Someone set the man on fire during the eclipse!!!

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:53 pm

diane o'thirst wrote:
Apollonaris Zeus wrote:Lets hope that this doesn't inspire other idiots to do the same.
I think it will and that's why I'm not coming back.

The anarchic Burners have a point in that there are a lot of laws (well, rules, but to an anarchist it's the same difference), and now that a precedent has been set I think the ORG will feel they have to do something to keep it from happening again. Something that will, in all likelihood, suck.

It was bad when they fixed it so DPW raises the Man, instead of the lever and whoever happened to be around on Monday morning, and it sucked when we couldn't sit at the Man's feet on the pedestal anymore. This stunt probably means that the fifty-yard perimeter around the Man will be impermeable, and nobody but the ORG and DPW can go in the circle, next year. Watch.

One of our siblings messed up and the rest of us get to go sit in the corner.

I really don't know you at all but I wish people like you would deal with what IS instead of what might have been or what is not.

Someone lit the man on fire early. No one died. No one was injured. Nothing else was destroyed. THe result is that they will rebuild the man and it will burn on Saturday as if nothing has happened. Stop wasting your time and energy on what this might mean and focus it on what it does mean.

Hugs

HughMungus

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:27 pm

HughMungus wrote: Someone lit the man on fire early. No one died. No one was injured. Nothing else was destroyed. THe result is that they will rebuild the man and it will burn on Saturday as if nothing has happened.

I acknowledged that on another thread on this topic and that's not what I'm taking issue with.

Nobody was injured or died in conjunction with this (it's possible the suicide of this morning may have a different view, but we'll never know that). That's good. They're rebuilding the Man. That's great. Paul Addis is being very arrogant and presumptuous about the whole thing. That's bad.

What's WORSE, is that a precedent has been set and a door has been opened. 2007, someone sabotaged the Man and was lauded as a hero. Someone committed suicide at the festival. Watch, it ain't gonna get better, it's gonna get worse. And frankly, I don't want to survive cancer only to get ploughed over by a fire-spitting art car with a drunken asshole at the wheel. And hover over my body, listening to a bunch of cynical anarchist goblins QUOTE THE GODDAMN TICKET and laugh.

Wolf Out.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:37 pm

It's not the first time DPW has had to clean up after somebody. Or the first case of arson or other destruction of somebody else's art.

Or the first time the alleged perp was a completely self-absorbed asshole with no respect for the rights of others.

DPW as a whole probably hasn't devoted a lot of thought as to what the motive was, or what anybody else thinks. They're there to set up the show, and the show must go on. I'm guessing if they blame anybody it might be the Rangers who were obviously asleep on the job that night. Rangers have been posted on the Man long as I can remember, because jackasses have tried to climb the Man as long as I can remember, breaking the neon & the structure in the process.

But maybe it's DPW's and the Man crew's fault for wanting to build anything. I've always thought there were two types of people who go to Burning Man -- those who build stuff, and the other people. Like the alleged perp.

K-mom · Post by **K-mom** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:45 pm

His apparent statement ....
Hi, folks. This is the *alleged* arsonist/douchebag/attention whore himself, writing you from Fernley, NV, where I have been chilling out for a couple of days.
Having read your various comments, a few things should be addressed. First, this operation was extensively planned well in advance, and the number one thing to Black Rock Intelligence was that NO ONE be hurt. If you people actually knew us, you'd know that we have an extensive background in doing things exactly like this. In fact, we were on the ground for some thirty minutes before ascent, scoping the scene and clearing people in order to minimize any possiblity of injury to others. We were aided by several people who were recruited on the playa the night of this burn (BRI has no idea who they are, so don't bother asking).

Second, the operation was planned in conjunction with the lunar eclipse because Black Rock Intelligence knew that another event at the trash fence would draw the bulk of lunatics to it, rather than to the Man. In fact, one of our peripheral operatives aided in getting as many people to the fence event as possible to help BRI achieve its goal of zero injuries.

Third, word went out across the playa days in advance that Black Rock Intelligence was pulling this op. This word continued to go out right up to the moment that our chief operator began the arduous climb up the guide wire. As you can all see from the results, BRI performed flawlessly in this regard.

We could give a fuck less what you all think of us for doing this. Most of you are newbies who have been drawn in by the semi-religious nature of the event, or maybe just the easy drugs and easier sex. You have nothing to offer the event other than your fucking money and obedience. You spend the rest of your lives in mortal fear of everything that insurance companies tell you to fear, and pretend that you're free and clear because you spend four days at a desert bacchanal where spinelessness is not only encouraged but genetically replicated for implementation in successive generations. In short, you are the swine of which Thompson spoke. Get over yourselves.

Some of us live quite well without fear. Doing so requires the ultimate in what Burning Man used to represent: personal responsibility and individual liberty. That's all been lost in the last decade of Burning Man's history. Consider this operation a history lesson that was desperately needed.

One final note: Black Rock Intelligence has been permanently disbanded. All other operatives have made the ultimate sacrifice by swallowing their L-pills to avoid being captured alive. I am the sole surviving member of BRI and ask that you respect my mourning period for those who gave their lives so that this operation was a complete success.

Paul D. Addis
Fernley, NV
http://valleywag.com/tech/burning-man/t ... 295325.php

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:33 am

Boy, it just gets better and better, doesn't it?

Addis still comes off as arrogant, and now judgmental. So we're all self-replicating pigs, huh? And what if some of us find spirituality in it? How's that any skin off his nose? Sorry for the inconvenience.

And BRI were a suicide cult? Did they kill themselves at Addis's behest? Gee, how coolio and courageous is that? Were they Adidas or Nikes? Black, purple, or other?

Fester in a cell, asshole.

akmojo · Post by **akmojo** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 3:12 am

some go just to be part of the event, just to have fun....
what right does he have to ruin it for them..?? to impose his beliefs on others... isn't that counter to the basic beliefs of Burning Man..??
pranks (ie, balls on the man) are one thing but destruction is another...
his "holier than thou" attitude and degrading remarks have me, and no doubt many others, angrier than he might have thought possible...
he will have to show up for court in Pershing County, Nv.. just go online and look at the court calender and you can find out what day and time he will have to appear...

hey, LITTLE man... you can run but you can't hide....
I have the feeling that karma will catch up to you in a most painful way....

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:25 am

Paul Addis acted alone. There is no conspiracy.

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:36 am

Now we have an issue with, "Sex and Drugs"

He sounds like a Republican Christian to me!

This guy should be committed to the funny farm

Ugly Dougly says, "Paul Addis acted alone. There is no conspiracy."

What proof do you have to claim that?

It's possible and most likely probable!

Or are you just deflecting the Truth that's he's part of "Jerico"!

AIIZ

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:43 am

I've slept on it and came to the conclusion that the source of the "BRI suicides" is suspect. He's a prankster and has balls to make an elephant cry for suggesting we respect his mourning.

If you can disrespect the festival, you have no grounds to ask for anything except that disrespect back ten thousandfold.

He's probably just jerking our chain again. I'll believe it when the news report comes through that bodies have been found and autopsy reports of cyanide as CoD come through.

His arraignment in the Pershing County Court is September 25th.

stargeezer · Post by **stargeezer** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:09 am

This creates a very interesting situation.

Many people go to BM to get away from the rules society has placed on them, and for the most part they are allowed to do as they please. Then some idiot does something really radical, and there is a call by some for the law to throw the book at him. On the flip side, if it were dealt with internal to BM, the law would become even more involved. It is an ugly paradox, where does one draw the line between supporting society's laws and ignoring them? Is it reasonable to request enforcement only of those laws that one agrees with? Is it fair to burden a judicial system that is normally held in disdain?

Maybe I should DRINK, NOT THINK!

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:26 am

My feeling is that the "rules" (not laws) issue cuts both ways.

The anarchist stripe of the festival maintain that if people don't like danger, they should stay home and not come to the festival. They sit back and smirk and quote the lawyer-mandated LEGALESE disclaimer on the ticket that you risk severe injury or death by attending.

(Gee, rule of law is so inconvenient â€” except when it's your ass on the line)

If that's true, it's equally true that if the anarchists don't like the Ten Principles, they can bugger off, find another space, go balls-out and deal with it when the authorities come for them. Then we'll get to sit back and laugh when they all whine, "Help! Help! I'm being repressed! Set up a PayPal account for my defense!"

Let's think about what would happen if Burning Man were an anarch state with frontier justice. Paul Addis would have gotten torn apart, in stages. His buddies wouldn't have had time to swallow their "L-pills," they'd hang with him. Have a problem with the U.S. legal system? Sit in your safehouse and sigh.

stargeezer · Post by **stargeezer** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:37 am

diane o'thirst wrote:My feeling is that the "rules" (not laws) issue cuts both ways.

The anarchist stripe of the festival maintain that if people don't like danger, they should stay home and not come to the festival. They sit back and smirk and quote the lawyer-mandated LEGALESE disclaimer on the ticket that you risk severe injury or death by attending.

(Gee, rule of law is so inconvenient â€” except when it's your ass on the line)

If that's true, it's equally true that if the anarchists don't like the Ten Principles, they can bugger off, find another space, go balls-out and deal with it when the authorities come for them. Then we'll get to sit back and laugh when they all whine, "Help! Help! I'm being repressed! Set up a PayPal account for my defense!"

Let's think about what would happen if Burning Man were an anarch state with frontier justice. Paul Addis would have gotten torn apart, in stages. His buddies wouldn't have had time to swallow their "L-pills," they'd hang with him. Have a problem with the U.S. legal system? Sit in your safehouse and sigh.

I am not arguing a position either way. I do not think what happened to the man was the right thing to do, but my point goes beyond that. There are times when I would prefer old west justice, but that too had problems. My question is how can we openly ignore some laws, but call for LEO when others are broken? Basicly, the request is for very selective enforcement, and I believe that is asking too much of LEOs to determine what laws should be enforced and which should not. It is like trying to work for several bosses, each pointing you in a different direction, and my experience is that never works.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:27 pm

stargeezer wrote:I am not arguing a position either way.

That makes you a man of rare wisdom on these boards.

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:53 pm

diane o'thirst wrote:Let's think about what would happen if Burning Man were an anarch state with frontier justice. Paul Addis would have gotten torn apart, in stages. His buddies wouldn't have had time to swallow their "L-pills," they'd hang with him. Have a problem with the U.S. legal system? Sit in your safehouse and sigh.

We would kill someone for setting the man on fire early? What???

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 1:26 pm

I seem to recall that last week we were pillorying Larry for selling out to big corporations. Now, he has gained new sympathy.

Ah yes, everything is proceeding according to plan...

stargeezer · Post by **stargeezer** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 2:56 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:
stargeezer wrote:I am not arguing a position either way.
That makes you a man of rare wisdom on these boards.

I appreciate the compliment, but in this case I do not think it is deserved.

My information base on this subject is limited by never having been at the event, I am sure that would change my perspective. With this limitation, I do not feel I have the right to argue a position, but rather entered this discussion simply as food for thought as I am fascinated by the paradox.

For this subject, I am sure there are no right or wrong answers, just biased opinions that intrigue an outsider.

Having said all that, I do thank you.

blyslv · Post by **blyslv** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 3:04 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:I seem to recall that last week we were pillorying Larry for selling out to big corporations. Now, he has gained new sympathy.

Ah yes, everything is proceeding according to plan...

I still think that there is hypocrisy that comes from the Org. After all, the Org still hands out Moop, while asking participants not to.

But that doesn't mean that burning down the Org's work is valid or right.

And if what I read about Mr. Harvey's reaction is true, that he laughed it off and stated that the Man is nothing more than a large wooden doll, well that shows some class and my hat is off to the Hatted One for that. but I still think there is an incremental sellout happening.

ZaphodBurner · Post by **ZaphodBurner** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:04 pm

K-mom wrote: You spend the rest of your lives in mortal fear of everything that insurance companies tell you to fear, and pretend that you're free and clear because you spend four days at a desert bacchanal where spinelessness is not only encouraged but genetically replicated for implementation in successive generations. In short, you are the swine of which Thompson spoke. Get over yourselves.

Wow. Arrogant, isn't he? That's odd. I wonder how it is that he knows all about how or why my wife and I spend our days in the desert or what we spend our lives in "mortal fear" of. Why does he think we're any different than he is?

The difference between him and Hunter Thompson is that Hunter Thompson was Hunter Thompson. This jackass is a poser who lacks his own identity. A wannabe. A fake.

With such blatant disrespect for other people's experience, why does he think anybody should believe that "they" were interested in safety and that he wasn't just some drug-addled intellectually-retarded brat desperately seeking to see his face in print? I'm not going to extend him the benefit of the doubt.

Ironic thing is, he thinks he's a performance artist. If I were him I'd be careful what I called art, or some other jackass HST-wannabe might follow his example and burn it.

He must have some pretty good friends to let him take the fall for them without admitting to being part of the alleged plot. With friends like that, who needs an asshole?

-zb

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:42 pm

Does anyone know who inspired Hunter S. Thompson anyway?

It does provide a sort of contrast.

K-mom · Post by **K-mom** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:48 pm

For the record, that's not my quote, I just copy and pasted the guy's Academy Award Acceptance Speech (tm) to the board. I don't think you're all spineless swine.

Well, except you. Yeah, you over there. Shape up.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:39 pm

Okay, here's what I don't get.

He was an old-time Burner, House Cacophony Society. Went for a couple years to the Playa. Didn't like where it was going right about '98. Decided to get outta Dodge.

Goes away and starts plotting his revenge. Comes back and burns the Man early because he thought we all needed saving from ourselves.

.....................

....................

..................................................

Maybe it's me, I'm not Paul D. Addis, but if I hated something enough to walk away from it, I wouldn't come back. Not to participate, not to spectate, not to be a hard-ass anarchista and mess with someone else's art then deliver a sermon with my nose in the air high enough to give me whiplash. Didn't anyone ever tell this guy that living well is the best revenge?

As for the Disneyfication of the Burn (I am getting SO SICK of that old saw)...sorry to disappoint, but that's just fucking hyperbole. I'll bet half the people that use it have never been to Disneyland. There's actually a group in Gigsville who worked for Disney and called themselves the Disney Villains. Never mind that Disney has been referred to as "The Apple of Southern California" and they get more static and grief from the Theocratic Right than a butcher shop in Santa Cruz. Sure, it's commodification right and left. There's worse out there.

If PDA was so down on "commercialism," why didn't he just burn down Loew's Home Improvement? They're selling building kits to replace the houses that Katrina took in Mississippi and Louisiana a couple years ago. They're flying in the face of Nature's Edict and denying the Almighty Chaos, and profiting from other peoples' misery. So the people lived in a hurricane- and flood-prone area, they screwed up, let them melt into compost. That's what you get for denying the Earth. What was he afraid of? Getting arrested, fined and sued for obscene amounts of money?

Answer to Hugh Mungus: No, I wasn't advocating killing the guy for burning the Man early. But there are people who are pissed enough with him to lay some grievous bodily harm on him for that. Myself, I don't particularly care and even if I was onsite and saw it going down, I wouldn't be yelling either "Let it burn!" or "Save the Man!," I'd be quiet and afterwards say, "Can we fix it in time for Saturday?" Like I said before, my beef with him is 1) The precedent, and 2) His attitude.

Burning Man isn't safe. Never was. How can you say that about a locus where the very soil will burn holes in your feet and hands and where they tell you to drink water constantly or you'll turn into ludefisk?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:54 pm

Geezer, you're under some kind of misapprehension. Among other things, the ticket to Burning Man reads

Commercial vending, firearms, fireworks, rockets and all other explosives prohibited. You agree to read and abide by ALL rules in the Survival Guide. You agree to follow federal, state, and local laws.

can't sit still · Post by **can't sit still** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:53 pm

Apparently, the guy doesn't like the direction that Burning man has taken as it evolved. It seems that he prefers the days of drive-by-shooting-galleries. OK, that's cool. You can never make everybody happy. BUT, he's a spiteful little shit and wants to ruin it for everybody if they don't play the game the way he wants.
He just ran into the game and popped the ball just to ruin a good time for everyone else. His cute little smirk won't be so cute when he gets back to the default world.
There are plenty of the old timers who do believe in good old fashioned justice.
The guy has shit for brains if he believes that every person who was disappointed or pissed-off is just going to forget him when he gets back to SF.
As he pontificates about all of us living in fear,,, he better look in the mirror. He needs to get a camera and take a "before" picture.
You may decry back-street justice but, every little shit who gets away with this kind of stuff will think at least twice if this weasel gets cosmetic surgery with a baseball bat.
He wants to spoil the party of 40,000 people,,,, OK, he can suffer the agregate evil wishes of 40,000 people. I would consider it perfectly fair if I had done the same.

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:12 am

It's antidisestablishmentarism at it's worst, I tell ya.....

the rebbi

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 9:13 am

One would think that Paul Addis's car would be a target now.

The suicide is more bewildering that Paul's action. It the event that bad this year? or did this person run into their significant other from the two years ago?

Well tonight is the burn. Hope you can enjoy it without the past week's events on your mind

AIIZ

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 10:27 am

blyslv wrote:But that doesn't mean that burning down the Org's work is valid or right.

Well, YEAH!?

I guess it's not that obvious...

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 10:37 am

Re: the suicide I'd wait for the ID & toxicology results.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 12:59 pm

blyslv wrote:
Ugly Dougly wrote:I seem to recall that last week we were pillorying Larry for selling out to big corporations. Now, he has gained new sympathy.

Ah yes, everything is proceeding according to plan...
I still think that there is hypocrisy that comes from the Org. After all, the Org still hands out Moop, while asking participants not to.

But that doesn't mean that burning down the Org's work is valid or right.

And if what I read about Mr. Harvey's reaction is true, that he laughed it off and stated that the Man is nothing more than a large wooden doll, well that shows some class and my hat is off to the Hatted One for that. but I still think there is an incremental sellout happening.

To be honest, I have been wondering if it isn't a Cacophony Society prank. "People are taking Burning Man too seriously, so let's get someone to set the Man on fire early." Hell, Larry Harvey might even be behind it!

I think that the Man in the Hat's opinion is the right one-- the event isn't the Man, it is just named after it.

Now, someone mentioned putting balls on the Man....

B.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 1:50 pm

Rabbi Dali Rick wrote: antidisestablishmentarism

Good usage

stargeezer · Post by **stargeezer** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 3:52 pm

Bob wrote:Geezer, you're under some kind of misapprehension. Among other things, the ticket to Burning Man reads

Commercial vending, firearms, fireworks, rockets and all other explosives prohibited. You agree to read and abide by ALL rules in the Survival Guide. You agree to follow federal, state, and local laws.

BM org prints that on the back of the ticket to help cover their butt when something goes wrong, while in fact encouraging activities that are illegal. This is the whole reason for having the event in Black Rock, out where most of society will not see what happens, and in fact this is a major draw for the event. While freedom from some laws may be a good thing, it puts LEO in the position of judging which laws to enforce and which not. If you don't think laws are ignored at the event, just imagine how many arrests would be made if the event was held in your city park right accros the street from an elementary school.

I am not saying anything negative about the event, and in fact I may attend at some point in the future. I am just pointing out that it is interesting that many go to BRC to get away from the heavy law enforcement of the cities, but as soon as something happens that they disagree with, they call on the law to fix it.

Someone set the man on fire during the eclipse!!!

.......... Place Answers In This Space .....................

Re: .......... Place Answers In This Space .................