Project: Good-Neighbor-Hood

Biff the Paperboy · Post by **Biff the Paperboy** » Fri May 27, 2005 1:06 pm

Howdy Burners,
I have a dream.
I've been watching and participating in the "creation of temporary community", out in the middle of a barren playa, these last six years and I've come to crave an even more intimate experience.
I've noticed how many arrive, mostly as strangers, and tend to circle the cars around camp and friends, to protect us from the indians, I suppose (I know it's mostly subconscious).
I've also noticed the most common phrases one hears upon arrival is (too often) "You Can't Camp Here!" (Or one of a myriad variations).
It's just the default way we deal with the moment, with "strangers" involved.

By the end of the week, most of us have been reminded of the sense of family that can permeate the experience.
Many of us have found our neighbors to be quite extraordinary individuals.

Why not start the week with that?

Because, I think, many arrive off the highway with the default world largely intact and don't have a "model" for another way to act.
Protection is the default.

So I dream of the "creation of temporary neighborhoods" where common agreement puts the cars in designated spots and allows the people to live in the neighborhood.
Where communication between "strangers" living next door or a couple of camps over is made easier, not more difficult.

We have that choice.
Immediately upon arrival.

This is not about theme camps or affinity camps or should in any way imply that any way of living is to be favored.
This is about strangers learning new ways to meet and live together.
For a week or so.

I've boiled it down to 4 steps:
1. Welcome.
2. Explain
3. Invite
4. Accept

Welcome the others in your neighborhood and newcomers, to burning man and the neighborhood.
Explain the experiment and why it is important to have choices.
Invite them to join.
Accept them if they accept and allow for everyone to be a different sort.
A great neighborhood is composed of a variety of personalities and in that variety is life.

It's merely a dream.
It shouldn't have too may rules.
It should be made up at the moment, by the folks involved.

I suppose if it is even partly successful, they would be termed:
Good-Neighbor-Hood-Alums

Because it should be fun too.

I usually camp in the 3:00-3:30 area out past Saturn.
I plan to try this year.

biff the paperboy

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Fri May 27, 2005 2:06 pm

Hey Bif,

I like the overall sentiment of what I think you are trying to say here. I love the Xara Dulzura experience for exactly this reason, cars are relegated to a parking lot and everyone camps together in tents in a meadow.

However....

I've also noticed the most common phrases one hears upon arrival is (too often) "You Can't Camp Here!" (Or one of a myriad variations).
It's just the default way we deal with the moment, with "strangers" involved.

I end up saying this a lot at the event, and for good reason. My camp has to jump through all the hoops of being a "registered" theme camp. We do this so we can reserve the space we need for our projects. Every year as we are setting up it seems that the neighboring theme camp figures out that they need extra space. Sometimes they ask us if they can use some of our space, sometimes they don't even bother to ask. In the last 8 years, we've almost always gotten exactly the amount of space we have asked for. If you're planning a theme camp, ask for the amount of space you will need, and don't ask if you can park your RV in our camp (well, you can ask, but don't expect a positive response).

Then we usually get about 10-20 people who, in the middle of the night arrive and pitch a tent right in the middle of our camp. I have no idea why anyone would think this is ok, because our camp is clearly marked, and there are signs everywhere that read "Theme Camps Only". Just because a space is "empty" does not mean that it's ok for you to camp there. There is also a reasonable expectation that you will not be camping 2ft. away from another person's camp even in the general camping area. It's called "personal space".

So I dream of the "creation of temporary neighborhoods" where common agreement puts the cars in designated spots and allows the people to live in the neighborhood.
Where communication between "strangers" living next door or a couple of camps over is made easier, not more difficult.

This area already exists, it's called "walk in camping"

WALK-IN CAMPING
Each year we offer a Walk-In Camping section, located at the back of our settlement beyond the last road that rings the city. Here, participants are welcome to walk-in and camp on the open playa, away from their vehicles. Contact walkin (at) burningman (dot) com

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri May 27, 2005 2:23 pm

Or you can be a super prick. Get there early, in general camping. Mark off two sections parking your cars in the roadway to make sure the area is blocked. Then sit on it till Wed. when the rest of your friends arrive.

Biff the Paperboy · Post by **Biff the Paperboy** » Sat May 28, 2005 11:02 am

Yep.
It's happened to me.
The very same experiences, with only minor variations I expect, are shared by many who live in Black Rock City.
But I am not bitching.

It's too easy to point the finger at fault.
I dream of solutions.

My assumption is that we "fall back into old habits" before we have the moment to reflect and adapt to the new situation.

I am not directing my comments towards theme camps or any affinity camps.
It's a great way to burn.
Problems with interlopers in theme camps are a different issue.

I am speaking of the strangers who arrive with all sorts of expectations, but no friends already on-site.
The hope and desire of being included.

May I say, even the core of the dream many share, and what brings them to Black Rock City. Acceptance into the community.

This event is about radical self-expression.
Not all self-expression is about the individual.
Sometimes it can be about individuals, acting independantly but together, without waiting for a "higher authority" to sanction or organize.

I'm not advocating that everyone should carry this camping ethic to Burning Man. I'm simply saying that I am planning on trying it.

It's not meant to be exclusionary either.
I sleep in a VW van that is integrated into my camp shade structure.
My auto reference was an observation that many seem to circle their cars like old movie wagon trains, and while that may work in cities (built for cars, with people thrown in), in BRC it is a frustrating reminder of the default world we left behind for a week.

So I try to build new models, to try new things.
Some will work and some will need more refinement.

I hope enough folks might try something like this and share their experiences post-burn to encourage others to try.

That's all we can do with this life... TRY.

A couple of anecdotes from my 6 years as paperboy for the Gazette...
This first one occurred last year when a resident approached me on my paper-route with a complaint and requested I write a Letter-to-the-Editor castigating the people driving quickly down his block, raising dust.
Typical of the default world to ask an authority figure (paperboy?) to solve a problem.
I explained the fast-drivers probably weren't reading the paper.
One dusty block out of all the others doesn't make a news story.
Perhaps a sign, on his block, might be more effective.
And a number of other ways for him to express himself.

I wonder if he heard any of it.

Two years ago, on Thursday afternoon, about an hour before sunset, delivering the paper, I rolled up on a 30-something couple who had obviously just arrived in BRC. Their brand-new SUV was still mostly packed. The box with the L.L.Bean Custom Deluxe Camping Tent was laying on the ground, tent still neatly folded under the poles (indicating no pre-burn test assembly) and the instruction booklet open and being studied.
"Black Rock Gazette?" I asked as I hopped off my bike.

The guy looked up at me with a glare "CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE BUSY?"

Aahhh... A Burning Man Moment.
(i think daddy needed a longneck and a fatty)
But at least they were there, and by weeks-end, I'm sure hoping they settled down.

Whom among us knows where or when the opportunities happen?
When opportunity knocks, it's usually very soft.
One should have a part that is listening.

I seem to hear better on the playa.

"I'm often wrong, but never in doubt."
biff the paperboy

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sat May 28, 2005 11:17 am

I don't know about others. After I set camp I look around to see if I can help some. Peolpe forget to bring things. I make a lot of new fiends by filling the fogotten. Like get there and find you left your hammer home or a few extra stakes. One year a guy neede a pan cake turner. He had taken on camp job breakfast then forgot the turner. When He ask me, I happened to have a spare new one. He brought me some fine blue berry pancakes. I can also repair a lot of things. Bailing wire and duct tape my be a joke at home but is first aid in the deep playa.

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Sat May 28, 2005 3:42 pm

unjonharley wrote:I don't know about others. After I set camp I look around to see if I can help some. Peolpe forget to bring things. I make a lot of new fiends by filling the fogotten. Like get there and find you left your hammer home or a few extra stakes. One year a guy neede a pan cake turner. He had taken on camp job breakfast then forgot the turner. When He ask me, I happened to have a spare new one. He brought me some fine blue berry pancakes. I can also repair a lot of things. Bailing wire and duct tape my be a joke at home but is first aid in the deep playa.

That's what I do. I setup the camp then go meet my neighbors. Last year, we met some people who were GREAT then met some people who were pretty neutral (understandable; not everyone wants to meet new people) then met some more great people. We all had complementary skills and gifts for each other.

I think part of the problem with camping WITH strangers, though, is that you don't know what you're getting. I'd hate for my sleep or peace-of-mind to be ruined because of their idea of an acceptable noise level or because I'm worried about some person who appeared friendly but who has turned out to have different ideas about what is and is not appropriate.

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Sat May 28, 2005 8:22 pm

thanks for the clarification Bif, makes more sense now. You're welcome to join us in VW bus camp this year if you like, at least stop by and say hi and enjoy a beer with us (we brew our own).

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sun May 29, 2005 12:28 am

I think that the proposed them camp layout and the resulting neighborhoods that'll be on the periphery will go a long way towards instilling a sense of neighborhood investment and participation. Have a look at the plans.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 8:15 pm

I think the "circle the wagons" thing is probably more in response to the wind (vehicles make gooooood windblocks) than attributable to xenophobia.

Mr Magoo · Post by **Mr Magoo** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 11:03 am

I think the "circle the wagons" thing is probably more in response to the wind (vehicles make gooooood windblocks) than attributable to xenophobia.

xe·no·pho·bia
Pronunciation: "ze-n&-'fO-bE-&, "zE-
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign

I think that Diane has a point. But a semi circle type neighborhood that is more open could be more inviting and still cut down the wind/dust. Biff, you vision is a good one. Keep me up on your plans.

montana wildhack · Post by **montana wildhack** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:15 am

i can't wait to get to brc...

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:42 am

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
COULD you be mine?
Won't YOU be....my neighbor?

If I had the money, I'd buy 30,000 red cardigans and pairs of sneakers and pile them by Greeters for dispersal.

Biff the Paperboy · Post by **Biff the Paperboy** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 12:52 pm

Howdy All,
Cars as windbreaks are one thing, I live that way.
I was refering to the ones where the car is simply a security blanket.
Parked in real close.
Making getting around more difficult.
Shutting us off from the weird people next door.

All the default positions we can so easily fall into.

This project is designed to simply provide alternatives.
Models for different choices.

I am not looking for folks to camp with me.
I am seeking ways to have a friendlier neighborhood.

In THIS town, your neighbors can be among the most exciting.

A week of practice.

I'm ready to go NOW!

biff the paperboy

Project: Good-Neighbor-Hood

Project: Good-Neighbor-Hood

good neighbors

I miss you, Fred.