Hot but no flames.

Peter Fraterdeus (pfraterdeus@igc.apc.org)
Thu, 02 Apr 1992 01:53:05 -0800 (PST)

Hot but no flames.
Star Goddess / From your Rainbow Bridge / Watch over our Paths / Give us your
Love / As we Love each other!
Grandmother Earth / Our feet praise you / from the Ancient Directions / we come
to your Heart!
Grandfather, Wakan tonka, Great Mystery / Ho!

Just received a copy of a letter from Rainbow Hawk, claiming that there's some
conspiracy of "High-Holy Hippies" forcing the family to go to Colorado, in
contradiction of all the ancient Native prophecies.
(To condense quite a bit...)

I guess it's up to every focalizer to either decide to send out all the info
from both Colorado and South Dakota, or to choose one or the other on the basis
of their own heart's song.

My feeling is that the SD gathering will be healthiest if there are very few
people there. I'm very concerned that since most of the folks with longest
experience (de facto "elders", whether or not we like it) will be in Colorado,
the SD gathering will have many of the problems of an extra large regional.
However, there are many possible scenarios!

I pray that all goes well at that time. However, my feeling is that the family
should go to Colorado.
I'm sorry that there will be many faces that I will miss seeing if I don't get
to both sites.

The biggest loss is the loss of unity in the family. Yet there is a way to
divide without dividing.
After all, "unity is plural and at minimum two" ! (Bucky Fuller--Cosmography)

But the egos involved, the confrontational intransigance of brother Zeus, who
truly thinks of himself as an Olympian God.....

The pretension in forcing ourselves on the Black Hills, just as some of our
Europeans ancestors did. I have heard alot more blocking of that decision than
I have heard consent. But there is no going back.

Zeus and the others in the SD council accuse the rest of the family of stealing
a consensus for Colorado through the manipulation of the council process.

I have seen Zeus in council. I believe that the man is not fully rational. I
believe that he is driven by unfortunate and complex urges. He is not an
Olympian God. Not except how we all are. But he wants to control, and be
noticed in his skin. He wants to force people to his viewpoint. His viewpoints
on nudity, circumcision and the swastika for instance.
His ranting is not made more bearable by his polite demeanour when he wants to
be polite.

I have had a young brother here in Illinois call me saying "I'm very concerned
about the stuff that was sent out under my name. I didn't know that Zeus would
be mailing this package with my return address! "
The package contains a pseudo-AllWaysFree, a full page or two on circumcision,
and a major multipage rant about the state of the Rainbow World through Zeus'
eyes. With lots of "those Fuckheads" and similar language.

I love Zeus. I'm sure he's got plenty of wonderful qualities, but I don't love
his behavior. I hope to be able to talk to him someday as a brother, not as a
challenge.

I also received a copy of a letter from Rainbow Hawk, who writes as if he is
the final arbiter of appropriateness in all things Rainbow. I have never met
Rainbow Hawk, but I have read of the Peace Projects which he claims to be the
"Global Co-ordinator".

How is it that two versions of an event can take such utterly divergent
positions?
I am writing from a viewpoint of reconciliation.
Rainbow existance.
There's alot of anger toward those "high-holies" that are supposedly
controlling the whole thing. Who are they??? Let's name some names. See some
evidence.

Well, maybe I'm just a baba-in-the-woods, but from what I've heard, it takes
one to know one. I've never seen any high-holies at a Rainbow Gathering. I
sometimes see folks that pretentiously act as if the Rainbow owes them
something, or that have some special spiritual sight not available to the rest
of us, but surely these are not "holies". The only holies I've seen are the
ones that stay up all night looking for a lost kid, or talking someone through
a long forgotten trauma, are hauling garbage with a smile and a howdy-do, or
are welcoming a frightened local cop to have a cup of RainbowJava. If there's a
con-spiracy, it must be all of us breathing together....

The distortion of the truth, brother Hawk, is a trick of the Light. If one is
by nature a contrary, the sun appears as the moon. Perhaps we are both seeing a
mirage.

I would never deny that the some of the Lakota have welcomed the familiy that
have gone to them. I have no reason to Lie.
However, I have heard plenty of reports from very sincere people closely
connected to the Sioux nation. And people who Sundance every year with
substantial amounts of the "Turtle Island hertitage" that you also claim. And
people I know and respect and love. Reports of big questions un-answered.

Who can decide. I may be mistaken. May you?

If the consensus in Vermont is tainted by intransigance and corruption, it was
because We the People went home, disgusted by the manipulation of the council.
There has been a good three years of talking about returning to Colorado for
the second Decade of the Gathering. This is not something that was forced down
the throats of the family. Anybody who was at Minnesota, and wanted to get up
on the latest gossip would know that We were already considering Colorado.
That's We the People.

Now obviously, We the People will form circles around many centers. I feel it
is a good thing for the Tribe to scatter our seed. But not in anger, nor in
confrontation. With two gatherings both called the 21st Rainbow Gathering
(etc.) there a will forever be a schism over the site and resources for future
continental gatherings. How will we heal this? That's the main question.

If I have been hard in my language about the South Dakota council, it is out of
frustration and concern. I do not take this path lightly. Nor do I take
unsolicited advise easily. There is an awful lot of strong language going
around these days, considering that we're all so peace-loving.

If anyone reading this feels I have been dealing with the situation
inappropriately, please let me know.
I will happily resign from the PeaceNet focalizer position, and from the
Focalizer council if the balance of consensus tends toward that conclusion. In
fact, I will happily resign from this Tribe, if it is to continue to devolve
into confrontation and contraryism. You all can have the "Continental
Gathering". Seems to me the Spirit has moved to the Regions in a big way
anyway. (That's Regional Family Gatherings, not wandering beer-bashes, by the
way.)

These Words are Deeds.

Play for Peace.
Mitakuye Osasin, All my relations!!!

Petros

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