I am often asked by others why I have such a love and hate relationship when it comes to Rainbow and the gatherings.
It all started years ago. You can pretty much see when it started happening just with what I write or say and when it shifted.They seem to like to sit around directing and telling others what needs to be done and how to do it without even lifting a finger themselves. They always throw in your face that they are "founders" or "focalizers" or run a kitchen. If they were not there telling people what to do... they were often running around the gatherings trying to find the other fucking high holys to reminisce about their past gatherings and good times. Or... are running around telling people how to fucking do things and what not to do around the gatherings.
After shit gets done they gather up only their friends and sit down and praise one another for other people's work. And share any goodies or kickdowns they might have, amongst themselves, while ignoring kind brothers and sisters who worked their asses off and most of the time don't even thank them.
I noticed that the scouts, focalizers, seed campers, facebook "admins", a lot of kitchen's, and some camps have one big fucking thing in common and always have. They truthfully mostly do what they do because they want attention, recognition, ego boosts, power over others, rewards from others, and the only fucking say on things and how they work and happen. They give with the intention of wanting something in return...
They are always select groups that hardly let anyone be a part of what they are doing unless they have something they need or want... then usually kick those people aside afterwards. I have seen that constantly happen to many people over the years.
1. Scouts
They usually never allow anyone to participate unless they are friends or know them. Half of the time no one in the know will even share with people who these supposed scouts are if they even exist sometimes. If people get together and scout on their own they get ignored, their opinions mean nothing, and if they happen to find something... the scouts will push them aside and claim it was their find and idea so they can further boost their high holy egos and make the true Heirarchy that exists happy. Many rewards await them. When seed camp comes and the gathering starts they are blissed out not doing anything usually because they did their "work". Quite the attention whores afterwards definitely making sure that everyone knows their fake Rainbow names, that they were scouts and the gathering site was "theirs", and that everyone needs to worship their high holy asses.
2. Focalizers
Those motherfuckers think they are the cream of the fucking crop of Rainbow who's shit never stinks. If anything... they seem to be the biggest attention whores out of them all. TAKE EVERYTHING I SAID ABOVE ABOUT SCOUTS, add focalizer instead, AND TRIPLE IT... They feel they have the power and control over others because they and their friends know where the gathering will be and you don't. You will constanttly see a focalizer out in the wild yelling at anyone that will listen "Look at me! Look at me! I'm a focalizer! I know where the gathering is and you don't!"... as if anyone fucking cares! Let them boost their egos and have all the limelight they want! Their limelight is not bright at all just like most of them! Pretty much all I need to say about them
3. Seed campers
Seed campers are a unique breed. They participate and usually work a lot through out the gatherings and clean up. Much respect! BUT... alot of them are in it for the ego and ability to boast about what they do. Part of me wants to respect that because it feels they have definitely earned that respect for what they do. BUT... they themselves seem to form little groups and have no problem using newbies for the labor then kicking them aside with out a second thought. Some... but not all.
There are a lot of seed campers that are always there that never contribute labor and people often fail to realize that it is some of these people that are the back bones of seed camp. A lot of then are disabled and unable to contribute manual labor. They contribute in other ways such as support, kitchen, supplies, finances, and just fucking much needed emotional support!
I often tell "newbies" I meet that if they want the true full Rainbow experience of a life time... to find a solid seed camp crew AHEAD of the gathering they choose, introduce yourself, BE YOURSELF, and offer the full help to them by giving with intention of nothing in return. Find your own return in your head and value the experience, lesson of life, and internal rewards that I am sure you will get. And when you do show up make sure YOU have EVERYTHING you might NEED with you as if you were planning on camping in the woods alone. You never know what might happen. Kitchen's vehicles break down. Sudden unexpected things come up. If everyone that goes has what they they need themselves... when they do get together the sharing and caring happens. NO ONE is out there to be your mommy or daddy either.
4. Facebook Admins
MOST of these people are the biggest fucking hypocrites on power trips that Rainbow has to offer and are one of the main contributors to destroying Rainbow!
They are all together in showing the true fucking fallacy of "Rainbow has no leaders" and "Rainbow is not an organization" "Rainbow has no members" bullshit!
THE GOOD OLE DAYS of Rainbow online used to be a sort of wild wild west where anything goes. Gone are the days of AGRo which was truly fucking an amazing feed. People could say whatever the fuck they wanted and if others wanted to respond they chose to and if not they would not. Threads would surely get heated! I used to piss so many people off, by posting under Poorphucker, especially with my rants about what sister circles had become and were becoming. Now look back mother fuckers and remember what I had said! The fucking Mafiosa Heirarchy is alive and well and in full fucking control. NO DENYING IT.
AND... there was no MEMBERSHIP to Rainbow back then!
Then other new "groups" started up like yahoo and MSN and a popular one that I forget. People would create to find and gather others for being together online, figuring things out, and was quite an amazing purpose for that and socializing back then. And people actually had to somewhat work and try to put these groups together on computers. I think people did a lot of copy and pasting back then to make it work. Not like today where anyone with an email can so it on Facebook without work.
But the fact that EVERYONE has to JOIN those Rainbow groups and are then bona-fide MEMBERS of Rainbow.
No shit huh?
Then along came the Great Rainbow Facebook Gold rush of '04. People seeking attention and an ego boost flocked to facebook to form the various Rainbow Facebook groups we now have today! AND many more created all of the regional groups. Everyone were foaming at the mouth over the Facebook gold that would make them rich by being the first to do it and all the recognition and credit of being the ones that did it. There was no money to be made but the became rich in power over others! Some people eat that shit up.
Once again... ANYONE who was a member of Facebook could become a MEMBER of Rainbow by simply hitting the JOIN button still there today! WELCOME TO YOUR MEMBERSHIP IN RAINBOW!!!
No shit huh?
Along with these groups came the technology that only gets better. Admins found they could set the groups to private! Now their power grows... they become defacto LEADERS of Rainbow that now can CHOOSE who they want to JOIN Rainbow only with their APPROVAL! Then thier power grows even more when they realize THEY HAVE FULL CONTROL over their MEMBERS and what they or do. In comes MASS CENSORSHIP under their control! If they don't like what you say they remove it as they see fit.
Then the most power trip of all things is next... They can BAN you and your MEMBERSHIP to RAINBOW also as they see fit. All these admin get together and pretty much hold closed door kangaroo councels and dictate what Rainbow should be according to them and who can be a part of the Heirarchy.
And you try to tell me these fuckers are not MEMBERS of Rainbow that ARE Rainbow's LEADERS!
I don't even get me started on the aspect of the up and rising Zoom "circles" and "councels" that are creating a newer generation of Rainbow that are truly fucking too lazy to go out and meet on the land which has ALWAYS been a tradition with good meaning.
MOST of you admin are a true fucking disgrace to the name of Rainbow and you ALL of you are RESPONSIBLE for the CURRENT destruction of Rainbow, it's people, and the gatherings!!! If you ever come across me on the land some day? STAY the fuck AWAY from me as I have no interest in meeting ANY fucking one of you! If you do... I'll know you are looking for nothing but trouble!
IF the federal government wanted to take Rainbow to court now a days... we could be up against a battle we might not be able to win with all the fucking technical legal precedents these fucking Rainbow Admin Leaders and Members have set! Thank you Facebook...
Fuck you admins!!!
5. Kitchen's
Where to start with that?
Alot of the same ego and high holy attention whores as the rest above. A good amount of them are only doing it for that exact reason. A lot of the "founders" don't do shit except organize, take donations and kick downs, and tell others what to do... IF they are not running around the gatherings making sure that EVERYONE know their fake Rainbow names and that are the "founder" and run so and so kitchen.
You can often find the "founder" sitting off from the kitchen like some royalty vip member in their vip section with friends doing absolutely nothing that involves actual work.
Along with the kitchen comes vast amounts of power. MAGIC HAT FUNDS that there are no accountabilities for other than their word... wink wink. Then there is what they get from supply and first dibs on. I don't know how many fucking kitchen's I have seen get dank ass grub to share only to keep it internal within the kitchen as if they are better than everyone else. No accountability to anyone except with their word... wink wink. So many kitchen's often are truly two different kitchen's in one. SCHWAG food to the "public" and DANK food for the kitchen, their friends, and anyone on a whim that they feel they wanna suck up to in the Rainbow Heirarchy...
All this dank food usually comes in from donations, supply, or Magic Hat funds without ever seeing the people the intentions of it all were meant for.
All these people mentioned DO NOT give with the intention of nothing in return. If they are not after power and control, recognition and attention, or fat kick downs... they are becoming rare at gatherings. That IS their return and why they do it now. I don't know how many times that someone that runs a fucking kitchen has come up to me, or others, outside of Rainbow and the land and wanted something from us or something we had...
If you tell them NO! They throw a high holy Rainbow temper tantrum and before you can even say another word... you usually get "I fucking fed you at the gatherings!" OR "YOUR NOT WELCOME AT MY KITCHEN NOW!" and God who knows what else. I always used to flog to survive in my various travels and on the streets. Who knows what I might of had when I meet them. Mostly kind buds. I remember way back at my second Ocala gathering in the early 90's. Me and my ex blew through Texas and went to my peyote spot and brought 100's of buttons.
I was so surprised at how many people had never seen them and was only a year into Rainbow by then... So we made tea for as many people as we could. A kitchen came up to ask me for a kick down of actual buttons instead of tea which I denied. Well... I got my first dose of how kitchen's can truly act. Didn't need their food anyways!
There ARE many good kitchen's that pop up now and then and bad ones leave and alot of good people that often help run said kitchen's and put up with the idiots who run them that deserve credit...
Any kitchen that reads this... don't have a hissy fit or get your panties in a wad. I will never eat at Rainbow kitchens or yours. I come prepared. Ain't gonna have any of you mother fuckers dose my food in retribution or poison people... which is a serious accusation online recently that involved a certain kitchen and someone they hated at a gathering. That is truly fucked up! Enjoy the kitchens kids!
6. Camps
Camps are the backbone of the gatherings and are the shit. Isn't that why people truly come to at Rainbow gatherings? To socialize, meet people you have things in common with, and camp with them?
Of course there are Camps out there that fall under everything above. Hell... nic@nite is ran by a person that runs it like a OMC without motor cycles. There have been sexual assaults, they hand out addictive substances (even to minors) to have control over others, and it is run with a thug mentality! This shows there are accepted Camps for anything and everything... the good and the bad and accepted within the Rainbow Heirarchy!
It is up to you to find a camp that suits what you are there for and the people you want to be around. Make some friends for life! There are so many established camps with some of the most beautiful and kindest people you will ever meet at a gathering. Don't trust everyone willy nilly though....
Last but not least...
7. Clean up crew.
Let's put it this way.
I can not say a single bad or negative thing about these people!
When I first was introduced to various clean up crews around the country I was amazed at just how many new people that I had not met or seen. Turns out a lot of them were not even at the gatherings. They had planned their time accordingly to show up when the gatherings end and are there for two weeks to do just that... clean up.
These motherfuckers don't fuck around. My out of shape ass could never keep up.
Hard work all day and very kind nights amongst people that truly care. They ARE what my true concept of Rainbow is in my eyes. I can only speak for me.
Sorry for the long speel...
I dedicate this to all the free time I have being back home and enjoying the GMNF again. That and the Vermont focalizers/kitchen that "sponsered" this year's regional who decided to disrespect and try to shit on a person they have never met and did nothing to deserve such "bullshit". Left with a giant brainfart on what I was going to do and contribute and instead... get to think and ponder and write shit like this! I have no faith in you folk but always will for Rainbow even if that is slowly leaving....