Siege at Rainbow Farm

[OneBlueSky]

article upcoming in October Playboy . . .

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1305/a07.html?200

In 2001 a Hippie Campground Famous for Peace, Love and Weed Erupted in Violence and Death. Was It Another Ruby Ridge or the Collapse of a Failed Utopia?

"On the day that he purchased Rainbow Farm, Tom Crosslin said destiny had led him to the place. By the late 1990s the farm would become a well-known stop on the hippie trail, a scenic overlook for the migratory flocks of travelers and Phish fans who crisscrossed the country. For thousands of blue-collar pilgrims who stopped there looking for a few days of fun and freedom in Michigan's vacation lands, it was a benevolent little campground. And on any other Labor Day they would have been there: thousands of happy stoners setting up tents for Crosslin's annual marijuana-legalization fest, a party he'd named Roach Roast. But on Friday morning, August 31, 2001, he was storming around, telling the last of the local kids to leave.

"Get the hell out of here," Crosslin said, "and don't you dare come back. Just watch the news tonight."

"Crosslin and his lover, Rolland "Rollie" Rohm, were in desperate straits. They were facing drug and firearms charges brought against them by a local prosecutor, Scott Teter. If they lost the case, they were looking at serious jail time and the loss of their property under drug-war forfeiture laws. They had posted bail, but it was now in danger of being revoked. Instead of showing up at a bond hearing that morning, they had made the momentous decision to blow it off and stay on the farm. They were going to fight for their rights, but not in a court room.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

- much more . . .

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1305/a07.html?200

[DoNotRefill]

1. when the government thinks...

they can kill druggies and fringe religion people without repercussions, how long until they start coming for the "normal" people?

[Democat]

2. The right wing media loved to blame Clinton for Waco, and everything else

Where is the outrage over this one, which happened while Bush was president?

[Must_B_Free]

3. kick

.

[Terwilliger]

4. up late Must?

I was all over this thing when it happened. When 9/11 hit not even a week later, I had no choice but to think it was something the government was capable of doing. Tom and Rollie did not deserve what they got, no matter what they did.

[ikojo]

5. The government tests repressive policies

on so called undesireables: hippies, freaks and others outside the white middle class mainstream including minorities. When there is little hue and cry about those communities being subjected to repressive measures then those same measures are taken to the majority communities.

This is why we must defend those who are least able to defend themselves.

[KaraokeKarlton]

6. As sad and unfortunate as this is

I don't like the way the writer romanticized and excused behavior that was blatantly bad. Where the hell were the parents or guardians of Rollie when he was 16 years old and being pursued by a 34 year old man? HELLO??? A minor is a minor is a minor is a minor! Even in very liberal Vermont, if anyone tried to have a several thousand person pot party the law would be there breaking it up. And where are all the gun control people on this one? Is it suddenly okay to engage every law enforcement agency in the state with firearms as long as you're an activist for legalizing drugs? If you don't like a law, then sure, try to change it...but as long as it stands on the books you've got to abide by it or there are going to be consequences. On top of that, any parent who will choose drugs over their children needs a good old fashioned ass-whooping! Again, it's horrible that this whole mess ended up with people dying, but Jesus H. Christ at least one of them INVITED it and took someone else with him and left a kid without a father. There were other choices that could have been made and there are legal ways to fight these things and with how high profile a case it was, damn near any lawyer would have taken it pro-bono JUST to make a name for themselves. Instead of fighting this using legal methods he chose to endanger all kinds of lives.

This is what I took from this article...a 34 year old CHILD MOLESTOR with NO respect for the law, the lives of those he supposedly loved or himself gave up everything he had, his life, the life of his significant other (WHO HE ALSO VICTIMIZED) JUST so he could throw huge pot parties, make all kinds of money and get high...and you guys see him as a hero? Does anyone see what's WRONG with this picture?