It's SHOWTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tritical · Post by **tritical** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 5:56 pm

<soapbox on>

I'd like to echo Badger's post from (I think) page 3, to wit: that the issues addressed herein are merely symptomatic of a much larger problem (pun intended). And I would cautiously submit that that single problem is the size of the event itself.

I am not learned in social sciences, but I do know what I have felt, and have spent *alot* of time thinking about it over the years since I first came to the playa. It was a time when the event was small enough that I felt it was quite possible to know, or at least connect with, each person there. No one was a stranger. People who didn't smile and say hello as you passed were the exception, not the rule.

I would argue that there is some limit in the size of any community, beyond which humans lose their capacity to relate to, and feel a part of, the whole. Past this limit lies anonymity. Past this limit lies the need for rules, rule makers, rule enforcers, and all of the attendant encumbrances. Past this limit, community breaks down, despite all of the modern science, technology, and feel-good ideas we throw at it. My belief is that this limit is a law of nature.

Burning Man passed this limit long ago, IMHO.

Before all you sociology experts go jumping down my throat about what a silly idea that is, remember, it's just my idea.

Badger posited additional issues of acculturation and consumption - I would argue that these are outgrowths of the size issue.

It's is not hard to see the parallel lines of (growth in population) and (growth of problems) if you've participated in BM for any number of years. The accepted solution thus far has been a flurry of policy making (I wonder how much the policies weigh by now). To me, this is not a logical solution. As jim (and others) so passionately point out, bureaucracy is the antithesis of art - indeed, of most creativity, in its myriad forms. How insane is it that we have given so much of the governance of our country over to those (lawyers) who have proven themselves to be the most adept at following RULES ? And we expect them to find solutions to problems ? Somewhere along the way, we lost creativity.

OK, back on track (it's all Bush's fault, anyway :). Might the solution to the malaise, the unconscious consumption, yea to the very losing of the community that fuels our passions, be the one thing that scares us the most ? Must we make it small again ? Before you get ready to jump down my throat this time, take a deep breath. I don't mean by only limiting the size of Burning Man, but by making many, smaller Burning Men. As is already happening, with both the growth of regional events, and with the more anarchistic random ones that have sprung up.

Part of the reason Burning Man is as big as it is, is that Larry (and he's on film saying words to this effect) likes an urban, cosmopolitan environment.

Don't take away my Burning Man, you scream ! I hear you cry. And I remind you that no one can take away what is already inside you. It seems to me that art and community are so intertwined that to focus on one more than another is to do invite a lack of both. Together they are like a plant that needs certain conditions to prosper. I feel that the plant is suffocating right now. Time to take some cuttings and plant them in fresh soil. Water liberally. Plenty of sunlight. And when they get too big, propagate them again.
<soapbox off>

sparkletarte · Post by **sparkletarte** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:30 pm

Tritical, I like your soapbox. Thanks for putting so well what I too have been thinking, re: the effect of size. My take is that I believe BRC can grow to be larger than it has been, but it needs to be a controlled growth so that the original (or even a new) vision can be maintained. Before growing bigger, it may need to be scaled back to gain strength first.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 7:13 pm

If size matters so much, we'd like it ten percent larger, please.

andi · Post by **andi** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 2:59 am

Tritical, your dream has already blossomed in the Regional Network. You can already find all you describe and more in the Regionals, and they are growing.

And each Regional is an independent organization, founded by burners who approach the Project (and not the other way around). Most Regional Contacts have limited contact with Larry or the senior staff and we are on our own for all conceivable purposes.

Burning Man is much more than just the playa. The seeds took root over 5 years ago, now we have over 65 Regionals all over the world. Our community and the definition of who exactly is a burner is more expansive than you might imagine. This is not some corporate juggernaut, the Project has not been involved with the Regionals very much until the past year or two.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:27 am

I would argue that there is some limit in the size of any community, beyond which humans lose their capacity to relate to, and feel a part of, the whole.

Tritical, thanks for putting it out there. I'm really hoping the issue of event size becomes one that's discussed feverishly over the next few months. At this juncture I don't think its realistiic (or positive) to start discussions about limiting numbers as much as I think we need to engage ourselves in asking how, given the numbers, can we successfully reincorporate the vaporous terms 'culture' and 'community' back into the experiment. I'm hoping more folks will be adding to the discussion.

III · Post by **III** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:34 am

didn't m^2 say that we could get a million people to go?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:40 am

Is pay-per-view cable interactive yet?