

Radical Inclusion vs. Radical Self-Reliance at Burning Man - rms
https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/b6ab7a2a8321

======
rms
I've heard that the amount of lighting and fire in the night sky at Burning
Man works as a leading indicator of the economy, and if this year at Burning
Man was an indicator, the economy is back.

I think much of the tension between haves and have-nots at Burning Man is
contrived. I see modern Burning Man as a colloboration between wealthy techies
from the Bay Area and builders and makers living closer to the event. There
might be a higher proportion of spectators to participants at Burning Man in
recent years, but in terms of absolute quantity there are more participants
than ever.

Burning Man is not a communist utopia. It's just Burning Man.

~~~
coldtea
> _Burning Man is not a communist utopia._

No, it's a BS hipster fest.

> _I wanted him to experience the city and to experience gifting because I
> thought it would make him grow as a person and the world better off as a
> result_

Takes naivety to a whole new level.

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lolwutf
Ugh. Here we go again.

I'm really beginning to become tired of the constant tension associated with
being in the tech industry (and, by proxy, its rung on the economic ladder):

-we're driving up rent and destroying culture in San Francisco

-we're ruining Burning Man

-we blow big money at yuppie places on yuppie things

Can't we all just keep a low profile?

If Dustin really wanted to talk about his encounter with the Winklevii, did he
really need to write a blog about the nature and economies of Burning Man, or
couldn't he have just focused specifically on the nuances of his encounter?

The horrible PR we all collectively maintain for ourselves is a definite
NEGATIVE in this industry, sometimes.

For the record, I'm an average dude, went with a camp of other average, well-
balanced people, setup my own damn tent, had a average amount of average gear,
spent an average amount of time and money on preparation, and didn't have an
extravagant time above and beyond most people there. And it was enormously
satisfying.

I also work in the tech industry, have done well for myself, make a crazy
salary, and generally didn't make a big deal about it.

EDIT - Not saying there weren't parts of this post that didn't need to be said
(the encounter and it's ramifications are incredible!), but a large part felt
like ripping open a scab and just rubbing salt on the wound that is our
presence.

~~~
rms
I thought this was an exceptionally well-written, nuanced article and your
comment, to me, just reads like typical Hacker News complaining.

~~~
Helianthus
It's worse than that; it's a weird attempt to exonerate the tech industry that
I don't understand.

It reads very much to me like: "Leave me alone, I have mine."

~~~
alttab
Why can't both positions be valid? Onlookers overblow it for sure, and a vast
majority of valley programmers are just out of school for the first time and
can come off entitled or still hold earte Blanche attitudes at otherS
perspectives, even if they have been to burning man 5 times.

------
mullingitover
Techies aren't ruining burning man, techies _made_ burning man. Without the
techie demographic, burning man would be overrun with hippies and it'd be
indistinguishable from any old Rainbow Gathering. Yes, people spend a lot of
money on burning man. An obscene amount, even. However, I'd bet that a
majority of that money is on art projects and legit theme camps, and only a
sliver is spent on the 'turn-key camps' that people get their knickers in a
twist about.

~~~
subsystem
I think you proved a point here, just probably not the one you expected.

~~~
mullingitover
How many of Cacophony Society people who led Burning Man to the playa were
techies? I'm guessing this number is a lot more than zero.

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secstate
Sigh. Having never lived on the West Coast or been swept up in Valley culture,
I'm having trouble even parsing this blog post for value beyond the, fairly
obvious conclusion, of BMOrg's actual mission statement (which is partly in
the title of the post).

Please don't mistake me for being a jerk. Burning Man seems like it would be
an awesome experience. But this article seems overly critical and self-
conscious about an event that by design should eschew both.

Also, I hope you have BRC's permission to use those photos ;-)

~~~
fixxer
I'm a native of California and I'm not having any easier of a time getting
this, I assure you.

Burning Man sounds like fun, but this post struck me as contrived and in
complete juxtaposition to (what I think is) the intent of the festival. Wrong
clothes??

If you're going to a festival seeking a religious awakening, you're doing life
wrong.

~~~
Helianthus
>If you're going to a festival seeking a religious awakening, you're doing
life wrong.

I think that attitude is something those who feel BM is important would deem
"doing life wrong."

The world is not playgrounds to be attended for fun.

------
dnr
"my own clothes were still all wrong"

I can't even imagine what this might mean in this context. It was pretty clear
to me even on the first day that there's no right or wrong way to dress, it's
just part of that (radical) self-expression thing.

~~~
mullingitover
King Missile wrote what I consider to be the theme song for Burning Man[1],
and is relevant here.

[1]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=351wGhomUNI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=351wGhomUNI)

~~~
dnr
Of course there's plenty of conformity in Burning Man fashion. It is still
fashion.

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gcatalfamo
This post made me want to go to next Burning Man with his team...

~~~
rms
How much do you want it? [https://asana.com/jobs](https://asana.com/jobs) :)

~~~
gcatalfamo
well played...

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the_cat_kittles
I've never been to burning man. It does seem weird that in order to be
"radically included" you have to travel to a specific place on earth at a
specific time and do a bunch of stuff. I feel jealous when people talk about
how its a spiritual experience. I find it hard to believe that it can be so
transformative yet so short, relatively speaking- but I don't dismiss it
instantly. Is it kind of like some of the more interesting/fun oriented
frisbee tournaments? The only people I know that have gone are not inclusive
people, they are competitive about being hip. The whole thing is a bizarre
mystery to me. It does seem interesting though.

