

The Billionaires at Burning Man - reverend_gonzo
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-05/occupy-burning-man-class-warfare-comes-to-desert-festival

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sirwolfgang
The whole situation is a mess, and it's made less clear by other camps. While
some of the RV fortresses are exclusive houses to the well off, some of them
pool the dues in order to pay for public arts and music infrastructure.
Patrons are needed at a point to be able to support some of these art camps.

But even these art camps have a flip side. Last year I spent a lot of time
helping out and hanging around one of these music camps. I even provided a
multimeter which was needed to repair some of the lights. But at the end of
the day, after making friends and lending my labor, there was certain internal
events and things that were simply off limits to me.

It's true that some of these camps don't actively give or interact with the
community, but the when they leave the camp and mingle with the masses they
are effectively taking. Burning man is one of the few places in the world that
you aren't rejected for who you are, no matter what. So by closing off your
camp to others, you are effectively making people feel rejected. Which is much
louder out in the dust.

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netinstructions
What a tricky situation. I personally like the idea of 1 Percent'ers mingling
with the other 99% of the population more, but they need to do it in a hyper-
aware, super self-critical approach or backlash (as mentioned in the article)
will occur and tensions will arise. The privileged need to be aware of their
privileges, especially when those privileges can be so apparent to others.
High walls, exclusive bars and paid workers doesn't seem to mesh with some of
the tenants of burning man.

But I really like the idea of the wealthy spending money to make a community
of disparate peoples more enjoyable if it's for the _entire_ community. That
idea seems to fall in line with many of the burning man principles.

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slamdesu
I think most Burning Man attendees are in the top 2-5% and are already in
quite a privileged position

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netinstructions
Purely anecdotally, but I can think of many friends and relatives who have
gone to burning man in the past and are nowhere near the top 2-5%. Last I
checked, my dear sister (a self described burner) is living out of a van and
selling jewelry at concerts/shows to make a small income.

Also anecdotally, those same burners have mentioned that they are less and
less interested in going to burning man based on their recent (negative)
experiences in the last 1-2 years and are doing more burner-like things
locally.

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cryoshon
Bleh, I am getting really tired of all this billionaire worship. It seems like
every day I can't escape people's endless simpering about how the rich this,
or how the rich don't need to that, or whatever. The rich don't need to be
focused on so much.

They don't automatically dominate any culture they set their eyes on, and some
minor squabbling over how comfortable it's acceptable for them to be at an
anything-goes event like Burning Man is pretty stupid.

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forgottenpass
_They don 't automatically dominate any culture they set their eyes on_

When someone blends in socially they - by definition - blend in. Once gauche
behavior shows up, the culture is going to change. Maybe a little, maybe a
lot. When opulent behavior shows up, you have someone with significant means
to alter the culture and without the social graces to adapt to the culture
they're entering. The ball to dominate is already rolling.

I grew up as "a local" in a tourist trap town. There were rich locals, and
rich interlopers. It ain't about money, it's about attitude.

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Animats
Back in 2003, burners were annoyed by the Travelocity Camp hoax.[1] That was a
joke. Now it's real. A $16,500 Burning Man package.

When someone runs in a private water pipeline, it's all over.

[1]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20030801072119/http://travelocit...](https://web.archive.org/web/20030801072119/http://travelocity.burningtours.com/Vacations/Tours/Package/0,2604,TRAVELOCITY_289_,00.html)

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gonzo
Not much risk of that. I used to service the well in Gerlach.

The West is a trap, baited with water.

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ap22213
How does this fit into the Burning Man ethos of the reciprocal, gift or barter
economy?

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michaelochurch
It doesn't. That's why it's pissing people off.

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vasilipupkin
Isn't radical inclusion one of the principles of Burning Man?

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diggum
no one is kicking them out of the event, but there's no leash on letting
others know that you don't like their approach to the event and their
interpretation of participation.

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rcpt
I went once, around 5 years ago, and I got the impression that Burning Man was
mostly a huge party rather than a community of people - and that's fine.

Million dollar sound systems, pyrotechnics, and the kinds of people who can
make that happen aren't going to show up at a Rainbow Family Gathering anytime
soon.

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hoprocker
Well stated. There are plenty of excesses to point to that have nothing to do
with the small number of attendees making over $1M/yr.

Burning Man is a giant art party in the desert. It's becoming increasingly
expensive in part because it's been increasingly popular, and so requires
increasing facilitation (i.e. a temporary medical center complete with a
radiology setup). Everybody that attends influences it, even the very wealthy,
and the more interesting among these direct their influence intentionally by
funding art and performance which anybody can experience.

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voltagex_
Just curious, why do they need a radiology setup?

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ende
For all the rad people there man.

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johnny_utah
Burning Man is a great week to be in the Bay Area. Shorter lines for
everything, less traffic, more seats on the bus, et cetera. I wish it lasted a
month.

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fjabre
oh the irony

