This circle-jerk thread is pathetic. It comprises a gaggle of resentful, busybody burners spewing vitriol at a bunch of people and camps they don't know, treating unfounded ASSumptions as facts, and professing to know -- somehow -- about the "participation" of individuals at the burn. The thread embodies all the lameness associated with churches, where self-righteous members disdain outsiders and others within the church who don't follow some specific interpretation of the religion -- and who cannot see their own hypocrisy by doing so.
The sad, ironic fact of the matter is: you are the ones who are not "getting it" about Burning Man -- not these other individuals for whom you claim knowledge about. You are the ones acting like self-righteous assholes, as Puritan Burners (Burnitans?) thinking themselves more pious than their neighbor through good works. You don't get gifting, radical inclusion, participation, or even for that matter decommodification. No, you just don't get it.
Unless you are actually as omniscient as you pretend you are, kindly SHUT THE FUCK UP about purporting to know whether someone you see is an actual "participant" or a playa-parasite. You don't know what they did before the event. You don't know what they've done while at the event. You do not jack shit about that person by stupid metrics such as riding a Segway or using a look-alike bike. You certainly do not know how this event may affect a person for their future. That person you ASSume is a "plug-and-playing, tourist-spectator, frat-bro-dude raver" may well become a contributing member to this society, but here you are making lame ASSumptions about them based on a passing moment that you observed them. Stop being a busybody. Go enjoy your burn and let others enjoy theirs.
Kindly shut the fuck up about other peoples' "participation" or what you perceive is an "indicator" that someone is not "participating." Again, you're not omniscient. If all you want are people demonstrating their "participation" go join some busybody religious organization so you can keep tabs on each other. Furthermore, not everyone (or probably nobody) relishes shit like setting up camps, pedaling some second-hand-bike, or even driving to the event, nor do those things make a person a "participant." Yes, people pay money for conveniences. WE ALL DO. Every camping implement you brought was designed expressly to make your outdoor stay more "plug-and-play." Those lag-bolts you drilled in? Plug-and-play. Generators? Plug-and-play (literally). So how do you even keep a straight face while making claims against PnP camps based on these arbitrary and superficial standards? Oh, someone manning the bar instead of a campmate? A bike the camp provided instead of a friend hauling it in? Wait, what really is the difference here? Yeah, not much difference, only it probably cost the person more (cry me a river).
So shut the fuck up with your hypocritical, wealth-resenting diatribes about plug-and-play camps and concentrate on burning the way you like to burn.
Do you even know what it means to "participate" or do you just spout of the term to make yourself feel superior? "Participation" at Burning Man is a personal quest of betterment. You should "participate" because it makes you feel good, not to fulfill a quota, and not to make others think better of you. Your mindset should be that you want and choose to participate, and that others who choose not to are simply missing out on that aspect of the burn, and that's their loss.
Yeah, that's right. Participating because you want to participate. That's it. No staring down your nose at the people you don't even know and ASSuming they're "tourists" or whatever lame label you parrot. You're only commodifying "participation" by treating it as some sort of quota to be fulfilled to be worthy of staying at the event. Let people "radically express" themselves how they want. If they want to burn the way you do, they will.
Holy shit, people transact money to attend Burning Man. Imagine that. What do you think camp dues are for? They pay for a service that certain, often "core" members, take care of. Not just gas money, but also time. Oh, and what do you think your camp "participation" labor is for? It's transacting your labor for being allowed to stay at the camp. Sacred Spaces explicitly charges more if you're unwilling to stick around and help with tear-down and clean up the place. Again, all this whining about PnP camps seems to really be about wealth-resentment, and I'd invite you all to evaluate what really bugs you about PnP camps besides your unfounded ASSumptions about individuals who would rather pay to not have to deal with camp shit. After all, why no hate against Burner Express people who paid to ride into the burn on a bus to a camp that was already set up by others? Or what about people paying for a ride-share which obviously benefits -- monetarily -- all involved? Or people paying to have grey-water pumped rather than evaporated? Or shipping containers delivered on-playa so you don't even need haul in shit again? Or people who pay $5/bag to dispose of trash? Or paying for water expressly set up for burners? Or people who rent RVs? Or what about those little kids or spouses/partners who aren't doing any camp setup? Where are the lame threads about those (this year)?
It's all about Wealth resentment. Get over it and you'll be happier for it.
Please stop attending the event if you keep holding onto such regressive views. You are the ones who don't "get it." It is obvious that your views are more in line with the default world, in particular, with the kind of self-righteous busybodies that attend churches just to gossip and feel more pious than their neighbors. We don't need that here. This is not a puritan event. People participate because they enjoy it, not to fulfill someone else's quota. If that's too much for you, get out. Get the fuck out.
and it is a LOT of beer, can I be resented, please. 
