Burning Man 2010 Theme. Larry got it wrong.

goathead · Post by **goathead** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:25 am

I guess that it could take a pounding.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:41 am

All rubber products wear out.........eventually.

goathead · Post by **goathead** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:52 am

at least the old one wouldn't get jealous of its replacement.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:57 am

It's all about the falsies in this here game.

geospyder · Post by **geospyder** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:36 am

oneeyeddick wrote:All rubber products wear out.........eventually.

Slight thread drift but did anyone else notice that at the dildo art piece there were a number of "missing" dildos?

skygnome777 · Post by **skygnome777** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:18 am

I can imagine how the Law Enforcement when the event was first coming to be would have been nervous.
When I substitute teach I sometimes find that students doing things that aren't really against the rules can accelerate into problems I have to deal with. I could imagine as a LEO that the general craziness of burning man could feel like it was about to collapse into something much worse.

Abductor · Post by **Abductor** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:00 am

Oh, dear old trolls, I haven't read since my last post. Your pitchforks have dull or broken teeth, and your torches are burning out. Trolling is much more epic in my circles, but I imagine we probably owe much inspiration to your work in the 90's. So, out of respect for you, I will pretend to be chased up to Castle Frankenstein. Ohhh wah, I'm all butthurt.

Hahaha. Love you guys.

So I was told by a Black Rock Ranger, in regards to this thread, that everyone who encountered police on any level should write about it using this form, hence this new post. You can probably copy and paste the text into an email or document, if you don't want to screw around with PDF: http://www.burningman.com/media/doc/pdf ... k_form.pdf

And of course some of you need to write in the following: PLEASE SEND MOAR COPS. IT IS MY SEXUAL FANTASY TO BE SURROUNDED BY SO MUCH DRUG-SNIFFING LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT THERE ARE ACTUAL COPS CRAWLING AROUND INSIDE MY ASS.

And for the uninitiated, the Burning Man survival guide has great advice on how to deal with law enforcement. I also recommend this excellent video by a lawyer *and* a cop, on why you should never talk to the police, whether you are a drug using liberal, a Republican Senator, or a sour old fart on burningman.com:

And here is some good advice on how to deal with police encounters when on the road and at home:

this thread is tl;dr so PM me if you want me.

*runs into the hills, all butthurt*

brcprincess · Post by **brcprincess** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 5:17 am

At the end of the day, there would be no Burning Man if it wasn't for the co-operation of the cops. Their presence is essential to our survival.

Burners need to be smart about their behavior and realize that being at Burning Man does not give them the right to blatantly break the law. I have seen some real idiots on the Playa and if I was a cop I would probably have busted them myself.

I have never had a problem with cops at BM, nor has anyone in our camp. The cops are mostly good people, sure some are overzealous, but you will always find that within any group. The important thing is to be aware of your rights and be respectful.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:40 am

brcprincess wrote:At the end of the day, there would be no Burning Man if it wasn't for the co-operation of the cops. Their presence is essential to our survival.

....when attendance is over 100.

mars · Post by **mars** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:41 am

Is there any way we can get the LEO's to focus on something useful, like catching bike thieves?

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:58 am

mars wrote:Is there any way we can get the LEO's to focus on something useful, like catching bike thieves?

you don't want your bike stolen??

put a lock on it..

don't whine and depend on some else..

mars · Post by **mars** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:18 am

unjonharley wrote: you don't want your bike stolen?? put a lock on it.. don't whine and depend on some else..

Dude, My bike wasn't stolen. I did lock it. I don't depend on someone else. Don't whine at me.

I have read a number of stories, either here or tribe, I don't remember, of people having their bike locks cut off at center camp and in their own camps. This includes chain locks and the U kind (forget what they're called) and I think it could be a good use of law enforcement to curb that activity at the event next year. Plus, it might give law enforcement peeps a way to feel more participatory, helpful and useful.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:32 am

now we have gangs looking for only locked bike and stealing them..

the lazy bastards can't just pick up the ones laying around?

How come most of these storys are pre "I heard about"

It appears, From the lost and found thread a bunch of bikes were taken this year..

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:47 am

The reason that we have cops is that there is a distinct lack of radical self-reliance.

Was there a ownerless bike at your camp? did you watch it and take responsibility for its safe return? It takes a village.

mars · Post by **mars** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:55 am

unjonharley wrote:now we have gangs looking for only locked bike and stealing them..

Actually, I think they were looking for the good bikes...the kind they can make money on...one guy reported that his and his wife's bikes were locked together. Thieves cut the lock and took only his bike and left hers, as hers was more of an artistic beater-bike and his was more street worthy.

and I didn't say anything about a gang...I have no idea if it is one person, a pair, a trio, a gang or a number of separate groups or individuals.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:03 am

Sounds like you'd make a good Black Rock Ranger.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:08 pm

mars wrote:Is there any way we can get the LEO's to focus on something useful, like catching bike thieves?

Maybe we could tell them that rumor has it Jimmy Hoffa's buried underneath the Man.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:22 pm

Sail Man wrote:
mars wrote:Is there any way we can get the LEO's to focus on something useful, like catching bike thieves?
Maybe we could tell them that rumor has it Jimmy Hoffa's buried underneath the Man.

just tell them there is a donut it for them.. if they can find the bike your friend told you about.. the one some one said was taken from some one elses camp..

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:27 pm

Just a quick question here:

Does anyone expect Larry to get things right?

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 3:03 pm

cops are people. people are cops.

police your own and they won't have to.

decency, honesty, and common sense cuts across all professions and socio-economic criteria.

i think the LEO's are no more or no less aggressive than any other town of 50,000 holding a public shindig.

this thread is nothing more than a bunch of horse-puckey.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 3:09 pm

Simon of the Playa wrote:cops are people. people are cops.

police your own and they won't have to.

decency, honesty, and common sense cuts across all professions and socio-economic criteria.

i think the LEO's are no more or no less aggressive than any other town of 50,000 holding a public shindig.

this thread is nothing more than a bunch of horse-puckey.

now now simon, i'm layed up with a smashed disc..don't be trying to take my fun away..

marcyirosenthal · Post by **marcyirosenthal** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:46 pm

This was the first year in a while that I felt that there was less policing. Previous years I watched them walking dogs through camps while citizens were at the burn. I spoke with one who had this "radar gun" looking thing that he was pointing across the playa, when I asked him about it, he smirked and told me that it would tell him how fast someone was trying to go, he let me take a look at it, it had a read out of quantities of various drugs the person was carrying.

I know from experience you don't have to be breaking the law to be harassed on the playa. 3 Cops pounced on a guy who was unwrapping a piece of candy (not rolling a joint) out at the Root Collective.

It's all so unfortunate that our society has reached this level, where people assume that everyone is on drugs and a yahoo. :roll:

vargaso · Post by **vargaso** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:35 pm

It's a crapshoot out there. I saw lots of LEOs and more than a few busts in 2008, it was a bummer. This year, I saw one bust and almost no LEOs. Of course, I also wasn't looking for them, nor was doing anything they'd be interested in out in the open. That's really the key, just be aware that they are out there and if you plan to break the law, do it in a private space and "leave no trace" of it.

Personally, I wish they'd let people do drugs in peace, but I know that's not gonna happen. And as others have said, most of the LEOs out there are FAR more reasonable and personable than many you'll encounter off the playa. Most of them seem fairly amused at the goings on, and are always willing to help if you're in need. I've seen LEOs rush to someone who'd hurt herself, I've seen them calmly help someone who was freaking out, most likely from drugs. Of course, I've also seen them act like total dicks, but, and this may just be my luck, those have been rare occasions.

So yeah, just don't do anything illegal out in the open and you'll be fine. And don't be AROUND someone doing something illegal out in the open. If they're your friend, tell them immediately to knock if the fuck off. If you don't them, move immediately away from them. Other than than those things, you're pretty much free to do whatever the fuck you want out there.

bradtem · Post by **bradtem** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:29 pm

Simon of the Playa wrote:cops are people. people are cops.

police your own and they won't have to.

decency, honesty, and common sense cuts across all professions and socio-economic criteria.

i think the LEO's are no more or no less aggressive than any other town of 50,000 holding a public shindig.

this thread is nothing more than a bunch of horse-puckey.

It's more complex than that. BRC is big enough that there are violent altercations. I had a guy take a swing at me this year because I didn't like him vandalizing my art installation. That's the sort of thing you want police for if it goes south.

The problem is that the police spend more time than BRC citizens would like enforcing rules about victimless crimes that BRC citizens largely don't believe in, but which come from outside.

Now the reality is that LEOs are not allowed, by their own rules, to turn a blind eye to violations of the law. They don't always follow that rule, but it is their rule. And it is, by and large, a good rule -- we don't want rule of men, we want rule of law.

However, there are LEOs who definitely seek out such infractions, coming into camps when they see something, and I have also talked to LEOs who say, "I don't really want to do it but if you light up right in front of me, I really have to arrest you."

If the BRC community were voting on it, I suspect it's clear that they would ask for a smaller LEO presence, devoted to dealing with incidence of violence, threats, high inebriation and traffic management, particularly at exodus.

But the community doesn't get a choice, and we don't vote in Pershing or Washoe where they might have one.

Burning Man 2010 Theme. Larry got it wrong.

Bikes Not Drugs

Re: Bikes Not Drugs

Re: Bikes Not Drugs

Re: Bikes Not Drugs

Re: Bikes Not Drugs

Fewer cops