Netflix is bringing out a new series called Wild Wild Country and the trailer is making it look like this series will be a must-see for certain. The story follows that of Rajneeshpuram, a site in Central Oregon that used to be known a the Big Muddy Ranch that was bought up in the early 80’s by a very controversial guru that planned to build a commune of sorts there for his followers. Eventually the place was built and it was even turned into a proper town at one time, but the feeling of the locals was that it was less than welcome in their state. The town of Antelope, which was only 18 miles away, had the biggest problem with the group out of anyone to start with.
This seems to be what happens though when someone or some group moves into a place with ideas that run either contrary to those that are already there or are strange enough that people don’t seem to want to understand them. The intolerance of it is just one side of the story, while the shady dealings of the commune would be another side. There are still those that can possibly remember what happened during this time and could perhaps sit and recall just what was going on during certain points of the series. To remember those days is to remember why people aren’t entirely tolerant of other cultures no matter how right or wrong it is. The Rajneesh and his people were supposedly just trying to create a small agricultural community for themselves, but it appeared that they were doing much more than that when it was seen that they were attempting to build a very real infrastructure that was not allowed in the original deal.
A lot of this had to do with what happens when one force pushes and another pushes back. At one point the Rajneesh finally went back to India after the trouble that had ensued, but there was a great deal of struggle in between the beginning and the final cessation of hostilities. The people of Antelope, who were vastly outnumbered by the Rajneesh’s followers, had attempted a few different ways to get the commune to either move or just leave, but to no real avail. The lack of tolerance at this time was explainable due to the fact that the Rajneesh and his people were for the most part intruders in a region where their style of living was not fully accepted. It doesn’t make it right to think that the locals in any direction wanted them gone, but when push came to shove it started to look as though the Rajneesh and his followers would give just as good as they got.
This series will be coming out March 16th and it will be one to watch simply to relive history in a way and remember what the 80’s were like in Central Oregon. These were wild days to be certain, but few people remember them now.
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