'PEACE' GATHERING TURNS VIOLENT: Forest Service abandons checkpoint after incident w/Rainbow group

The Steamboat Pilot ^ | 6-21-06 | Matt Stensland

[zarf]

Did this take place in Maine? Those Rainbow kids are wacky, but fun to hang with in Northern Maine. It's an alternative universe.

[Jaysun]

They should be issued Smith & Wessons - or at least Tasers, and a hatchet to finish the job while they're squirming around in their own piss.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Every year, some community out west has to go through these shennanigans...dealing with the groups and their waste productes and their impact on the land, and they don't really care, long as they can have their party...

[CindyDawg]

Now this is sad. Our LE turned and ran? They should have retreated and then came back with paddy wagons and arrested every one of them.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Rainbow gathererings are big...probably too many to paddy wagon off!

[CindyDawg]

Doesn't that say that a large crowd can do what they want? I don't know anything about them but I'm getting the impression that freepers like them. What if it had been code pink at a military base? If there are a lot of them, does LE back down?

[BigSkyFreeper]

'PEACE' GATHERING TURNS VIOLENT

They always do.

[bordergal]

They already did in LA and other major cities during the illegal immigrant protests.

[kAcknor]

This must be the 'Senator Murtha' branch of the Forest Service.

At the first sign of trouble the 'redeployed' to an alternate location...

[CindyDawg]

There weren't stopped?

[Ajnin]

The Forest Service is very serious about the safety of our officers and cooperators," Ritschard said

Considering nobody got tasered, pepperballed or shot during the rock throwing, I would say they have a cavalier attitude towards officer safety.

[stubernx98]

What's this, the cut & run Forest Service?

[BigTom85]

Yep. I think Washingotn and Oregon have their share of these types of fruit loops. I think some of them even built tree houses like 40 feet up in a tree and live there to protest it getting cut down!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

That has been done...

[1066AD]

It's summer so maybe they should order up some helicopters and C130s full of fire retardant & water and thoroughly douse the forest LOL.

[TaMoDee]

About 10-15 years ago I had the displeasure of seeing the Rainbow Family in Flagstaff, AZ. The filthy, drugged out,
mentally and physically sick members of this group was beyond comprehensive. I'm sure a wildfire will sweep through the campsite before the event ends.

[Clinging Bitterly]

I remember when they were smaller. Back when, we went to one of our favorite camping areas and found them there. There were maybe 50 of them occupying about 3/4 of a little 20 spot primitive campground we frequent. They had nearly reached the 14 day limit and were starting to pull up stakes (quite a lot of them) but they were quiet and well mannered. Normally a family place, I was a bit surprised to see a couple of nice looking chicks skinny dipping at the swimming hole, but it isn't forbidden there and we have actually done it ourselves on hot nights (and after dark).

The rainbow people were pretty much cleared out by the end of our weekend there, but they left behind a few things they built that were of some use, and a lot of good firewood.

[Rte66]

It's Colorado - Routt Natl Forest, didn't it say? That's the Steamboat Springs area.

They used to be near Taos/Angel Fire, NM, for a few years, (where I encountered them at least once) but I think Steamboat has been hdqrs for a while now.

[Covenantor]

Janet Reno would know what to do. Just tell her that they're fundamentalist Christians. She might be a bit rusty, but she still has her chops.