Radical Inclusion vs. Radical Self-Reliance at Burning Man

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.

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.

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.

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 ;-)

"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.

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

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.