OT: Burning Man 2023: Who's Going?

You're stereotyping 70,000 people based on the actions of maaaaaybe 1,000 of them.......if that many, because they are the hyped up ones you read about from a distance, with no actual experience whatsoever. 

The vast majority of the people that go are anything but rich and spend an entire year scrimping, saving, and fundraising to be able to attend. I was in one of the early sound camps and have been at the Burn for up to 10 days for both setup and breakdown of a medium/large camp. The amount of sweat and toil involved is nothing you can imagine until you do it and, again, for us and nearly everyone I hang out with, a year long process of events, fundraiser parties, etc., etc.

Also.....your general population of Burners as a collective whole is exponentially more concerned with the world, the environment and what is actually going on than a comparable set of 70,000 non-Burners, that I can guarantee you. 

Are there a lot of Sparkle Ponies at BM these days that spend their time preening and prancing their way across their social media accounts? Probably, yes. Are there enclaves of ultra rich tech douches that set up luxury camps that are restrictive and exclusionary? By all accounts....yes, but again you are indicting the other roughly 69,000 attendees based on the hype and controversy they generate. 

What you don't understand is the fundamental, foundational premise of Burning Man is the concept of radical inclusion. The population of BM has always been somewhat a reflection of what is going on in our society as a whole.......and both Sparkle Ponies and vapid ultra-wealthy TED talk groupies are, for better or worse (ok, worse), a part of what makes up the fabric of our society. If you see a huge increase in the gap between rich and poor in the U.S., you're going to see that at the Burn. If you see a significant portion of a whole generation of people living their lives by fluffing themselves and their self esteem by posting a skewed version of their existence online......you're going to see that at Burning Man. 

The thing is......that small % of people and camps are 1000% avoidable. A circled camp of luxury RVs with security guards that won't let you in......is only a problem if you want to go in. That's on you. People prancing and posting photo opps so that other people pay attention......is only a problem if you pay attention to them. Again....that's on you if you do. 

My friends that go to the Burn are welders, artists, musicians, DJs, teachers, mortgage brokers, accountants, physicists, doctors, waiters, mechanics, tech workers, etc., etc. They (next year again hopefully "we") spend oodles of their free time planning, scheming, producing and funding their ability to contribute and participate in the vast array of art, performance, theater, community, music, parties and general mayhem that you completely ignore and dismiss out of sheer ignorance. There are people who could fund the whole camp with a blank check and not even flinch, or some of us who could just donate some $$ amount as a group and show up, but that isn't the goal. 

Thanks for helping to strengthen my resolve tomgo back next year.

If you are at all interested in having a more informed opinion, I'd recommend joining a BM Facebook group, or even just get into some of the troves of online photo libraries and actually peruse the creativity, joy, inclusion, and participatory nature of the other 99% that attend. I ceased recommending that people go back in the 90's, so I will stop short of doing that because when the wrong people go, it isn't good for anyone. To anyone reading this and thinking about it, the right people know who they are and will make it there on their own because, quite simply, can't not go. 

As mentioned elsewhere on here, BM is what you make of it and you will find what you seek and it will change your life if you do it right. It did mine. If you want drugs, parties, orgies....it is there. If you want a quiet, out of the ordinary, family vacation away from all that and full of art, culture, community, camping.....also there. And everything in between and on both sides.

Honey I knew that was your account.