A Series of Unfortunate Events: Reflections on My Best Burn

[ubu]

ha. Z, you are funny, and forgiving. and that is what takes to keep friends.

But we do know she is a girl and we even know what she looks like, have you not seen the pix? she is cute and young. what we do not know is whole lot more than we do know, though.

"what is it in a man,
a woman does desire,
the linaements of gratified desire!"

[ubu]

I was only guessing cabana, but it looks like I guessed the not too many lovers part right. I said you seem and you appear to be.

I'm not one of the new agers who shrinks from judgement. I'll judge you as quickly as you judge this young woman.

Your Christ was a forgiver of adultery.

I forgive you your shallow pretence to adulthood, as you don't appear to me to have a shred of maturity to you, but only the most callow and cowardly self-righteousness which you must imagine to be rectitude.

Here is some more for you:


Was Jesus Chaste or did he
Give any Lessons of Chastity
The morning blushd fiery red
Mary was found in Adulterous bed
Earth groand beneath & Heaven above
Trembled at discovery of Love
Jesus was sitting in Moses Chair
They brought the trembling Woman There
Moses commands she be stoned to Death
What was the sound of Jesus breath
He laid his hand on Moses Law
The Ancient Heavens in Silent Awe
Writ with Curses from Pole to Pole
All away began to roll
The Earth trembling & Naked lay
In secret bed of Mortal Clay
On Sinai felt the hand Divine
Putting back the bloody shrine
And she heard the breath of God
As she heard by Edens flood
Good & Evil are no more t1431
Sinais trumpets cease to roar
Cease finger of God to Write
The Heavens are not clean in thy Sight
Thou art Good & thou Alone
Nor may the sinner cast one stone
To be Good only is to be
A Devil or else a Pharisee
Thou Angel of the Presence Divine
That didst create this Body of Mine
Wherefore has[t] thou writ these Laws
And Created Hells dark jaws
My Presence I will take from thee
A Cold Leper thou shalt be
Tho thou wast so pure & bright
That Heaven was Impure in thy Sight
Tho thy Oath turnd Heaven Pale
Tho thy Covenant built Hells Jail
Tho thou didst all to Chaos roll
With the Serpent for its soul
Still the breath Divine does move
And the breath Divine is Love
Mary Fear Not Let me see


The Seven Devils that torment thee
Hide not from my Sight thy Sin
That forgiveness thou maist win
Has no Man Condemned thee
No Man Lord! then what is he
Who shall Accuse thee. Come Ye forth
Fallen Fiends of Heavnly birth
That have forgot your Ancient love
And driven away my trembling Dove
You shall bow before her feet
You shall lick the dust for Meat
And tho you cannot Love but Hate
Shall be beggars at Loves Gate
What was thy love Let me see it
Was it love or Dark Deceit
Love too long from Me has fled.
Twas dark deceit to Earn my bread
Twas Covet or twas Custom or
Some trifle not worth caring for
That they may call a shame & Sin
Loves Temple that God dwelleth in
And hide in secret hidden Shrine
The Naked Human form divine
And render that a Lawless thing
On which the Soul Expands its wing
But this O Lord this was my Sin
When first I let these Devils in
In dark pretence to Chastity
Blaspheming Love blaspheming thee
Thence Rose Secret Adulteries
And thence did Covet also rise
My Sin thou hast forgiven me
Canst thou forgive my Blasphemy
Canst thou return to this dark Hell
And in my burning bosom dwell
And canst thou Die that I may live
And canst thou Pity & forgive
Then Rolld the shadowy Man away
From the Limbs of Jesus to make them his prey
An Ever devoring appetite
Glittering with festering Venoms bright
Crying Crucify this cause of distress
Who dont keep the secrets of Holiness
All Mental Powers by Diseases we bind
But he heals the Deaf & the Dumb & the Blind
Whom God has afflicted for Secret Ends


He comforts & Heals & calls them Friends

[Cabanasprings]

That's a lot of sanctimonious bullshit from someone who judges a person based on their age and appearance.

I do not believe in the Christ that forgives adultry. He is not mine. And of course you judge me. Please feel free to have your own opinions of me. It will not change me, it will only change you.

[ubu]

That's a lot of sanctimonious bullshit from someone who judges a person based on their age and appearance.

I do not believe in the Christ that forgives adultry. He is not mine. And of course you judge me. Please feel free to have your own opinions of me. It will not change me, it will only change you.

Ah, my dear Cabana,

You are neither a classicist nor a Christian. For me to judge you will not change me in the slightest. My mention of how love first comes through the eyes is a classical reference, one that every poet knows, and so terribly undemocratic and out of fashion, but at least it has the virtue of honesty.

Try to tell me that physical beauty does not catch your eye and I will judge you to be blind.

One man's sanctimony is another's lovely poetry about love.

The mature version of christianity has it that Mary's was a first act of adultery and Joseph's a founding act of forgiveness when he found out that she had conceived of another.

How else do you think she got pregnant. Don't you know that "conceived of a god" was an old euphemism for love child. Read your Book and your ages a little closer, perhaps?

Blake has it absolutely right here in my opinion and it is lovely poetry to boot.

[Kinetic IV]

Wikipedia's list of major religions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions

The past few posts are just another reason why Kali is my deity of choice.
And Cabana I know you have the right to say what you feel...I certainly do but your reply about what she did made me cringe a bit. I'm not saying it's right, not saying it's wrong...I'm simply saying it was harsh.

[mycillion]

Presumptuous - such as you saying that I have not had many lovers, or many that lasted, or that i am in denial or I am bitter. How is that for extreme. And let's be very very clear here, my religion is monogomy. I have been married to my best friend for many years and I do not want to share myself with another. I find comfort in the knowledge that my spouse and I share the mutual respect of our union. Our friends get sick of how much we love each other. And the fact that we don't hump every person that lends us a hand does not prevent us from being free spirited. It just keeps us from being whores.

BTW - He who desires but acts not is a mature adult.

You suck ass little bible quoting small human.

[ubu]

My dear Cabana,

You give new meaning to the conceit that a christian should "go to the publicans." If I were your deacon or your elder in a ministry I'd give you a verbal thrashing at the very least for your behavior here.

I'm much more tolerant of an enthusiastic christian attempting to witness to me out of the overflowing excess of theiry joy in christ. I can only have kind words for that truly religious kind of outpouring. And I've been witnessed to in some of the oddest places, even in the middle of the mojave desert, by a delighful nut.

Just yesterday, a lovely old woman, came to my house to spread the word. I turned her away, but gently, very gently, and with respect.

Can you imagine a missionary whose first words are a denunciation of the persons he or she is trying to spread the word to, and such an indelicate word, with such sexist overtones? I doubt even you can.

I'm afraid your god is Satan or Moses's god, Pachad or Elohim, or one of the other names of god, The Accuser perhaps, but no, your god is not Christ.
Or your Christ is the Accuser and no Christ at all.

I don't have the fantasy that I will change you in the slightest, nor will judging you change me in the slightest. I've seen your type of psuedo-christian many times before.

[ZaphodBurner]

And let's be very very clear here, my religion is monogomy. ...

And the fact that we don't hump every person that lends us a hand does not prevent us from being free spirited. It just keeps us from being whores.

BTW - He who desires but acts not is a mature adult.

Your religion is your business. It doesn't give you a right to insult others based on your own religious ideals.

The definition of a whore is one who exchanges sex for money, or an unscrupulous woman. (Men somehow manage to skate on the latter)

One who exchanges sex for sex is not a whore, especially if they're male. It would help you insult others more effectively if you used the general--however sexist--conventions of the english language.

-c

[SaraSioux]

Well, this thread morphed into something much different from what I first intended it to be! I didn't care to elaborate on the boyfriend situation, but I received so many replies of interest that I thought maybe it was something Burning Man would like to know. Now I half wish I'd left it how it was, the air of mystery is much more interesting than the brutality of truth.

I know I'm not the first to experience playa drama. I know I won't be the last. I'm shocked at the "whore" backlash that comes from a group of such open minded and sexually uninhibited people.

The only difference between the Playa-world and the Real-world, is that in Playa-world people *will* help me down the street with crutches. In the Real-world (aka Orange County) I can't even get someone to open the door at the gas station for me. To me, the Playa-world is Utopia, it's what I wish life could be all year round. It makes me sad that there are so many shitheads running the streets, cutting me off on the freeway, flaming me on message boards, and just generally making my life unpleasant back home in this "Real-world".

And as for the Dear Abbey advice about my "issues", oh please. I most definitely did *not* ask for advice, nor did I feel I was sharing any "issues" with this site. The only issue I'm dealing with right now is trying to decide if we're all a bunch of sacks of molecules and chemicals randomly bumping into eachother making neuro-chemical reactions in our heads, or if maybe there is something deeper and more tangible and more long-lasting beneath our seemingly meaningless existence.

Does true love exist? If so, I can't let some silly fun and yet unfullfilling relationship back home stop the flowering of a reconnection with a several-years long-term-committed soul-mates-style love-of-my-life who happens to be my Bman companion for the last 5 years relationship.

But none of this matters. Perhaps if these message boards yielded the kind of love and support and encouragement as the Real-Burning-Man-World, I would elaborate on my confusion about True Love vs. Comfort, monogamy vs. society, and all the other little things about humanity that intrigue me. But sadly I don't think this Internet audience is patient, open minded, or level-headed enough to contribute anything worthwhile to the discussion.

Ugh, it makes me sad to talk so poorly of Burners. But every thread on these boards people are getting torn into, insulted, told "it's your fault you should have packed better of course we would never stop on the side of the road to help you."

Maybe I'm naive and I thought that this community was something it wasn't.

Let's hope not.



PS. I know it doesn't have to be stated here, and no one really cares anyways, but it did make me sad to be thought of as some dirty disease carrying slut. 3 people in 7 years is a good clean record, especially in your early twenties when a tendency for sluttiness is at its highest.

PSS. When I returned home, the boyfriend I left behind wouldn't even take me to Urgent Care to get a real cast on my ankle. He made me go alone because he was too tired (even though *I* had just gotten back from a 14 hour drive!) There is a big difference between holding a hand, and holding an elbow. To me, it's called "going the extra mile". Someone with extra-mile kind of care and attention definitely makes you stop and take notice.

[ubu]

I'm sorry Sara, on behalf of those who perhaps cannot apologize.

As for community, well, my opinion is that if it is not large enough to include disagreement, it's not worth the name. BM is a community when it is a city, and even then, it includes plenty of disagreement and difference as it should.

It is a shame in my opinion that we could not get to the more important questions of love without getting into a battle over psuedo-morality.

How dare anyone call any person such as you were called for following your heart? I have no idea, and it galls me, honestly. To me, love is about care and tenderness, and your line about the elbow is good example of exactly that. We need to take care of one another.

For the record, I am an atheist with a love of the religious, and I take my stand with the lovers against the accusers and the self-righteous any and every day.

The soul of sweet delight shall never be defiled.
God is human and nothing more, thine own humanity learn to adore.

[SaraSioux]

Thanks ubu. You made an excellent point about the size and spread of the community, and I totally agree. I wouldn't want to be a part of a community where everyone was expected to think and act exactly the same, even if that "sameness" is something I consider "right". :)

I'm glad that we have the freedom and the forum to voice our thoughts, and visceral responses, as loudly and as often as we'd like. Go ahead and say what you want about my morality, dear Burning Man message boards, since what you think of me won't change what I think of myself, I'd love to read the vast and varying opinions of the individuals who care to respond.

[Ron]

....

The only difference between the Playa-world and the Real-world, is that in Playa-world people *will* help me down the street with crutches.

Sometimes, especially if one is an attractive female. OTOH, if one is just another vaguely straight/square looking male one may hobble through the streets of BRC, bleeding, and be just as ignored as in any other city.

We're still the apes we are, even on playa, IME. Gotta love us for all that, seems to me.

Ron

PS There are no numbers of partners that are unacceptable. Zero or a million as long as they were all consenting adults doing what they want to do it's all one to me.

PPS Growing out of naivety is not such a bad thing, and the world still has its beauty, even more so, when one is aware of its universal ugliness

[djmalloc]

Yeah for this story! I was beginning to get all bummed about Bman until I read this and remembered why I love this damn place!

Your posting makes me remember the wonderful helpful attitude of Black Rock City which is something that no other event or group of people or location has ever been able to rival.

I've had shit stolen from me. I've had people try to stifle my expression. I've had insane motherfuckers threaten me with violence. I've had people poop in my themecamp.

But I've also had people spontaneously deliver me a pizza when I was soo hungry. Or offer me a massage. Or give me a ride, or booze, or drugs, or a handjob when that was what I needed most.

Thanks so much for making me pause to reflect on the wonderful giving-ness of BRC!

p.s: I also sprained my ankle this year. The med tent sent me away and told me to take ibuprofren. Which med tent did you go to? And isn't it fucked up how long these fuckers take to heal? I can still barely walk!

[mars]

Rhetorical Question of the Day:

Why is it that the one person who has a bible quote in their tag line seems to be the most hurtful, hateful person here?


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

[DVD]

Rhetorical Question of the Day:
Why is it that the one person who has a bible quote in their tag line seems to be the most hurtful, hateful person here?

I know I am not supposed to answer but- it's because the bible teaches hurt and shame and fear. It's unfortunate. That's not at all what Jesus had in mind.

[philosopher]

That guy seems to be nostalgic for ancient Israelite legalism.

And here I was thinking that nostalgia for the '80s was as bizarre as it could get.

[Cabanasprings]

It makes me sad that there are so many shitheads... flaming me on message boards...

...I'm glad that we have the freedom and the forum to voice our thoughts, and visceral responses, as loudly and as often as we'd like...

No wonder you can't remember which lie you told to which boyfriend.

And Sara, I am sorry that there are people on this board that will defend you just because they think you are easy.

[Kinetic IV]

And Sara, I am sorry that there are people on this board that will defend you just because they think you are easy.

That's going to sting some people a bit.

[ubu]

no sting at all. just pity.

the fool's reproach is a kingly title.

Who said that atheism is the salt that keeps spirituality and faith pure and clean? A socratic no doubt.

It is ethical infantilism to do something because your religion told you so or because a law told you so, because you are afraid of damnation, or because you want reward. Ethical childhood begins when you realize you are free to do as you please, and you begin to do things because you believe they are the right things to do.

[ZaphodBurner]

I do not believe in the Christ

That's a good start, but, why then quote the Bible?

-c

[Cabanasprings]

The argument has been put upon because of the perception of my religious belief. That is where the fool is born. I am agnostic. My bible quote is merely a passage from a piece of literature. If the hypocrit tag had been quoted from The Grimm Brothers, it would bare the same purpose.

Religion is not my nemesis as is appears to be true for others here. I speak only from my own code and my right to have an opinion. Please do not argue that my religion is wrong because my religion is non of your fucking business.

And, btw, only a coward apologizes for someone else.

[ZaphodBurner]

I speak only from my own code and my right to have an opinion. Please do not argue that my religion is wrong because my religion is non of your fucking business.

My right to an opinion would normally stop at verbally abusing you, but you clearly don't have a problem with abusing others.

I hope your whore of a spouse is as fucking brilliant as you aren't. Does she know you call people who don't agree with your romantic arrangement "whores?"

We can all play that way, huh? Tonight, why don't you ask the whore at home how it feels to be insulted by somebody she doesn't know? Then maybe let her read your words here.

Your religion is stupid and we'll MAKE it our business the way you made your public abuse of a fellow wanderer our business.

From one strictly monogamous agnostic to another, how does it feel? Enjoy your clear-as-day security issues. I sure as hell am.

Slap the ol' whore on the ass for us when you get home, m'kay?

-zb

[Cuddle Bunny]

I was in tears not 20 minutes ago, in the middle of my office, reading about our dear Burner who found help on the playa and was reminded of why Burning Man is so cool.

Then I'm wondering, and having that wonder answered (by other Burners who don't feel too intrusive to ask the question). Did she or didn't she, you know, with the new guy that was the old guy?

And THEN I'm having a rather philosophical read about what defines a whore, Webster's or individual opinion.

I've got my bible verse for the day and am up to my neck in whether we should be trying to support our dear Sara or tell her to grow up.

(I think, by the way, that Sara needs to be honest with herself more than anybody. The playa should be/is an extension of each of us. The best parts of each of us. It's not, that I'm aware, supposed to be an entirely different planet-type place. And if you're pissed, Sara, that in the "real" world doors aren't being opened for you and other kindnesses don't find their way to your doorstep the way you clearly think they should ... perhaps you are receiving what you are giving. The ponit of BM for a lot of us is reminding us of the wonder of life and giving us a recharge so we can continue to share that wonder the 51 weeks we have to find a way to pay rent. Just a thought. But that doesn't keep me from absolutely loving your playa story.)

THIS is what's great about BM. I've cried. I've contemplated. I've laughed.

I need a pint.

[Cabanasprings]

Hey Z - don't hate me cause I am beautiful. To base my opinions of Sara on what someone else said would just be retarded.

[mojo]

Sara,

I have been moved by your story and I thank you for making it a part of my experience. I am also a Christian - an ordained one at that. I am not young and I am happily, blissfully monogamous. And frankly, I cheered when I read the line, "of course I boned him".

Thanks for your tale of emotional and physical vulnerability, heroes, and a new dedication to the betterment of others.

Don't let the name calling get the better of you. We all make some choices that others will think are wrong - some just have the need to be abusive about it.

The part about holding your elbow and your hand - I get it. This is not an age issue.... it is an issue of heightened sensitivity and honest concern for another.

Thanks for reminding me why I love the playa and the people on it so much.

[ZaphodBurner]

Hey Z - don't hate me cause I am beautiful.

I don't hate you, nor do I have any reason to believe you're beautiful.

[Kinetic IV]

I don't hate you, nor do I have any reason to believe you're beautiful.

All we have to go off of is an anime avatar. Post a picture or something. Otherwise....
http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.html

[blyslv]

"The best thing you can do for a community is not ask it for anything."
III

"Radical self reliance doesn't mean you can't ask for help."
blyslv

I read so many posts about people taking from the playa, and so few about what people give. But I guess if one wrote about the latter, it wold just seem egotistical.

[Guest]

[/quote]

My right to an opinion would normally stop at verbally abusing you, but you clearly don't have a problem with abusing others.

I hope your whore of a spouse is as fucking brilliant as you aren't. Does she know you call people who don't agree with your romantic arrangement "whores?"

We can all play that way, huh? Tonight, why don't you ask the whore at home how it feels to be insulted by somebody she doesn't know? Then maybe let her read your words here.

Your religion is stupid and we'll MAKE it our business the way you made your public abuse of a fellow wanderer our business.

From one strictly monogamous agnostic to another, how does it feel? Enjoy your clear-as-day security issues. I sure as hell am.

Slap the ol' whore on the ass for us when you get home, m'kay?

-zb[/quote]

You're making the assumption that she (the spouse) took off to Burningman with an ex-boyfriend and boned him.

CS made no indication that his wife sleeps around. I would think insults could at least be topic appropriate.

[ubu]

xvirgin, please read a little more closely. he was trying to get cabana to look at himself. oh well.

Someday, someday:


You shall bow before her feet
You shall lick the dust for Meat
And tho you cannot Love but Hate
Shall be beggars at Loves Gate

someday.