Elliot wrote:There are far too many ticket-holders who fail to learn, or understand – or lack the will to learn -- the Burning Man principles and ethos. Lookie-loos. Frat boys. Lechers. Tourists of every sort. I feel this threatens the very event. Burning Man is too precious a concept to allow to be diluted. We may be in danger of becoming a victim of our own success (as the phrase goes).
You know what I think
will "destroy" the event? It won't be "Lookie-loos". Or RVs. Or Plug-and-Play camps. Or "tourists". Or "spectators." Or frat-boys.
No, what will destroy the event are the
reaction of people to perceived threats. Reactions that undermine the true values of the event or place to "protect" against enemies. This is all just fear mongering. "The <insert group name here> are ruining the event."
Yeah, well they haven't.
The only thing different now is that there is
ticket scarcity. Now that there is a valuable resource, people want to
hoard it for themselves and their friends. That is not how it should be. This event is not for aristocracies and nepotistic privilege. No, it's an open event. We should not be making power grabs under the guise of "preserving ethos."
I also hate these labels, especially the overly abused "tourist", "spectator", and in this case "lookie-loo" labels. You know what? You can't qualify such labels. Not everyone runs a public bike repair camp that is demonstratively "participatory." There are so many invisible ways people have participated in their burn and others'.
Were you there when that "tourist" helped organize the camp months in advanced, only now able to relax the rest of the burn for his work? Were you there when someone crawled Craigslist to find the perfect decoration for their art car? What about the guy watching his or her art project from a distance without taking credit? Is he just a "lookie loo"?
So how do you know? You don't. Nobody can. The whole concept of "participation" is entirely subjective and unprovable. And yet people still use these lame labels to try and prop up their own selves, while demeaning others.
Or are you just going to
trust that established camps know best? I don't think they do. "Camps" provide a shell structure from which any person of any line of thinking and action can come from -- including those who
don't follow the "ethos" of the event. Even BMorg realizes this, and this is why camps were rated for Directed Distribution (DD) predominantly on their
collective impact. This mostly relied on objective standards like MOOP -- but not anything subjective like the individuals in the camp. The DD program rewarded
camps that did their part, even if individuals in the camps may have not. That's really all we can ask.
A major step forward was made sorta accidentally, with the introduction of the Directed Distribution of tickets. Seems to me, this program ought to be expanded. And those who are issued blocks of DD tickets should be coached by the org to mentor the individual ticket recipients – to reinforce the ethos.
I'm sorry, but I feel that this suggestion is
anathema to the spirit of the event. Established camps should not have a monopoly on Burner culture even if it is
supposedly to reinforce certain values. No, the "spirit" of the burn is in its
diverse ecosystem given an essentially
blank palette. The people in this event represent a sort of evolutionary cycle where new genetic material gets introduced into the system. The degenerate mutations die off, the helpful mutations stay, and the existing system grow stronger.
Now you seek to destroy this environment with this brand of collective narcissism? Now you have camp institutions through which people must subscribe, drawing only the people those camps deem worthy. Now you're creating a monoculture all in the name of "saving the event from itself." This forced cultural stagnation is not what this event needs.
Furthermore, Directed Distribution was
never designed or intended to facilitate a
nepotistic regime. No matter how camps may be currently and underhandedly
abusing the DD program, the program's
real purpose is
only for ensuring camp cohesion of
existing core members. It is
not for giving established camps preferential means for attracting new members under their tutelage. If camps are
abusing their DD tickets in such a manner, their right to access such tickets should be
taken away in the same manner they would if
raffled to pay for camp dues.
I can just see what this expansion of DD will end up becoming: a form of indentured servitude, where burgins get "coached" into doing extra work for camps as a form of "participation." I'm sure there will also be "dues" to allow people in the club. The last thing we need is incentives for camps to profit from new arrivals.
I have always felt that "Birgins" ought to coached and mentored by veterans. I certainly was, and I cannot imagine it otherwise. Seems to me, it is simply wrong to sell admission tickets to anyone with a valid bank card.
FUCK coaching.
Burgins don't need veteran burners telling them how to burn. Beyond just pointing people to the info that is
already in the guide book, this "coaching" and "guiding" is more about
projecting one's own burn insecurities on someone new.
It's arrogant.
It's unnecessary.
It's tainting someone else's burn.
Let the burgins figure it out themselves --
for themselves. It's not hard. Give them a little credit. If they don't get it, they were never cut out for BM in the first place,
and they won't return. These problems solve themselves without any interference.
So stop the interference. It just ruins the event.
In fact, I have encountered ticket-holders who actually bragged they had no interest in the Burning Man ethos – while they were tossing cigarette butts on the ground.
Yeah, but so what? He's a one-timer, and could've been brought by anyone -- including "responsible camps." This is an anecdote, not a chronic problem. For every douchebag you encounter, you'll also encounter someone new -- someone
uncoached who
did get it. You may even see the best in others come from their reaction to the douchebags.
Even these douchebags have their purpose. Without stimuli, people get complacent. Yeah, we wish we didn't have to do fix problems caused by others, but some of the
best moments at BM are when people went out of their way to compensate for someone else's actions. It's just another thing what feeds people and pushes them to higher standards, both on playa, and in the rest of the world.
So I hope you bent over and picked up the cigarette butt to throw away, no matter what the guy said. Maybe there was someone watching, and learning.
Now... There is a wonderful old saying to the effect that one should not complain unless one can offer a solution. Well, my solution would probably be too draconian to be realistic. But I feel it would be worthwhile to cut the population back to improve the quality of the event. We want to still be here in 20 years, and we want the Burning Man ethos to be a significant force in society by then. The "experimental community" of Black Rock City must not be wasted.
What is the solution?
Let them come -- so that they may learn our ways.
Most people will "get it". Others will not. Practice what you believe in and people will observe and follow.
Whatever happens, the event's demographics should not be determined by established camps, and whomever they choose to invite. Nepotism and elitism is not part of the "ethos" of the event, but quite the opposite.
