put a stop to it. People we spoke to who had been to Elkins site said it wasn't a bit better than the Cranberry site except for swimming, and yes there were environmental concerns there. I met the guy who signed the permit for Cranberry. A very intelligent, sane, and pleasant brother who had his feet planted firmly on the ground. And one of the hardest workers I met the whole time I was there. He did not appear to have been ostracised, but rather he seemed to be quite indespensible. The type of soul who makes the gathering work. People are far too quick to judge situations before they know the facts.
For all those who didn't come simply due to fear of cops or politics, well, too bad for you. You totally limited yourselves by having such paranoid, antisocial attitudes. The real problems were these: There were FAR TOO MANY DOGS!!! The smell of shit was strong along some trails, but it was human shit too. Shitters never seem to be well enough marked. The excessive alcohol consumption around the perimiters led to some fights, mostly guys beating up their girlfriends, and very few people stepped in to stop things, again, too many first timers. Most folks who camped farther in probably didn't notice.... All in all, a pretty typical gathering, aside from the lack of knowledge of "Rainbow etiquet". So, as far as I see it, all the shit stirers, propaganda spreaders, and know-it-alls just made great big fools out of themselves. HAH! Ain't gonna say I told ya so, but...

 

Woah, I don't know how that happened!!!!! Think my computer is suffering rainbow burnout...

 

lol it wasa server fart..it did it to me too
yea i agree the main thing this gathering was lacking was some of the elders who traditionaly spread theyre wisdom..
however although your point about the 1st timers is very valid as far as the alcahol & ettiquete goes, i saw many of the 1st timers including 1 young freind of mine who jumped right in with open hearts & worked theyre asses off
i didnt meet the permit signer personaly that i know of..i just was passing on what i was told by a trusted freind at the court vigil as i was leaving
i got the impression she knew him & she had said he had been clean a month, & went there hoping it would help him..but anyway..she could have just been so pissed about a permit being signed since shes fought so hard on this issue while others just sought to find ways to either give in or hide from the issuealltogether (private land.or whatever) she may have exagerated

 

Yeah, soaringeagle, you're right, not all the FS is on the Dark Side. My perceptions are indeed colored by being gassed, clubbed, rousted, patted down whilst walking down the street minding my own business, and so on. Just keep in mind, if push comes to shove and the orders come down, who signs their paychecks. I've meet some great cop types, and I've met some nazis. There ya go.

As far as the land thing goes, a charitable trust can own the property for the use of anyone who wishes to do so. There are ways to accomplish things so as to limit liability. No reason at all to have any property in any person's name.

Regarding earthmother's complaint about excessive alcohol use, that's sad. I can remember when we hippie types used to trip and smoke dope as well. Kinda makes one not like to imbibe too much alcohol if one is engaged in the "Destruction of the Planet Saturn" (now where'd THAT come from? Any guesses?).

Psychedelically yours.

 

I don't think it was the first timers that were the problem...at least not near where I was camped. It seemed to be the LOCALS that were the problem. I had three groups of locals that came and camped random nights who threw beer cans all over the place and were loud and obnoxious.

And yes, shitters weren't marked very well. Joe and I wouldn't have even known there was a shitter near us if we hadn't stumbled upon it while looking for a campsite when we first got there. It never was marked and the only way to get to it was hoping you didn't trip over the frickin tripwire that was there...

Yes, the trails did stink and I DO think it had to do with the dogs...

 

i never smelt a thing,, course we have a farm.. an im a dirty hippie..

didnt see but on group of agro "LOCALS",, an they definetley wernt campin,, just wanderin an drinkin,, they had there kuzies tho,,, creeped me out,, than young buck wandered by an poked me in the ribs about 27 times (lovingly) an rambled somethin about dont sweat it remember the "warriors of the rainbow",,, then it poored down rain an im sure them rednecks got soaked goin back to there trucks,...

As far as marked shitters...,,, Next time tote a trench shovel an dig yer fuckin own,, just cover it up when ya leave an make sure its 150 foot from water.....

 

HAHA, HHB...my neighbor dug one about ten feet from his site and then someone came and camped right next to it...I hear my "neighbor" yell "Hey, don't walk behind your tent, there's a shitter right there!"

It was kinda funny.

 

i could see that from lazy folks who didnt want nor care about privacy,, or "sanitary conditions"..
Oxymoron..

 

actualy before ya go diggin personal shitters ya should chdeck wiith someone whos experienced..no matter how far from the water..cause if the ground composition isnt right the shit can flow straight into the water table 1st time it rains.
i did see some drinkin on site but generaly it was semi respectful (in a cup or other container so it wasnt odvios)

 

i agree with the protocal of the gatherin when it comes to shitters,, but you know as well as i many dont even know theres a protocal..

my advice fer a shitter,, that the non "protocal experienced" type folk would wanna take upon themselves to dig would be,, if ya can see water,, if ya can see a drainage that water would flow down,, if ya can see tents,, ya should walk another 100 yards away..

After all whats a shit if it cant be enjoyed in private???