I was thinking about it after signing off, and I believe an argument could be made that the "hard working creatives" are the ones who don't "need" the burn. That they already have to tools (figuratively and literally) to do something kick-ass this year, wherever they happen to be. I think that, yes, in some ways it is a risk to keep the population as the mix it apparently is. Maybe beefing up the Rangers, ESD, DPW, and GPE--so that there are people who know what they are doing to pick (figuratively, and we really hope not literally) the newbies up if they don't drink enough water, ect.--would be a good thing. I think that as things stand, there will be a core of people (beyond the volunteers) attending who do know what they are doing, and I wish that they'd look upon this, not as some sort of unfairness to whine about, but as an opportunity to push their boundaries and the boundaries of their camps/art/participation into new things. And I think that would benefit Black Rock City.
To drag my measuring stick into this--not going is better than being widowed and it's better than being dismembered. To me, all this rending unto garments and wailing unto the heavens is drama of an overblown kind. And when people keep repeating much the same post over and over I get a little, "Yes, I heard you the first time. Anything new to report?" in my head. I'd probably be less annoyed if I saw people saying "I'm sad and scared and angry that I might not go to the burn this year" rather than acting this out unconsciously.
I know that mine is a minority opinion. I feel vulnerable and outnumbered, despite having a lot of friends on the board. That lemur and BBadger--who are not in my "set" on the board, and with whom I have had differences of opinion, and expect to again in the future--are my allies on this issue, is kinda fun for me. Plus, it's nice to have that feeling that someone has my back. It gives me a "positive glow" and I respond warmly.
I know I am a large presence on this board. I know that I do say and do things that hurt other people. Very often these things are more a part of a frisky silliness than malice. Sometimes, I am hurt or angry, though. (There I go acting out my issues unconsciously...) As part of that behavior, I try and hold myself to an standard of offering apologies when my attention is drawn to my harm. If I ever hurt you, please let me know, so I can rectify it. It might take me a day or two of private sulking, but it seldom takes longer.