MOOPing away from the playa

king james version · Post by **king james version** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:03 pm

Driving down MLK in Berkeley, CA, today.

Oh, look, fellow burners in the car in front of me. Several different stickers indicating several trips. So why is it that these lovely glowing creative centers of light and energy feel that it's okay to
THROW THEIR FUCKING CIGARETTE BUTTS OUT OF THE CAR WINDOW?

Now I know there are people who go to the playa and just moop their hearts out; I'm not concerned with them, as they are worthless fucks who are beyond educating. I'm wondering about the folks who wouldn't dare leave a trace on the playa but think it's just fine to litter in an urban environment. [I'm not sure whether today's offender is a full- or part-time mooper, but you can ask him the next time you see him in his white mustang whose first four license plate letters are YILD. (Maybe a little shaming might work.)] I have friends who are like this; I ask them not to do that, pointing out the fact that they wouldn't do it on the playa. They improve for a while.

Why are people so lazy, such slobs? It's sad.

joel the ornery · Post by **joel the ornery** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:17 am

i don't have an answer to your questions.
however, nice observations.
best wishes.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 8:33 am

Seems like a rather Berkleyesque thread... No wonder I moved away from there.

Sorry...

Personally, you may think it's good and nice to want to police everybody and make them conform to what your ideals are, but reality-wise, it just ain't gonna happen. Sure, shame them away... until they flash a gun in your face (you're in Berkeley, fer christ sakes!!) for giving them shit about something inconsequentiial like flicking a butt out the window... I don't care how many BRC stickers they have, they're NOT in BRC (they may have just bought (or stole) the car) , and neither are you.

Do I moop on the playa? Hell no. Do I moop off the playa? Rarely. Do I police others to make them act in the way *I* want them to? Are you kidding??

I'm not saying mooping is right or good (it's neither), but it's not my business to stick my face in someone elses business. My life is too precious for doing things that, um, dumb.

Let me ask this question - and it's a serious one. Do you go out to University Ave. and moop it? I mean, seriously, pick up every butt and piece of gum and other litter off of it and dispose of it properly? Something to think about...

BTW, It wasn't me... I don't smoke, and rarely go into Berkeley anymore...

Б. Б.

Black Rock Rickkkk · Post by **Black Rock Rickkkk** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 8:31 pm

"for giving them shit about something inconsequentiial like flicking a butt out the window..."

And one wonders why the term 'Moron" comes so easily to one's typing fingers.

I was Athens years ago, A woman in a car tossed a cigarette out of her car window. A man stopped, got out of his car and approached her car. He picked up the cigarette butt, walked up to her car, and handed it to her, saying, "We do not approve of littering" As he walked off, I recognized George Papandreous the Prime Minister of Greece, of course he was soon removed by the King, as he did not support US Imperialism to a sufficent degree. Which means, I suppose that those who litter are neocon supporters.

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 9:20 pm

Cigarette butts are biodegradable.

neccessity · Post by **neccessity** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 10:00 pm

nothing to do with the politics of it all, but I thought I'd share a related story.

Years ago I had a car with no ashtray and was one of those fuckers who'd flick butts out the window myself. One day I made the mistake of doing so right in front of a police car I hadn't noticed. I got pulled over, chastised, and cited. What was my citation for? Underage smoking? nope. Littering? nope. It read, "Launching a flaming missile from a moving vehicle". Seriously. Well I went home that day and cut a soda can in half to make an ashtray that fit in my cupholder. To this day I refrain from launching of flaming missiles.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 8:33 am

I like that. Or... one can also get those beanbag ashtrays from Ground Auto or Shuckers (Krugerans for thoze on the west coast), or their ilk. There all of like $5.00.

I too got busted for doing the same but different - smoking on a motorcycle (in the pre-helmet days). Cop asks as he hands silly me her ticket "What did you think you were going to do with it when you were finished with it, pull over and crush it out??" And yeah, it was for something like a flaming dangerous device or somesuch.

* * * * * * * * * *
You know, it wasn't the moop issue that made me write what I did... it's walking up and confronting a potentially dangerous person who mmay outeweigh AND be far more armed than you and be lookking for trouble and trying to tell them what to do...

"Um, Pardon me, asshole, would you get your littering ass out of your car and pick up your cigarette butt."... Mr just-stole-the-car-and-packing-serious-weaponry-and-semi-psychotic looks out of his car, blows smoke in your face, and pulls out his stolen .38 and...

Yeah. Great idea. I'm sorry, maybe I have a little more common sense nowdays to risk my life over something that stupid... and I have a little more wisdom than to walk up to a complete stranger, pray to god they're decent rather than a 400 LB angry Doberman, and start chewing them a new asshole over a cigarette butt.

I may not like their disrespecting my town, but honestly, I'd rather go home at night than sleep in the fridge downtown. And nowdays, how do you really know that stranger won't?? Hell, I *have* to deal with strangers as a part of my job, and I'd be a damn fool to get in their face like that...

YMMV... And if that butt on the ground is worth more than your life, rock on.

Б. Б

the fire elf · Post by **the fire elf** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 12:36 pm

i moop to clear my headspace...

and litter with a touch of malice...

~trash voodoo, too

ThePikey · Post by **ThePikey** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 1:06 pm

Dude, cigarette butts stick around a LONG time. They do not degrade worth a tinker's damn. They're one of the most common things found on the playa surface a year after the event along with nails, pistachio shells, and remains of blinky shit.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 1:55 pm

Also the most common item on California beaches every trash removal day. I don't know what that fiber is, but I don't think it's a plant.

regionalchaos · Post by **regionalchaos** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 2:13 pm

Some people smoke hand rolled, with no filters. I know I did for a long time. I never worried much about tossing those on the ground, you can step on it and rotate your foot and it's already broken down!

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 3:24 pm

ThePikey wrote:Dude, cigarette butts stick around a LONG time. They do not degrade worth a tinker's damn. They're one of the most common things found on the playa surface a year after the event along with nails, pistachio shells, and remains of blinky shit.

OK, then I would like to change my answer to "It's safer than feeling around for the ashtray and possibly losing your flaming butt under your seat, either of which could cause a fatal accident."

ThePikey · Post by **ThePikey** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 4:47 pm

DallasPlaya wrote:OK, then I would like to change my answer to "It's safer than feeling around for the ashtray and possibly losing your flaming butt under your seat, either of which could cause a fatal accident."

Tru dat.

(But if you're *genuinely* concerned about health and safety, wtf are you doing smoking? Just sayin'.)

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 6:16 pm

You shouldn't smoke cigartettes on the playa if you aren't ready to pack the butts out. You shouldn't smoke other things unless 1) you're ready to accept getting busted if you do it like an asshat or 2) you're willing to take measures to prevent #1.

ravenluv · Post by **ravenluv** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 11:54 pm

drat!

i thought this topic was going to be about people who don't secure their outgoing bundles of moop to their vehicles such that the bundles don't burst or fall off on the drive back. but it's not. it's about cigarette butts in a city street. but since i'm here, i thought i'd mention the bursting falling bundles of moop thing 'cause it really pissed me off. i mean, c'mon...how hard can it be to prevent this? sadly, it only takes a terrifically small percentage of mistakes in this endeavor to really wreak havoc.

as for the thousands upon thousands of souls who were able to keep their trash from spilling on the way out -- thank you!

as for those of you who can't do what those thousands did, keep trying!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 9:13 am

We actually did talk about that tieing trash on thing and thought about there maybe being people to check loads during exodus and retie if nessesary. Care to volenteer. (I won't because after my trip to Reno this year and 6 bags o'saline, well that and I don't know knots...)

Post by **AntiM** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 1:17 pm

Even the most well-secured loads can work loose, important to check your load at every fuel stop along the way ...

ravenluv · Post by **ravenluv** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 1:55 pm

i like the inspector at the gate idea. i suggest preventing vehicles from exiting which have moop bundles that are in any way exposed to the outside. either that or equip inspectors with Precarious Moop Bundle remediation materials.

i'm surprised, and happy, that no one appears to have made a big issue out of this. i don't know who cleaned it up. i never did a late monday exodus before this year, so i have no idea how common the problem has been. i believe it is serious enough that it should be addressed. i'm sure i'm not the only one.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 2:47 pm

Two years ago there was a real problem which I believe even got hashed out at the Town Hall Meeting. Left early last year, so I don't know if there was change. 05 was better than 03 as I recall...

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 7:32 pm

i believe it is serious enough that it should be addressed. i'm sure i'm not the only one.

Operators for volunteers seeing a need are standing by.

Bin Noddin · Post by **Bin Noddin** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 8:41 pm

Check this out from the Hun's blog. As Isotopia said, operators are standing by. http://traces.burningman.com/bbrc/bbrc0 ... -to-heaven

Post by **AntiM** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 8:26 am

Bottles of urine, heh. I know why truckers pee in bottles (big trucks are hard to just pull over, tight schedules, so on), but I've yet to figure out why they toss the containers on the on/off ramps rather than drop them in the trash cans at the truckstops where they must inevitably fuel.

tangent over, back to your regularly scheduled thread

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:34 am

Sue,
I honked at a police car that cut me off last night.
I just thought it would cheer you up to hear about it.
I think the expression was shock.

If you have to put stuff outside a vehicle, you need a real tie down strap.
They are very useful anyway. A standard 27 ft trucker strap is about $15 and is good for 3500 lbs shock and US made. Only thing I've ever seen hold a tarp on a car in the wind too.

MOOPing away from the playa

MOOPing away from the playa

"for giving them shit about something inconsequentiial

...

butt seriously folks

fasteness gate