| As a fairly seasoned burner, I really had to shake my head at this article. I found it really odd that the only mention of Burning Man is how the online version attempts last year didn't work so well. No mention of how Burning Man fits into this "death spiral" idea - or how Burning Man fails to fall into that spiral. In particular, it makes this one comment stood out... > A true festival is not a tame affair. It is a suspension of normal rules, mores, structures, and social distinctions. Girard explains: OK yes, that sounds like Burning Man. But then it follows up with this part of Girard's explanation... > As one might expect, this destruction of differences is often accompanied by violence and strife. Subordinates hurl insults at their superiors; various social factions exchange gibes and abuse. Disputes rage in the midst of disorder. Violence and strife? Raging disputes? Hurled insults? (OK well there are those megaphone people.) Seriously, the author has never been to Burning Man. Or if they did go, it was a hugely different experience than what I and a lot of other people ever had. Maybe Burning Man just isn't a festival. Or maybe burners just festival differently. Or maybe the author is talking about something else. |
In particular, self-expression (IMO) has advanced a little bit. Hurling insults doesn't really mean much anymore, you can do it on any forum. But creating your art... that means something. Something that can't be said with words.
It's really amazing how different peoples experiences can be though. Even going to the big burn, many never reach that "escape velocity."