Rainbow & Social Psychology
July 5, 2008
Rainbow is wondrous! - especially in the way a sense of countercultural organization just emerges, as well as in the communitas and harmony here, while still remaining very loose. I can see easily this gathering as a social psychology experiment (Milgram, Zimbardo, Darley and Batson), only not designed by a researcher. People come into this national forest, set up a village / town, of possibly 10,000 people and 3 weeks later take it down, and people engage a specific situation and code, which include wilderness and hippie-mindedness, - it's uncannily like 1972 here! There's so much counterculture and exploration of freedom in so many ways. The social determinants are hippie, in contrast to the focus on obedience to authority that informs some social psychological experiments.
Yesterday I waited in the dust and dirt with perhaps 10 distinct circles of people, for dinner - a nice 7 course dinner. We had been asked to form circles to avoid creating lines. It was an example of poorly managed dinner process - with someone trying to cleverly mix things up in the name of sensibleness - a hippie cultivating confusion out of craziness.
Rainbow is another instance of a summer gathering, part of the human social condition. It's also a fascinating example of the grand carousel, the merry-go-round of life. What makes it fantastic is the vibe, the people from all walks of life, and the energy which is high and shared ~ counterculture rising.
People! ~ so many young people {20-25 year olds} - just understanding what is going on, finding release, and chilling.
Life is vibrant here in a very Rainbow way ... and there is no electricity, or electronics.
Because countercultural-mindedness offers opportunities for happiness, freedom and exploration which people like, people seem to select hipness en masse.
There are so many instances of whimsy and generosity, two aspects of hippie-mindedness I appreciate: out of nowhere, in the heat of the day, roll oranges to eat.
India
It's 'India' here at this gathering - in its connectedness, openness, tolerance, friendliness, harmoniousness - but in its own unique way.
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