The Shady Side of ROO 2012

Our friends had their campsite ransacked because the guy next to them was selling all kinds of stuff and had made it clear he had tons of stuff so people were probably looking for his stash. They didnt think anything was stolen.

I kept all my valuables in my backpack or locked in my glovebox. I had my backpack either on my back, at my feet, or in my tent right next to my head while I was sleeping. I would never think to leave anything I didnt mind getting stolen out in the open.

I'll be back

In my experience the cooler is usually one of the only places they really search. I've had them not look twice in my car but go through coolers thoroughly.

I just read a recap of the festival from Manchester. Talking of citations and arrests and seizures. They made mention that they read the boards and that is how they knew to look in peanut butter jars.

Previously mentioned campmate here...it definitely sucked but mostly because it killed the vibe. Crime happens everywhere, but when it happens to you it takes the magic away. Definitely feel bad for mayo and her tent. Monetarily that was the worst damage, having to replace her tent. Everything of mine that was stolen can be easily replaced. Won't keep me away from roo, but I might try harder to get into pod 1 again!!

Sheriffs are the worst there. They consider it an annual fundraiser and the more citations they write the bigger the party they can afford.

It's so disappointing to be a victim and to hear of all the theft this year. It just makes the magic of roo feel tainted. I'm seriously contemplating spreading mace on my tent next year (I realize the likelihood of hurting myself or camp mates far outweighs this anti-theft plan). It's just really a shame when this sort of stuff follows you to a place most of us come to for an escape from real world drama.

^^ that story makes me feel icky.

Quacker, if you are referring to Manchester Sheriff's Dept here, you are kinda wrong on that.

Our Sheriff and Police Dept are some of the best, most professional, well behaved officers I have ever encountered and I believe it is because of roo!

Remeber, we bring in over 250 officers from other areas during Bonnaroo who are not indicative of the Manchester force.

Out of close to 100K total people here, to write the small amount of citations they write is actuall pretty amazing. Imagine how many they COULD write if they were "the worst, and look at it as a fund raiser" That is a very inaccurate statement!!!

We have to balance the enforcement of the laws with not running off the festival. There is a balance there! We could fill the jail and a temporary if we wanted to, they don't.

Just my humble opinion from someone who deals with them the other 361 days of the year.

roofan, no offense, but how can you say they write a "small amount" of citations when those citations (which are usually in the $1k-$5k range) net the county millions of dollars?

That would indicate they write a massive amount of citations. They have pre-signed warrants (still looking into just how those can be legal), and just throw one at you while ordering you out of your car.

To say that the only bad behavior from cops is from out-of-the-area cops is to be pulling the wool over your own eyes. What quacker said is 100% true from everything I've seen. I deal with NYPD cops who are the same way, I've dealt with LAPD cops who are the same way. Cops are cops, and while they might be more polite in Coffee County, they're still cops who take the ultimate pleasure in railing a bunch of hippies for thousands upon thousands of dollars in fines. Not sure how getting over $1k in a fine for a couple corn kernals is really defendable.

I dont do anything like this, but while doing the post show Clean Up, I talked to a few kids who owned one of those drug testers. They said they found 10 people who were selling "mollie", but out of the ten they tested... 7 were bath salts, 2 were meth and only 1 was actually mollie. So anyone who doess do that stuff. He said the kit is only $20-25 and has 150 tests per order. Crazy shittt. but I'd say its definitely worth it.

Oh, and BTW, this statement:



Another example of you not knowing Manchester. I would say the number of locals who dislike Bonnaroo to be in about the 7 - 10% range of our total population.

Correct, that OP is not from Manchester, but maybe you can explain why that makes his comments any less relevant? Because an outsider's account of what happens there should be more relevant, IMO. Someone from Coffee County might be used to being extorted by their law enforcement, but the vast majority of the country is not familiar with such upstanding and moral behavior. The fact that law enforcement officials from around the country agree on something strengthens the case, not weakens it. If a cop in NY, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona all agree that something happening in Tennessee is morally and legally ambiguous, at best, than it probably is.

And I wasn't referring to just Manchester in that "backyard" comment, but you may be right. The vast majority of my interactions with people in-and-around Manchester have been lovely. I'm not saying local people dislike Bonnaroo, or the attendees (and what sane person would dislike a financial windfall? Honestly? That'd be like me disliking real estate developers as a construction manager), but if the cops stopped every car and wrote up 80K citations, the view on the festival, and it's attendees, would change. So my original point about them finding that middle ground between raking in the cash while not upsetting anyone local still stands.

And I really don't think the sarcasm was warranted. I've been straight forward in sharing my experience, and it's one that is echoed by quite a few inforoosters, if not hundreds of Roo attendees. They profile people from long distances, then extort them for $. It's that simple. I was being nice about it, out of respect, but if you won't show that same respect I don't feel the need to either. The cops there threw my sh*t on the ground, threw away food that was prepared ahead of time, and then gave me a multi-thousand dollar citation for something that runs me a $50 ticket in NY. So, apologies if I don't think this is something that should just be shrugged off for the sake of keeping the sanctity of Southern hospitality intact.

Dismiss what I'm saying all you want, but it's not like Bonnaroo is the only music festival I've ever attended. It is absolutely possible to a) rake in the cash, and b) catch big shipments of illegalness without profiling, extorting, and being all around shady dudes. I'm from NY, I have people try to f*ck me with a smile on their face on a daily basis, for a living I have to identify and destroy those people (figuratively). That's what happened there two years ago, and it sounds like that's what has happened to the majority of people I've spoken with who had similar searches.