In the Default World we assume that things designed for public consumption are safely designed. Alas, this is not so in BRC. There was a water slide around 3 o'clock that almost broke my toe due to a fatal design flaw. When I mentioned it to someone there, he said, "don't feel bad, a guy broke his ankle a few minutes ago".
I was pretty bummed for about a half an hour. "Shouldn't someone do something about this?" or "There ought to be some controls", "How can this be allowed?" etc.
But as I thought about it, I remembered how I feel in California much of the time: hemmed in by all the laws, controls, and restrictions. We suffocate for lack of un-mediated experience in daily life, over-protected and over regulated everywhere we go.
Maybe we don't need a Consumer Protection Agent on the Playa... but a broken ankle really sucks.
I don't have a ready answer for this. Maybe Thunderdome had it right. There was a sign there that said, "Number of Days Since Last Accident: 0" At least participants clearly knew what they were getting into.
Having gotten off lightly this time, I will not assume that things have been designed carefully in BRC. Maybe the lesson is that the Default World has numbed the part of my brain that makes decisions about things like this. No one else bears the responsibility for protecting me, I guess. That's my job, not Ralph Nader's.
But still...
What do you think?
Ralph Nader of the Playa
Ralph Nader of the Playa
If we do not change the direction we are going...we are likely to end up where we are headed.
Re: Ralph Nader of the Playa
Oh Please... Think on the Playa??? Oh Please........ricksca wrote:
What do you think?
I was Born OK the 1st Time....
Don't bring defaultia to Burning Man, take Burning Man to defaultia...... graidawg
Don't bring defaultia to Burning Man, take Burning Man to defaultia...... graidawg
Re: Ralph Nader of the Playa
"Oh Please... Think on the Playa??? Oh Please........"
OK, good point. But just like in the D.W., if we don't, someone will be happy to step forward and do it for us.
OK, good point. But just like in the D.W., if we don't, someone will be happy to step forward and do it for us.
If we do not change the direction we are going...we are likely to end up where we are headed.
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falk
- Posts: 415
- Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2005 1:15 am
- Burning Since: 2004
- Location: Silicon Valley
- Contact:
Umm, yeah, seriously. Whenever people ask me to tell them about Burning Man, in the middle of telling them how wonderful it is, I also tell them how dangerous it is. Hell, the danger is part of what makes it wonderful.
We show art at Burning Man that is far too dangerous to display in "civilized" society. We take harmless childhood toys and make them life-size and dangerous just for fun. We surround ourselves with things that spout flame or explode at unpredictable intervals. No safety railings. How lame would the titty-totter or the nude zipline be if there was an osha-approved net underneath?
Why the hell do you think we do it so far out in the desert in the first place? Seriously, how did you get all the way to Black Rock City without *somebody* warning you how dangerous it is? People *die* at Burning Man.
You hurt your toe? Someone broke an ankle? Shit, that's nothing. My small camp had two people sent to the medics for dehydration last year. A friend had a human bowling alley a few years ago where someone ran a piece of rebar right through their cheek. They tell of someone who broke his neck and *came back* a few days later in a neck brace.
You want safe, go to Disneyland. Remember our motto: Safety is Our Third Priority.
We show art at Burning Man that is far too dangerous to display in "civilized" society. We take harmless childhood toys and make them life-size and dangerous just for fun. We surround ourselves with things that spout flame or explode at unpredictable intervals. No safety railings. How lame would the titty-totter or the nude zipline be if there was an osha-approved net underneath?
Why the hell do you think we do it so far out in the desert in the first place? Seriously, how did you get all the way to Black Rock City without *somebody* warning you how dangerous it is? People *die* at Burning Man.
You hurt your toe? Someone broke an ankle? Shit, that's nothing. My small camp had two people sent to the medics for dehydration last year. A friend had a human bowling alley a few years ago where someone ran a piece of rebar right through their cheek. They tell of someone who broke his neck and *came back* a few days later in a neck brace.
You want safe, go to Disneyland. Remember our motto: Safety is Our Third Priority.
Thanks for the reply, Falk. Obviously, in my original post I'm aware of the negative side of over-mediated experience (Disneyland being the ultimate example of that). But I'm not sure that simply saying BM is dangerous covers it. Shit does happen, but that doesn't mean we need to go out of our way to spread it. A broken ankle isn't a joke and it's really easy (and reasonable) to assume that a structure designed to get you wet won't give you one. And even more reasonable to assume that once one occurred that some steps might be taken to prevent further injury. If you know that your display is dangerous, you at least should warm people (if not fix it). Remember, these injuries didn't happen because people misused the display. It happened because it misused them. If I get dehydrated in the desert, my bad. This is different.
I don't want BRC to turn into Disneyland and I don't want Experience Police to sanitize everything either. But I also don't want to be the victim of unnecessary carelessness and stupidity. I wrote this to facilitate a dialog about an issue that is not clearly black and white (if it were, no dialog would be necessary).
I don't want BRC to turn into Disneyland and I don't want Experience Police to sanitize everything either. But I also don't want to be the victim of unnecessary carelessness and stupidity. I wrote this to facilitate a dialog about an issue that is not clearly black and white (if it were, no dialog would be necessary).
If we do not change the direction we are going...we are likely to end up where we are headed.
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chiefdanfox
- Posts: 786
- Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:14 pm
- Burning Since: 1986
- Location: Bodega Bay, CA
Well, there is such a thing called attractive nuisance. It is probably just a matter of time before someone launches a law suit from this angle, and that will be the end of Burning Man: No more interactive exhibits.
I am sorry you got injured. I nearly climbed a wonderful metal tree house, and then said to myself, "Self, you're a 47 year old man..." So I watched others and took pictures. No broken bones were sustained by my person.
Self reliance is more than water, food and shelter. Judgment is in there. There is shit I could do at sixteen (jump from roof tops to name but one example), that would severely injure or kill me now, and in some respects, I am in better shape now (stronger), but my bones are more brittle, my knees are geezer-like, etc. (We old folks always talk about our aches and pains...will you get grandpa another blanket?<as dentures fall into lap>)
I am sorry you got injured. I nearly climbed a wonderful metal tree house, and then said to myself, "Self, you're a 47 year old man..." So I watched others and took pictures. No broken bones were sustained by my person.
Self reliance is more than water, food and shelter. Judgment is in there. There is shit I could do at sixteen (jump from roof tops to name but one example), that would severely injure or kill me now, and in some respects, I am in better shape now (stronger), but my bones are more brittle, my knees are geezer-like, etc. (We old folks always talk about our aches and pains...will you get grandpa another blanket?<as dentures fall into lap>)
Again, I don't want to turn BM into yet another DW opportunity for litigiousess. I too rejected some experiences that seemed too risky (Thunderdome, for example). This seemed like a pretty benign risk: a sliding board into a pool. Safe enough if you are 5 feet tall. If you're 6 feet tall however, your feet slam up against the far end of the pool. Pretty hard to assess until you feel your ankle snap.
It turns out that there is a group that monitors this kind of stuff. It is called the Performance Safety Team. Mostly, they keep people from getting immolated, but also respond to things like this. Having learned that, I'm thinking that there isn't too much more to say, except, as has been pointed out, people shouldn't assume that BM projects conform to OHSA standards. Some caution is not a bad idea. An obvious conclusion when considering Thunderdome, but also true for lesser threatening displays as well.
It turns out that there is a group that monitors this kind of stuff. It is called the Performance Safety Team. Mostly, they keep people from getting immolated, but also respond to things like this. Having learned that, I'm thinking that there isn't too much more to say, except, as has been pointed out, people shouldn't assume that BM projects conform to OHSA standards. Some caution is not a bad idea. An obvious conclusion when considering Thunderdome, but also true for lesser threatening displays as well.
If we do not change the direction we are going...we are likely to end up where we are headed.
Working line control at Artica two years ago, this old guy came through with a beer in each hand and a cigarette in his lips. He was bobbing and staggering like a punch-drunk boxer.
When I asked him if he was ok he said something to the effect of, 'I've survived four heart attacks and I'm ready for the next'. When I asked him why he dared come out to the desert party with a heart like that, he asked me what the point would be in staying home and waiting for death to come to him.
"Anyway, how could I miss this?" he yelled back as he stumbled to the counter .. as much as that encounter kind of scared me, it also really touched me.
When I asked him if he was ok he said something to the effect of, 'I've survived four heart attacks and I'm ready for the next'. When I asked him why he dared come out to the desert party with a heart like that, he asked me what the point would be in staying home and waiting for death to come to him.
"Anyway, how could I miss this?" he yelled back as he stumbled to the counter .. as much as that encounter kind of scared me, it also really touched me.
You call it malt liquor, I call it breakfast.
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Ebenezer Squeezer
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:58 pm
- Location: Seattle, WA
I saw that one early in the week, but I don't think it was running at the time. Given the opportunity and a bit of water, I would have tried it as well. I may have even broken an ankle.ricksca wrote:No, that wasn't it. This was kinda homemade, plywood, flashing, dumping into about an 8' above ground pool.
But as you said, we are the ones ultimately responsible for protecting ourselves. Sure, my ankle is fine, but crap, it hurts like hell when I pee. I think I got Gon-o-ka-ka-khackus!
Loadie Camp
Have no fears.
Much like the Shark, the water slide is gone for good.
This is why we can't have nice things.
Much like the Shark, the water slide is gone for good.
This is why we can't have nice things.
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Ugly Dougly
- Posts: 17612
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 9:31 am
- Burning Since: 1996
- Location: เชียงใหม่
I fell asleep on top of the 100 foot oil derrick awaiting the sunrise.
I can't even GET TO THE FOOT of the local 100 foot water tower, much less climb it, much less sit on top of it without the police and HomelandDefense comming to the rescue, much less feel safe enough to doze off on a tower with no safety netting or warning signs.
It's a special place and many of us respect the dangers and sometimes foolishly presume the safety of others.
How many people sat under the 5,000# granite slabs of 2003's Temple of Gravity with only minor trepidation?
How many people walked the upper deck of David Best's 2004 temple without even wondering if it was strong enough to hold everyone?
Yes, he told me directly upon inquiry that it was built to California Building Code standards, but I never had any way of knowing otherwise.
Did anyone crawl under an art car and examine the welds and frame before they got on?
If someone broke their ankle on MY creation, I believe I'd be inclined to deter some interactivity until I'd enacted some sort of repair or warning, but my usual response to such things has been declared flippant by some and comes close to caveat emptor.
I find the irony where people bring fully furnished RV's with AC, hot shower, private shitter and locks on the doors somewhat disturbing when the ticket reads "YOU VOLUNTARILY ASSUME THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH BY ATTENDING THIS EVENT".
Safety is purely an illusion in this world and one of the hallmarks of the playa environment is that it brings us all down to the nitty gritty reality where you can go from fine to SOL in a matter of minutes.
A place where you can experience the truth of your true vulnerability like few others.
Ironicly, I gave out dust masks in the windstorm, water on burn night, and shelter to my neighbors.
I can't even GET TO THE FOOT of the local 100 foot water tower, much less climb it, much less sit on top of it without the police and HomelandDefense comming to the rescue, much less feel safe enough to doze off on a tower with no safety netting or warning signs.
It's a special place and many of us respect the dangers and sometimes foolishly presume the safety of others.
How many people sat under the 5,000# granite slabs of 2003's Temple of Gravity with only minor trepidation?
How many people walked the upper deck of David Best's 2004 temple without even wondering if it was strong enough to hold everyone?
Yes, he told me directly upon inquiry that it was built to California Building Code standards, but I never had any way of knowing otherwise.
Did anyone crawl under an art car and examine the welds and frame before they got on?
If someone broke their ankle on MY creation, I believe I'd be inclined to deter some interactivity until I'd enacted some sort of repair or warning, but my usual response to such things has been declared flippant by some and comes close to caveat emptor.
I find the irony where people bring fully furnished RV's with AC, hot shower, private shitter and locks on the doors somewhat disturbing when the ticket reads "YOU VOLUNTARILY ASSUME THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH BY ATTENDING THIS EVENT".
Safety is purely an illusion in this world and one of the hallmarks of the playa environment is that it brings us all down to the nitty gritty reality where you can go from fine to SOL in a matter of minutes.
A place where you can experience the truth of your true vulnerability like few others.
Ironicly, I gave out dust masks in the windstorm, water on burn night, and shelter to my neighbors.