Rainbow Gathering '10 in Warren, PA...??

I live in Warren, PA and have a couple questions about the "Rainbows" and the gathering. What does the Rainbow Gathering stand for, and what exactly do they do there? To me, and to the majority of Warren County, the "Rainbows" are nothing more than burnt-out hippies/bums who only want other people's money so they can get high and party in the woods. I thought it was all about peace and being a whole, loving family? Instead, people are begging for money outside of walmart and applebees with signs, they wait down at the liquor store for people to give them money, they go through dumspters looking for food. One good example of how they mooch is when they "wash" their hair in the walmart vegetable sprayers, then wait for the employees to throw the ruined veggies away, after which they go and take them all out of the garbage. They poke their fingers in the meat. Lots of people have ended up with stolen money and electronics/miscellaneous items since the Rainbows have gotten here. The hospital has been full of Rainbows that have gotten into fights WITH EACH OTHER. I'm just confused about all of this, something so glorified by the participants does not match what they say about it at all. Can somebody explain?

 

I have been going to Gatherings since 1989, and attended the '99 Annual Gathering in PA, and the regional there by Heart's Content 4 years ago. Are you saying that you SAW WITH YOUR OWN EYES people WHOM YOU ARE CERTAIN WERE NONLOCAL 'RAINBOWS' washing their hair over the produce? Otherwise, I'm calling this an Urban Legend, like the one about the Rainbow Sister who streaks through the local store while the bros run out the door of the store with everything but the bathroom sink.

 

I don't really know what goes on in town during a Gathering. I try to stay in the woods a smuch as possible. But I don't doubt that you are right.

Not just looking...finding. By the truckload. You have any idea how much good food supermarkets trrow away? But all this dumpster goodness still is not good enough for some folks. Ask your local co-ops, grocery wholesalers, or organic grocery stores about their bottom line vs July last year.

From GoErie.com:

This does not sound like "lots of people" Maybe "a few people" would be more accurate?

GoErie.com reported:

(See my thread below)

Two assaults does not seem to be enough to fill even a small hospital. Now, perhaps a US Attorney is lying to the press about the number of assaults in order to make the Rainbows not look so bad. Or perhaps only 2 of many assaults requiring hospitalizations involved arrests. Or perhaps you are exaggerating somewhat?

People still go to Mass in spite of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Boys your age still volunteer for military service after My Lai & Abu Ghraib. There's still Republicans in spite of Nixon & Bush. I guess Rainbows are kind of like Catholic Army Republicans

 

I'll try to answer to your questions. The Rainbow Gathering was formed in the early 70s in response to the war and events like Kent State. We join hands to pray for peace on the Fourth of July, we try to model peaceful behavior, and we enjoy a variety of activities and being with our friends. The morning before the prayer, we observe a silence, which is broken when a procession of noisy kids come to the center of the circle. The origins of the name "Rainbow" are obscure, but it has nothing to do with gays or Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. We were using the name long before them. It's an appropriate name, given the enormous diversity of the people who attend--open to "anyone with a bellybutton"-- although it's not exactly a cross-section of Americana. It obviously has a counter-cultural tone that can be described as hippie. As somebody put it, "this is the best non-organization I've ever been a non-member of." We mostly hang out. To give some reference points, it's something like Woodstock, only without the rock n' roll, or like a Grateful Dead concert without the Dead. Some of us come a long way, from all parts of the country and the world, to do that. It's a spiritual event. It sounds odd, I'm sure, to outsiders, but I think the event is a morality play in which habits of co-operation, mutual respect and freedom are modeled. I've never done drugs or smoked pot in my life, and I don't drink alcohol either, so getting high isn't a motivation for me. And I understand people can do those things without traveling far from home. It's unlikely people would come all that way just to party. It's certainly not for everyone, but everyone is welcome.

Most of the people who go to Rainbow gatherings are mainly interested in the Gathering--not in hanging out in some small town panhandling. But there will be a few who do, and it's understandable that locals who have no context will generalize from the few they see. The amazing thing about the gatherings is not how much petty theft and boorish behavior goes on but how little--considering the size of these gatherings. If this many non-hippies were gathered in one place, there'd be pandemonium. You might also be aware that the Family tries to reimburse people after the event for any damage or theft loss that occurs. There is an element at the Gathering, mainly at A-Camp (for alcohol) that gets unruly as a result of the booze, and that also is likely to go to town to renew their supply. These folks are at the periphery of the event, but they are an annoyance. I try to be compassionate while being grateful I don't have that habit. And as Wandering Turnip says, there are also a lot of negative rumors, some deliberately circulated by the Forest Service and the local press. I remember one gathering in Oregon when I was a kid, where the local press reported an outbreak of some disease attributed to the hippies, but it turned out the disease was from a local source. People still kept writing in complaining about it, oblivious to the story in the same newspaper that it wasn't the Rainbows who were responsible. I don't think any human grouping lives up to its ideals, but the Rainbow Family comes closest of any I know.

I think this is an event that is better experienced than described. Come to a gathering and see for yourself brother.

 

Well said! People need to look at the numbers. Considering how many people are at the Gatherings and how many people cause shenanigans is really small. Without A-Camp there wouldn't be the ying to our yang. The Gathering needs to be balanced, just like life.

People need to stop listening to the news and actually go to a Gathering to experience the generosity of others. I am really upset that I cannot be home. I live in PA, so it'll be another 10 years before a national gathering is here again.

 

Walmart doesn't even have regular dumpsters so I call b;&&$@hit

 

Good point. They do usually have compactors. The OP hasn't logged on since
Last Activity: 07-01-2010 04:37 PM, so maybe he got out to the woods and the hippies ate him.

 

Alright I'm starting to understand. I wasn't able to get out to the woods, but I didn't realize that the few Rainbows who participate in the gathering and give the whole thing a bad name are the annoyances, and that it's not a huge number. I've still heard stories, like my 12 year old sister riding her horse through the woods and seeing a group of naked Rainbows. But I guess you're right, and I came to the conclusion way to quick, I'll do some research next time. I hope everyone had fun at the gathering, except the few that caused problems. Oh, I work at the Frosty Chalet between Sheffield and Warren and two state cops came in today telling us they were celebrating the end of the gathering, they seemed like dicks, but I guess it's their job.

 

I found this statistic interesting, from the Warren Times-Observer

3/4 of y'all didn't notice us, and of the quarter that did, reactions were about 50/50. I'd say that's not too bad.

 

For the record there were ALOT of locals coming in to the woods allllll the time and they never had anything but positive things to say, also the people working in the gas station in Sheffield seemed to like us as well.

 

Is it still going on in warren?? I live very close I would love to go

 

The only problems I saw at the Gathering were because of Death Camp, but this is to be expected, given their past and what they went through. I would have liked that they were not there to cause disharmony but love is stronger than hate and I truly do believe if approached in the correct manner, even those individuals can be healed from their darkness.

Loving you family

 

Death camp kept screaming all night every night and alot people including myself did not get much sleep because of their loud behavior.You still have to love them.They are very negative and are very rebellious.We are all here to love one another and I just hope were not having old family not showing up anymore because of them.It is horrible what they did at main circle.I just don't know why they go to rainbow gatherings but they don't respect or love our way of life.If they want to rebel,there is alot more national forest out there ,so they can make all there noise they want and they can do away from us.Hopefully this won't happen again.LOVE LOVE LOVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAINBWDAVE

 

One of the boys piss on the peace pole, or what?