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Re: Harassed Permies

Paul,
I have earlier brought our situation up under subject: "documentation
support needed", just before winter solstice. We are not initiate permies
but rather an educational organic farm with emphasis on value-enhancement
and sustainable living. The term 'permie' does not exist in the local
redneck vokabulary, here it is 'hippie bashing'. Hippies are at the very
bottom of the social heap. - Charlie Manson / Jonestown / Bagwan Rajneesh /
Wako / Freemen are all grouped together into one huge fear of any aspect of
communalism. Worse than guns and religion together though, hippies are
generally suspected for liberal ideas about narcotics prohibition. Such an
alarming threat, to undermine the fast growing crime control industry,
warrants special heavy-handedness. Suspected association is enough for a
guilty verdict. There war is global, the issue of "harassed permies" is a
social consequence of war rhetoric gone awry.

>
>Yours is a familiar story. I have some friends who were involved with 
>Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, and I am amazed at the amount of opposition 
>that some people put up against them. When will the populace learn 
>that we (those who choose not to live as they do) are not out to 
>destroy or threaten them, but to just to coexist in harmony.
>

I few comments. Oregon has land use laws since 1973 which invites neighbors
to testify about their opinion about anything that is not a legislated
'regular' use. This invites and legitimizes biggotry dressed up in land use
clothing. 
Since the hearings are 'quasi-judicial' truth is not of essence, anything goes.
Most landmark decitions in landuse case law are set when fringe groups or
alternative lifestyle projects are challanged by neighbors. Social
engineering is the flipp side of citizens involvement. 

I understand from "Mr R.J. Morris" <rmorris@liverpool.ac.uk> that similar
phenomenon takes place in the UK. Do you have land use laws in Australia?
And how is it elsewhere in the world ?

>
>Well, I guess Jesus was crucified and others have died because their 
>beliefs represented too radical a change for the larger masses. Our 
>time will come, one day.
>

Amen, heaven must be permie farm extraordinaire

>
>In the meantime though, I think that the main message that I was 
>trying to send was that this sort of thing happens. And while I do 
>not condone retaliation (except in moments of weakness when rifling 
>thru wreckage) I just wanted to let other groups out there know that 
>it does happen, and that if it is happening to them, they are not 
>alone.
>

I have been looking and waiting for this subject to appear here.
Is there any international permie lobbying group? If not I would 
propose that the time has come to address this issue for real.

>
>I was very interested in your comments and I just felt they needed a 
>response. Just to say that we will keep going, and so should you. 
>Happiness exists, its just that we spend too much of our lives 
>searching for it. :-)
>

Legal limbo, an extreme slow-motion discussion boardering time-freeze,
is a torture of frustration over lost creativity while trying to do,
what you know you ought to be doing, instead of really doing it.

>
>Have fun and good luck
>

Same to you all too - and further 
it feels like we are touching upon
an issue that is delicate yet very important.
Blessed are those that are free of this quagmire
for the rest of us it is an ongoing reality
that I want to master for peace
any feedback ? :-)

love
olafur and extended family


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