Elected through Terror

Untitled Part 3

I had limited contact with the Rajneesh followers who called themselves sannyasins and I did not make a study of their religion.

As with most of my constituents, they lived their lives and I had interaction only when it involved my Office. These contacts were more often than with most citizens, but mainly in the realm of civil papers and answering attacks on our Office by some of the leaders.

I have no supporting statistics to 'prove' what I am writing, only my observations. I have used the resources of 'The Oregonian' the largest paper in Oregon which is located in Portland, to refresh my memory on some issues. However, the thoughts expressed here are mine.

While the age range in the group ran from the late teens to the elderly the leaders of the sect seemed to be in their 30's and 40's. Most were highly successful in their chosen profession.

My thoughts were that while many of their fellow collegians were whooping it up in the 1960's with drugs and 'free love' these men and women were studying hard and striving to be the best in their field.

They went out into the world and became just what they were striving for, successful. They were highly motivated, and along with their success they got used to people doing what they told them to do.

They were used to a fast pace, quick decisions and did not like to be told no, and in their professions few told them no.

They considered themselves highly sophisticated and intelligent, by their actions and comments they considered the citizens of Wasco County to be bumbling idiots that they could run over. They conspired to upset as many citizens as they could and to coerce them and the county and state governments into giving them what they wanted.

In short they were like a two year old who doesn't get what he wants; he throws a tantrum and treats his parents as fools. All too frequently his tantrums work and he gets what he wants - they threw many tantrums in the years that they lived here.

As they had reached a plateau in their lives where the gathering of material wealth and being at the top of their game was no longer as rewarding, their spiritual condition haunted them.

They went in search of something that would lift them up and make them feel good about themselves. A higher being that would relate to them and give them spiritual relief.

In their search they found Rajneesh and his beliefs. They bought into his teachings and many gave all their worldly possessions to the sect in honor of him.

As individuals they may not have thought about committing the crimes they committed. However, as a group they were conniving, relentless, liars; vicious in their quest for a large community to set up a college and supporting businesses to honor Rajneesh.

Rajneesh had taken a vow of silence when the sect started looking for a permanent home in America. He spoke through Ma Anad Sheela who became, for quite some time, the undisputed leader and spokesperson of the sect, conferring and conspiring with Rajneesh daily.

It was Sheela who search for the property where they could set up their plans. In the process she came to the Muddy Ranch. A large cattle ranch, approximately 64,000 acres and the use of many more thousands of acres of Bureau of Land Management land, in the southeast corner of Wasco County.

This is dry land. Sagebrush, juniper trees, rock formations, sand and bunch grass make up the bulk of the acreage. While there is some good soil in the bottom lands, most of the acreage is suitable for cattle and not much else. It takes several acres of this kind of land to support one cow.

The winters are harsh and the summers are hot and dry.

The ranch was isolated from the rest of the county by virtue of its dirt roads and deep canyons. While a county road went through the center of the property, it was basically used only by those that were at the ranch or had dealings with the ranch.

The Dalles, Wasco County's county seat, was located over 80 miles away and due to the types of roads, it took anywhere upwards of 3 hours (depending on weather) to get there.

The nearest community was Antelope, 20 miles away. Antelope is an incorporated city of about 26 people. It has a school house, a community gathering point that used to be a church, a small general store with gas pumps and a post office. The county road department also had a shed and equipment placed on the edge of town as a base of operations to work on county roads in that area.

At the turn of the twentieth century it was a thriving community with over a hundred people and one of the leading sheep processing points in Oregon.

But it became a community made up of retired people and a few that worked in Madras, the nearest large town of about 2000 people, 26 miles away.

Sheela decided that the Muddy Ranch was ideal for their endeavors and proceeded to purchase the property and in 1981 the sect began its work on the ranch.

In the beginning the leaders tried to assure the local citizens that all they wanted to do was farm, they would be practicing new agriculture techniques on the land. They were deceitful as they voiced their desires to have a farming commune with less than 200 people involved.

They moved in and started building. And it wasn't just buildings to house agricultural activity. They built buildings that housed businesses and living quarters.

For the non-agricultural buildings they needed permits from the County and had to show why they should be allowed in this area where the zoning was strictly agriculture. They didn't like being told they couldn't build and they didn't like being told that the process of making those decisions take time, as well as any appeals they might have.

This became a bone of contention and the start of the animosity by the members of the sect towards the county government and the citizens.

They wanted what they wanted; and they wanted it now. So despite the permits not being granted they built businesses and other buildings to support an increasing population of sannyasins.

They decided that they needed to have an incorporated city so they could make their own decisions regarding building and other issues cities commonly deal with.

They set aside a portion of the ranch as the city and the inhabitants started the process of making it a city.

This city was opposed by the citizens of adjoining acreage as well as most of the other citizens of the county.

While the County Commissioners of Wasco County eventually approved the request it was appealed to the State. It should be noted that part of the ranch was located in Jefferson County (to the south of Wasco County) and they had voted to refuse the request.

The long time citizens of Antelope became increasingly concerned for their safety and way of life. Sannyasins were moving in and demanding services that the city could not provide.

These citizens were concerned that the followers would take over the city government and drive them out. The non-Rajneesh citizens outnumbered the Rajneesh and the City Council felt it was necessary to dis-incorporate to protect their property and way of life.

The fight was on. As the election date approach several Sannyasins moved into Antelope and proclaimed they were citizens of the city. At that time Oregon Voter laws allowed citizens to register to vote the day of elections and these people were taking advantage of that law.

They won the election and they ended up taking over the city government. They renamed the streets for various Buddha and other gods. They, by their own admissions, were having fun operating the city - to the distress of the other citizens.

There were a lot of changes in the city, which was renamed the City of Rajneesh, not the least of which was the addition of a 'Peace' force. Many of their changes were a deliberate act of ridicule of the local citizenry.

They were willing to exchange Antelope for the ability to have a city on the ranch. They eventually were able to have the city, calling it Rajneeshpuram, but since the coercion didn't work they held onto Antelope more out of spite than anything else.

Citizens of Antelope were to endure the harassment and menacing behavior of these people until December of 1985.