At Country Fair, does tolerance have limits?
By SAM PORTER DEFENDING PERSONAL freedom against puritans and bigots is one of the most enduring themes in American politics and literature. Yet, even within the remnants of the 1960s counterculture, personal freedom is not pure bliss. After 31 years, the Oregon Country Fair – rooted in the “spirit of community” and a commitment to social and economic justice, according to its Web site – is one of the most successful institutionalizations of the ’60s counterculture. But the disagreement among fair insiders over whether or not to tolerate what an article in the Aug. 27 Register-Guard called Rivka’s “ritual of suspension” – which involves piercing her back with hooks and hanging from them for an hour to demonstrate the power of the mind over matter – has serious social and moral implications. It is easy to tolerate Rivka’s “ritual” (she is known by a single name) as the eccentricity of an individual. And however unattractive to some, it doesn’t seem terribly dangerous to the commun
