Burning Man festival-goers trapped in desert as rain turns site to mud
theguardian.com
You have to laugh … I remember Glastonbury, up to my knees in mud - it’s all part of the fun. Having said that, it’s unlikely turn into a survival situation in a field in Somerset, so not really that comparable …
This sounds nightmarish. People will start avoiding the portable toilets and it will be even worse.
Radical inclusion now includes cholera
I legitimately hope no one gets hurt but I couldn't resist
Rain outs like this are pretty common at these festivals. The difference here is that I guess it is a bit harder to leave and more remote? I'd say 20% of the festivals I've been to have had some degree of mud issue resulting in some degree of infrastructure breakdown.
Burning Man is in a dry alkali lakebed way out in the middle of nowhere. Normally it's extremely hot and dry the entire time, the ground isn't dirt but a very fine powder that blows everywhere. When it rains that fine powder turns into this incredibly sticky mud and it becomes extremely difficult to move. It's quite a bit different than your standard muddy field kind of experience.
It's almost as if 70K people shouldn't be out there...
Apparently because it's alkali dirt, it leads to nasty wounds if it stays on skin for a while. Even in a dry year, people were supposed to use vinegar to clean dust off themselves so it wouldn't cause problems. Who wants to bet that many of the people covered in mud didn't have enough vinegar, or maybe didn't even have any.
Woodstock 99 energy
Or Fyre Festival
Yeah, this bit stood out for me also!
Last time I was out there just because I couldn't find a toilet I just squatted. Of course dig and bury if it's shit. But Def need to walk a ways from the camps if it's still wet.
I'm stuck here in the sex orgy tent.....send help........
but not too quickly, take your time.
I tried doing sex acts in water, mud and on the beach. All of them sounds kinky and sexy but in reality are uncomfortable and literally unhygenic.
The beach is also very prone to get really, i mean really, uncomfortable.
Help is cumming.
Thread is giving me oglaf comic vibes
So are the cookers
Fake. Lemmy users don't leave their houses ever.
Joke's on you. He took his house with him.
We're here to save you from the virgins, Lancelot...
A quite apt metaphor of Man drowning in problems that can't just be burned away.
I have friends that help out on the safety crew. I hope everyone stays safe.
Kind of ironic considering the climate protests on the way in.
How is that ironic?
A festival shooing away protestors protesting climate change and then that festival experiencing an extreme weather event because of climate change
Ah, gotcha. I missed the story. Still not strictly ironic, but I get what you meant now.
Is there a word for it? When I posted it I was hoping someone might correct me :)
Weather and climate are not the same thing
Yet they are not mutually exclusive.
It's just stupid how people deny climate change because it can still rain and still get cold.
Do they burn a new man every year or do they burn the same person annually?
It's short for "Burning Manny". There's one guy, Manuel Asada, and they burn him every year. It's cool though, he's into it.
Do you mean this guy? https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Manny_Garcia
I have so Manny questions....
Nope. It's Manny Asada, he co-headlines the festival every year with his cousin Manuel Labór
What's the story behind this? Who is Manuel Asada?
"Manuel Asada" is the closest I could get to a person's name that means "burning man". Asada is Spanish for roasted or grilled.
Lol ah ok. I was wondering if that was a joke comment or if there's some actual real lore behind the founding of Burning Man, etc.
It's pure head canon my friend. If you like it, feel free to take it and expand upon it
Nah, that's fine. I'll take the chuckle the explanation gave me, and move on.
It’s like a roast. His friends give him sick burns all evening one night a year.
I’ve been to burning man, but even I can’t help but laugh a little bit at this… you wanted “radical self-reliance”? You got it.
But they didn't really want radical self reliance. They wanted the Medieval Times version of radical self reliance.
The "news" is bullshit. I've got friends there right now and they're fine. A little muddy and wet but nobody is in danger.
I'm so annoyed with our "news" lately (and by lately I mean years). It's so fucking sensational and fear inducing it just makes me sick.
News told me LA was underwater and it was the end of days. Friends there told me some places had some flash flooding and it sucks, but overall it blew over.
NYC had that flooding a couple years back and I was going on a trip there and the news was literally warning people of how bad it was. I got there and it was literally like nothing happened.
Here in Seattle my relatives tell me they STILL hear about CHAZ/CHOP. Like asking if I'm safe. It was 3 YEARS AGO and lasted a few days! I literally walked through that park a couple days ago, but they're terrified of it out here.
I hate the people who claim conspiracy everywhere, but there is a clear profit motive to keep us afraid and clicking refresh on news sites. I'm freaking tired of it.
One person died already.
As a consequence of the rain?
I don't know the information about it has been slim. Could have been anything.
Yes, but was he in danger?
Well, he isn't now.
I heard that was an unrelated accidental electrocution
Burning Mud.
Everybody there is now suddenly a Primitive Technology fan
Except they are lacking the firewood to make the nice pots and bricks to build huts.
And lacking the power tools that are hidden off-camera.
Extinguished man
Mudding Man
What is burning Man? I know it's a festival of some sorts that's done in a desert, but that's about all I know.
What happens there?
Rich people travel 1000+ kilometres to gather around and pretend to be not rich and just like common folks! This is my understanding as someone who isn't american.
Also drugs. Lots of drugs.
Also sex. dusty, dusty sex
My mother in law took us a few times and the most we did was pot. Also I was unemployed both times as I was laid off and got a cheap ticket. The original burners still go and they're definitely not rich.
Burning Man was an amazing event when I stumbled across it on the internet in the late 90's. I must have been 14 or 15, it used to be a real "go experience, experiment and find yourself" setting. It's since gone the way of SXSW. It totally goes against what it was intended for.
That's what it is today. Use to be more underground and subversive, even if it took money to be involved.
Id say for the past ten years, it's been a rich person's fantasy of poor hippy lifestyle
It's trying to recreate the glorified vision of Woodstock but with more drugs and more money
Except, it's not really about a lifestyle because nobody's lifestyle involves living permanently or even semi-permanently in a dry lake bed. A hippy lifestyle might be living on a self-sufficient communally managed farm, or something. But, strip it down to its core and burning man still involves people traveling in from elsewhere, depending on limited supplies they brought in from elsewhere to spend a week in a place they couldn't possibly live.
So, maybe it's a temporary art exhibit in the middle of nowhere so people can feel more free to express ideas and perform activities that they can't in their boring 9-5 lifestyles. Which is fine, I guess... but it only makes it seem even more like cosplay. If you really want to live that way, then be that person the rest of the year. Don't be yourself for a week and then hide your true self the other 51 weeks of the year.
Burning Man is a festival celebrating creative expression. No one there is pretending to not be rich
Yeah a lot of them stopped pretending.
Lol this thread is so weird. I have several friends who attend. Exactly zero of them could be considered "rich." Artsy hippie types, sure, but lmao not rich.
Lots of know-it-alls commenting on something they've never been to and know nothing about. Just hop on the bandwagon for internet clout.
They read an article about some tech guy enjoying burning Man, once. Just kinda the way the site works
idk people here think being rich means you need to own a yatch...
Nah people here think being part of the lower-middle class makes you rich.
Watch Malcolm In The Middle, season 7 episode 1 "Burning Man". It'll give you a fair approximation.
Love that episode, my personal highlight, cracks me up every time.
Good stuff. Thanks
That winnebago has seen some shit.
It started as a bunch of hippies in California decided to travel to the desert and do a week long festival (party) that was for expressing art, living care free, and being self-reliant. You brought everything with you when you came, and you took everything out when you left, leave nothing behind. Over time it has grown bigger and bigger, there are other smaller instances all over the country. The smaller ones still have a lot of the original vibe. The main one still has it, but now a lot of tourists go just to party, do drugs, and have sex. Yes, a lot of the artists have a lot of money, people talking about rich people, it was never about money or not having it. It was about living carefree.
I like the bring everything with you and leave nothing behind sentiment.
I've heard the recent ones leave a lot of trash.
Which is cleaned up by the organizers, so, as a whole the organization doesn't leave trash behind. But, a lot of individual people do. But, in a group of tens of thousands of people, you're always going to get some assholes. There are probably plenty of people who not only make sure to clean up their own stuff, but also clean up other people's trash too.
I dunno though, the whole thing seems so fake to me. Like "radical self reliance" is merely bringing your own supplies in and then bringing your trash out? That's called "camping" in a lot of the world.
Plus, there's the absurdity of a private airstrip for the ultra-wealthy burning man people, the massive environmental cost of everybody driving in and driving out, the idea of "radical self reliance" but also porta-potties.
"lets go and play being poor for a while" said no poor person ever.
I don't know about "play being poor". It sounds like it's more "do lots of drugs without getting arrested or without dealing with the disapproval of people around me", or "(try to) have sex with strangers" or "indulge in sexual kinks that I don't want to admit to having with people in the real world" or "pretend I'm a different person for a week so that my shitty reputation doesn't always make everyone I meet hate me".
Sure, for a few days it might also involve living in a tent or living in an RV instead of living in a mansion, but that's hardly living like a poor person. It's living like a middle class person on a camping trip.
i guess thats where we differ. thats a rich person. since middle class is not a thing.
Ok... so it's a "rich person" who makes under $100k but can afford to go camping.
My favorite part is that you can be naked everywhere
Not true. Only in certain parts. There are family friendly areas.
Weird. When I was there people were naked everywhere. And Im European, so "family friendly areas" allow nudity too. Nudity is different than having sex.
I think they set somebody on fire every year.
They have a lottery every year for it, it's part of the thrill. Party likes it's your last day on earth, because it might be.
Based as all hell
I've come around. Us internet dwellers should take it easy on the judgment and cynicism about this festival.
People take the internet too seriously these days. Let the festival people have fun.
Burning Man turning into Fyre Festival. Time is a circle.
Now its Muddy Man Festival
Who would think an old lake bed in the middle of a flash flood prone desert might be an issue
More like "Drowned Man" this year.
The biggest celebration of capitalism I've ever seen.😒
This looks like a pithy truism but it really just sounds idiotic. You ever been to, like, a trade show?
Burning man is far from perfect but it's a step in the right direction.
You really start to wonder if the Lemmy Communists who make this comment in every thread realize that they sound like children.
Clearly you've never been to a shareholders meeting.
"Scott, I told you your rain dance pavilion was gonna get people hurt, man!"
How do they find a man who is willing to be burned?
First you get a virgin police officer to visit an island run by Christopher Lee.
Is that the one with the bees?
Thankfully no.
It's one guy every year. His name is Manuel Asada.
I read somewhere that a guy called Luan Mojado jumped in for him this year. Manuel had the colds.
I thought that Guy Feuer was taking it this year. Sorry to hear about Manny though...
Just like this years Wacken.
that's whack
Nature is healing.
What now? How is water in a Desert "Natur is healing" ?
Burning man is held on the playa.
A playa is a dried-up lake.
This year, the playa is becoming a lake.
Nature is healing.
Playa means beach, at least in Spanish. Where are you getting *dried up lake" from?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playa
This English definition does come from the Spanish word for "Beach."
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/playa
Who else has been confused by seeing the word "playa" in news and memes in the context of Burning Man? I thought they were talking about the fuckbois at first
Next year they should call it Playas on the Playa
Personally I thought "playa" was short for "play area" or something. Like, it's where all the artists come to play for a weekend.
I really wonder how the Spanish word "beach" became "dried up lake" in English. Spanish speakers must be very confused. It's like ハンドル in Japanese. It's basically a Japanese pronunciation of "handle" but they use it to mean "steering wheel".
Jokes that appear to have gone over your head aside, deserts are usually dry. In a lot of examples, a sudden flood happens, but the desert is dry the other 99% of the time.
I'm not making the argument that our climate is neither fucked nor unpredictable as a result, but what point were you trying to make?
You mean they're not gonna be able to innovate their way out of this one? :(
Really though this is looking like it's about to turn into a legitimate humanitarian crisis somehow???
Climate change? Fucking duh, we've known that for decades. How are people surprised?
Rich people's problem
From what I've read, most of the people there aren't rich and are pretty normal, ordinary people. The rich probably aren't having issues with this because of how extravagant their camps tend to be. It's the normal people who are in trouble.
Festival goers are the rich now?
👍
Burning money.
This is all rich peoples problems now in a pointless and drug induced search for some form of fulfillment, but just another festival chaser with money.
I don't know whether you're referring to just the attendees or the artists as well, but I have a group of friends presenting an installation this year (Conversations With A Squad), they're middle-class for the most and do this out of sheer passion.
Now I cannot assure you with the utmost certainty that drugs won't be involved at all
so rich people. thanks for confirming.
By "rich" I assumed bourgeoisie. But I guess everybody is somebody else's rich people.
whats that anymore??
Not sure if serious or sarcastic ?
I'm curious about your response regardless...
But rich people bad, don't you understand?
All I can picture is hundreds of artists designing some of the weirdest and coolest escape vehicles we have ever seen. I hope everyone is safe and not stuck for too long, but the creative ingenuity has got to be next-level with that crowd.
LOL, bunch of boomer types spending stupid money to be stuck in the mud. There's got to be a parable there.
There aren’t many Boomers in BM. I think most of them are Gen X or Gen Y.
Yeah, that's why I said boomer-types.
As a millennial I take offense.
There area lot of dumb comments in this thread, but you win for that.
I was winning until you showed up.
More Gen than boomer
It’s Saturday, only losers leave before the man burns (Saturday night). If this keeps up through late Sunday then it might start to be a problem. If anything this will keep out straggling weekenders.
Uh…
The man won’t burn. It is way to wet. It’s now “wet man festival”.