The rainbow family is having a bigger and bigger struggle to gather in peace and harmony. Bad drugs have always been an issue, alcohol included, but there is a serious threat coming upon us. Many of you may not realise it, but as the national gathering will be somewhere near here this year (WV), I feel this issue needs to be addressed, and I will be bringing it to main council this year. This part of the US has a huge meth problem. The law is all over this issue. It is like the plague. This drug is VERY BAD, as it attracts people who are as far opposite from what rainbow is all about as you can get. Far worse than alcohol. It makes people paranoid and violent. It pollutes the environment, it destroys peoples souls. It causes mental illness. Manufacturing it burns and blows people up. Hitler used it to fuel his soldiers during WW2. If there is any such thing as the Devil, then it would be his drug of choice. How can we deal with this plague at gatherings? If the feds think that there are folks cooking crank in the woods at rainbow, they will be all over us. THis is a serious problem which we may encounter. How can it be delt with? I know rainbow is all about acceptance, but where do you draw the line? Would you accept a murderer simply because he has a bellybutton? I feel that there MUST be a line drawn here for the safety of all gatherers. So, how to deal with it???
I'm right there with you sister, I was at the KY regional earlier this week and we had issue with meth(very small issue, maybe more of a perked ear) but also some alcohol in the gathering issues... a conversation must be started, and I feel that it must be known what rainbow is about... its not hard to take the alcohol to front gate, or to not drink it... I feel a counsel should be held we must evolve, and all that impedes the flow of energy is of no use... love and light Adam
i am quite aware that this whole damn country is plagued with meth i think as long as you address it at main cirlce, maybe make a few signs to post around the woods, ya know, put the resistance out there and people will open their eyes to the issue. every gathering i have been to there has been signs about posting a general rule of rainbow, the encouragement to not abuse drugs while at the gathering. state it clear and people will adhere. chill
meth heads could give a fuck less about signs or resistance,, or any other non violent tactic we may dream up,,, fact of the matter is rainbow is a product of society,, has been an will always be... that reminds me,, anyone else read this,, posted by bobbinbecca earlyer this week?? http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90947 Seems to me that its way more than just the meth,, its what society as a whole has become,, an what your average "road dog" must do to survive.. Whats the solution at a gathering?? There aint one.. An thats just the way it is.. Luv~N~Lite Hilly dilli an clan...
I have to qualify my post, I've never been to a gathering, so I'm not familiar with the problems inherent to the gatherings first hand, but for days, since reading the post HH mentioned, I have been reading up, since discord inherently bothers me and I do what I can to eliminate it where I find it...that being said, I agree with HH...it's not just the meth that's a problem...the meth is just a symptom, the real problem is far bigger...society as a whole is becoming more and more violent, like a beast in its last throes, trying to survive at any cost...the solution, therefore, also must be far grander...I only wish I knew what that solution was...best suggestion I can give is meditate, everyone, on the issues, and in time the spirit will enlighten one or more of us to what needs to be done
I know what you're saying about the problems facing society, but I don't agree that society is becoming more violent as a whole. I see the energies polarizing. While some people are becoming more violent, there are a lot of people out there that are going out of their way to be more loving and giving. The Rainbow Family of yesterday is dying and it is in serious need of reinventing it's self. To become the Rainbow Tribe of prophecy the true rainbows must shine and find a way to distinguish themselves from the dregs of society. From reading what happened to Bob and Becca...these were the dregs.
ok hippie hilbilly i wasn't really referring to the meth heads on the streets. i was talking about the rainbows who choose to use. and i being a former user, actually did care about what my brothers and sisters wished at gatherings, as far as the whole illegal drug and alcohol issues go. i wanted to stop my drug abuse,I just didn't know how to get away from it and in babylon, didn't think anyone cared. i have been clean for 3 years now from that bullshit and if you want to know what i really think, i bet if there were some real lsd around for kids to trip on, then the other drugs would soon dissipate into history. i wouldn't say i was violent on meth nor would i say that it ever did a damn bit of good to my life. but i will say this, having people from the counterculture tell me that they loved me and cared about me and didn't want me to do these things to my body really studk with me as far as changing my lifestyle. i realized i could still be me without attaching an addiction to it. it was nice having people tell me what was "really up" rather than hearing it from those "just say no" people hippie hillbilly, please ease up a bit. everyone gets so down about life these days. but actually if you look back in history, it's never been this good, except for the state of the environment. but as far as the way people are treated and the level of violence, it is a lot safer than it used to be in the dark ages and the wild west. be glad for what you have and from the look of things HH, you have it all. a farm in the south, what more could one person ask for? do not be offended, we love you, we love all of you. and we have to look on this with light instead of building up to be more than it really is. chill
do what?? me "ease up" like im offended? dienfranchised?? where the hell do ya get them assumptions?? Sister i live it an love it everyday,, i work construction,, i see the meth heads,, i myself spent a good year a few back doin the shit,, an to be quite honest,, if it was free id do it again.. All i was sayin is that as babylon spirals downwards,, the fringes of the true rainbow follow,, and it cant be changed.. I accept that as a given,, ya dont like what ya see ya move on,, ya dont like who ya visiting with ya walkaway... Much like in babylon,, ya can just say no an move on to brighter an better things,,.. but its always gonna be there,, same as the agro types,,, its just what it is,, an if ya dont want to be a part of that scene ya use commonsence and avoid it.. Luv~N~Lite hilly dilli an clan..
I think Chill~mama made a good point. You can't exactly control this sort of thing.. I mean we all have free will and people will do what they are going to do. But if it effects their health, (mental or physical).. and that of those around them.. than the brothers and sisters need to be there more than ever to offer their love and *gently* suggest they lay off and take it easy on themselves, because they don't want to see their family get hurt. I think in order to face a -potential- crisis such as this.. we just need to all unify under the same banner in the name of love. I know that's what rainbow is about, but I have seen a lot of division lately. Basically, I don't think that there should be any 'strict' enforcement, as that is much more likely to bring resistance. Love is number one, right next to education and concern for the well being of the community as a whole. If someone is hurting themselves, they should be treated gently with love and given the many perspectives on why could be harmful to them, and what they can do instead. All in love. Even the wisest and most noble humans make mistakes and bad decisions sometimes.. someone just needs to be there to council them and bring them into the light. We can do it if we do it together
All you can really do about the bad drugs is give the users love but don't let their habit infringe on your life. If a user wants to quit, they'll ask; force them & they'll just go back. If those who hold the Light within continue to Shine where ever they are, then Rainbow won't ever fade away...
May I bring another aspect of this problem up for discussion? In MO, meth has been a big issue for years. While the issues of law enforcement you've raised are important, there is another problem that you will want to make everyone aware of -- dump sites. Given the amount of heat out there looking for meth labs, people have taken to setting up mobile labs in the back of their SUV. For those with a patch of NF within reasonable driving distance, it makes perfect sense to go out to a secluded area, go as far down a dirt road as possible, cook up a batch, and dump the toxic waste out on the ground. I don't know what to look for exactly, but that's not something I would want kids playing around. I also don't know how commonly you find these sites -- I read about it in a newspaper article discussing the environmental hazards of the meth problem, they mentioned it as a problem that is big enuf to get FS attention but were not specific about how big the problem really is. Given the size of a national, I don't think it really matters how carefully the scouts look for this type of problem. By the nature of the meth cook's activities (paranoid, looking for a spot that nobody will see), there's a good chance it will be overlooked... It might be a good idea to find info on what to watch out for and spread that around to different kitchens, particularly around bus village and front gate, since those areas are accessible by vehicle.
It's got a Really strong smell that you can't miss. It'll make your nose hairs want to stand up and run the other way, and it hangs in the ground for a long time, so if you stumble upon a place that smells like a really acidy type of iodine smell, it's probably a dump.
Since we haven't been to a Gathering, since 2000, we can't say for sure; but between feddies and the amount of Rainbows who are against hard drugs, it's doubtful that a lab could run in a Gathering for more than an hour; and someone would be awfully stupid to even try. The smell of cooking the crap is too hard to miss, and meth-heads are paranoid anyway, so if the Gathering were to be close to a covert lab, the meth-heads would move it or start shooting at hippies. It's pretty doubtful that a meth lab would be a Gathering problem. The KY National was a bit of a movie, the site was close to a couple of crops and some of the hippies were snagging immature plants, later the feds came in and burned it all.
