No real memory of this event -- Rajneeshees in Oregon

[clifffaith]

I've recently been watching some excellent multi-part documenteries on Netflix. Mostly murder mystery type shows. While waiting for Cliff to take a memory test at the doctor's office on Friday (he thinks he passed!), I decided to thumb through back issues of celebrity magazines rather than read my book. I found a blurb for the series Wild Wild Country and decided to watch the documentary about a "cult" that took over a town in Oregon this weekend.

Cliff didn't watch, but he could hear it from the other room. About half way through the first of six episodes I said to him "Do you remember any of this?" His answer was like mine, this was apparently all over the news based on clips of Tom Brokaw and Mike Wallace doing the nightly news, but I'll be damned if I remember this story as it was happening in the early to mid-1980s. As I continued through the series, complete with Johnny Carson leading his audience in a chorus of "Bye, Bye, Rajneesh" to the tune of Bye Bye Blackbird, the best I could come up with is a small inkling of MAYBE having seen just a small mention on the evening news.

Finished up the final episode last night and decided that planning our October 1985 wedding must have been forefront of our minds, and that was how this story totally got past us. Other than maybe DaveNW who probably saw tons of reporting on this, does anyone else remember this news event? Maybe it's time for the doctor to give me a memory test too!

 

[SmithOp]

I lived in Northern CA at the time and remember the news stories, mostly because of all the Rolls Royce he owned and rode around in. I also remember the stories of the homeless being bussed up there.

I watched the series on Netflix, was not aware of all the details how they took over the local offices to try and change the zoning.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[DaveNV]

I was in San Diego in the Navy in those days, but I do remember the stories from the news. My Dad and Stepmother lived in Bend, Oregon, at the time, and my Stepmother was LIVID about "those awful people." She ranted long and loud against them, and how they were taking advantage of people, it was anti-American, and whatever else. When things fell apart, she couldn't have been happier.

Then again, she was fascinated with the Hale-Bopp Comet and Heaven's Gate group, too. And Jonestown. She bought every copy of the National Enquirer she could get, convinced it had the real truth of the story. (I know, I know. I'm sensing a thing here...)

So yes, Faith, I do remember the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

Dave

 

[easyrider]

I worked Wasco County constructing farm buildings back in those days. Outsiders were definitely not welcome. The Rajneesh's people wore burgundy but many were regular bums recruited to Wasco County to swing the vote. Our problem was that after working construction all day you would look like you could be one of them. Occasionally we were asked to leave restaurants or refused service at motels unless the client called to let the owners know we were working. The oddest refusal was a lady not wanting to sell us gas in Shaniko.

Fast forward to 2017 finds my wife and I sitting in the back of her Ridgeline watching the eclipse near Shaniko. That was a very cool but strange thing to see in person.

Bill

 

[rleigh]

I ... my Stepmother was LIVID about "those awful people." She ranted long and loud against them, and how they were taking advantage of people, it was anti-American, and whatever else. When things fell apart, she couldn't have been happier.

She was spot on and reflects how most Oregonians felt, especially in central Oregon.

I haven't seen the Netflix doc but I've been told that it leans in favor of the Rajneeshies side.

They poisoned various salad bars and door handles around the city of The Dalles to stop people from voting. People got violently ill. At the time, some of the restaurants themselves were blamed and went out of business.

They bussed in homeless people from Portland to sway elections in their favor, then dumped them.

They plotted to kill a federal prosecutor and came close to doing so. Court proceedings went on for years and all involved ended up with relatively light sentences (IIRC, the last of the convictions was in 2005.)

The land which they called 'Rajneeshpuram' was just outside the tiny town of Antelope. It had one restaurant, a post office, and no stop lights. To the people who lived there, it felt like an invasion.

Ma Anand Sheila was the face and the force. She is blamed for just about all of it, but it was the followers who also did dirty deeds. And the Bagwahn himself is considered a victim of her as well, but he was the ultimate leader. He thought he was God and he is still worshipped today as "Osho."

At the time, Sheila claimed all of this was due to racism and bigotry. But initially those small town folks were welcoming.

When some locals went to see the Rajneeshies, they found at the entrance red-robed guards holding automatic weapons.

There is also their engaging of various kinds of abuses, which involved minors as well, but I won't get into that.

After all of the Rajneeshies abandoned Rajneeshpuram, authorities came in and found a large cache of biological weapons and a curious amount of snakes.

There is a well-done episode of Forensic Files about this. If you're interested, I believe that too is on Netflix.

 

[vacationtime1]

Frances Fitzgerald wrote a book (Cities on a Hill) about this group (and three others) thirty years ago in the context of utopian communities. Still a good read.