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Brendan Cochrane
Jennifer Courtney
English 2010 su-14
July 5, 2014
Are Rainbow Family Gatherings Good For The Forests and Surrounding
Communities
Once again the Rainbow Family has descended
upon another National Forest, and another unsuspecting community. But, is this
group of free loving, intercommunal, one big happy family really that bad? Do they
leave never ending reminders of themselves with the community when it is time for
them to finally leave? The scourge that this group of anarchists leaves in their wake
has been documented. They have recently begun their gathering near Heber, Utah,
and already we have seen the strain they put on the locals and the government. So
why are they allowed to continue?
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The, Rainbow Family of Light, have been gathering annually since 1972,
with the first gathering said to be in Vail, Colorado. They hold their gatherings in a
different forest the first week of July. These gatherings have been known to reach in
excess of 20,000 people. This year in Utah they propose to break those numbers by
the end of the 4th of July weekend. They profess to gather in peace and prayer. They
also branch out to world, international, and regional gatherings throughout the year.
In the United States alone, the group boasts over 180,000 members. They have
come up against both criticism and praise from communities they have visited over
the years. (Welcome Here)
In 1999, the Rainbow Family held their mass gathering in, Allegheny
National Forest, Pennsylvania. The state health board approached the gathering and
asked if they could watch over the people of the camp who incurred injuries, and
illness at the, Center for Alternative Lifestyles Medicine, (the self operated clinic of
the Rainbow Family Gathering). They agreed.
“Five facilities in the surrounding area reported
caring for 115 persons affiliated with the gathering;
112 were attending the gathering, and three were
local law enforcement officers detailed to the event.
The median age of patients was 23 years (range: 170 years) and 69 (60%) were male. Fourteen (12%)
of the 115 persons required hospital admission.
Twenty-eight (24%) of the 115 sought care for
apparent infections, including nine cases of
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diarrheal illness for which no pathogen was
identified. Twenty persons (17%) had
musculoskeletal injuries related to falls or
altercations; 17 (15%) sought care for soft tissue
injuries, 12 of which were bites (e.g., four brown
recluse spider bites, two dog bites, and one
rattlesnake bite). One death occurred as the result of
complications from a myocardial infarction. Other
reasons for seeking care included 13 (11%)
psychiatric conditions, seven (6%) motor-vehicle–
related injuries, five (4%) environmental exposures
(e.g., severe sunburn and lightning strike), and
obstetric/gynecologic, noninfectious
gastrointestinal, neurologic, allergic, and neoplastic
conditions (less than 5% each). Although not a
presenting complaint, lice infestation and illicit
substance abuse among RFLL members were
reported by medical staff.” (Lurie 324-326)
These are people that end up being taken to local hospitals and treated, with no
payment in return.
One of the biggest concerns communities have is the cost for everything that
the taxpayers end up paying at the end. It has been said that local and federal
governments have never received payments from these Gatherings. The Rainbow
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Family has never filed for a permit for the campgrounds. And most local areas that
live near these National Forests are not equipped to handle the influx of panhandlers
and thieves that come along for these events.
“The Forest Service Incident Management team
cost federal taxpayers $750,000 in 2006[dubious –
discuss] (this cost is for 'monitoring' of the
Rainbows),[3] and the team handled the Gathering
in Colorado that year and other large events in
National Forests. By comparison, the Burning Man
festival, unconnected to the Rainbow Family, is a
commercial venture that operates each year in the
Black Rock Desert of Nevada, pays the Bureau of
Land Management $750,000 for a permit, and
recoups the cost by charging attendees between
$210 and $360. The Rainbow Family asserts that
being charged $750,000 dollars to gather peaceably
on National Forest Land is a violation of their First
Amendment rights, and that the event is free to all
members of the public.” (Wikipedia)
The cost to local governments for the extra law enforcement is a huge strain on their
often-small budgets. The Rainbow Family seems to have no regard for the damage
they cause to the towns they “visit”. When the Rainbow Family last visited Utah in
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2003, it was reported that the taxpayers of Utah were stuck with a half a milliondollar bill that was refused by the gathering.
Drug use, violence, and sexual lewdness are always associated with these
events as well. It was reported in the news that on June 26, 2014, a Federal Judge
went up to the gathering and, in the comfort of a trailer, held court for 17 members
of the family that had received 21 citations. (Liesik)
Members of the Heber community have also reported drug use, pan handling, theft,
and violence in their township as well. Multiple people have died since the start of
this gathering, and many reports of violence in the camp have happened. Drug use
is a given at this festivity, with use ranging anywhere from psychedelics to heroine
and marijuana. Alcohol is strictly discouraged at the gathering however.
On the up side, there have been numerous reports from towns over the years
that the camp does pick up a great deal after themselves. Leaving their latrines
buried and their garbage in proper bags. For the most part it sounds like what they
pack in they pack out. The ecological damage left behind from vehicles, compacted
foot traffic, and campfires galore, is very extreme in most cases.
The picture above is two of the original members of the Rainbow Gathering
that I had the pleasure of interacting with in the performance of my job. They did
give me permission to take their photo, and actually had a sign wanting people to
take photos with them. In a world full of “normal”, they were definitely a sight to
see. I just get the feeling the towns that have been graced by their presence no
longer feel the same way.
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"It's not just taking away our right to party. The
Rainbow Nation is a conscious choice to return
to the traditional ceremonial ways. But this
America of European origin obviously doesn't
value these ways. So as long as this culture
doesn't recognize the value of ceremony, they're
going to try to stop us, because we will always
remain a threat." (MacAdams 118)
Brendan Cochrane
Jennifer Courtney
Engl. 2010 su-14
July 05. 2014
Work Cited
MacAdams, Lewis. "A Gathering Of The Tribes." Rolling Stone672/673 (1993):
118. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 July 2014.
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"Public Health Aspects Of The Rainbow Family Of Living Light Annual
Gathering--Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania, 1999." JAMA: Journal Of The
American Medical Association 283.23 (2000): 3065.Academic Search Premier.
Web. 5 July 2014.
Works Consulted
Liesik, Geoff. “Federal Judge Takes Court To Rainbow Family.” Ksl.com. Web. 04
Jul. 2014. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=30481509
Wikipedia contributors. "Rainbow Family." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Jul. 2014. Web. 5 Jul. 2014.
“Welcome Here” Kick'n it online for peace 1998. Web. 5 Jul. 2014.
http://welcomehere.org/?Welcome_Here