Let me start by saying that I am, for the most part, ALL ABOUT self expression. True, I myself am fairly conservative when it comes to these kinds of things. I don't paint myself all over, dress up in costume or run around naked, or shout and scream and howl at the moon. However, I've come a long way in what I am able to understand in others. I'm a lot less judgemental (thank God!), and I even APPRECIATE so much more people's abilities and needs to express themselves.
I get what Burning Man was all about in its inception. Burning a wooden man to symbolically burn away all the pain, heartache, fault, guilt in one man's life. In fact, when I was younger, at a summer church camp, we wrote down our biggest struggle on a piece of paper and burned it in the campfire. That symbolic act was very powerful for me.
I get what Burning Man evolved into. A celebration of the free spirit, of art, of music, of people expressing themselves to embrace who they are. I am friends with many creative people (heck, I work in advertising!) and I'm amazed at what people see through their eyes that I would never have noticed. I love art. I love music. I love creativity.
But, what Burning Man is today...that I do not get.
Growing up in SoCal, I had never heard of Burning Man. Please, I lived in the suburbs and did all my shopping and dining out at chain stores. People's self expression came in the form of what color Hurley shirt they'd wear that day or what ammenities package they'd get with their new Audi. But, Burning Man is quite "the thing to do" up here in SF. You HAVE to go to Burning Man. Stores (Trader Joes's, Sports Basement) have entire display sections of products "suitable for Burning Man". People count down the days to when they leave for Burning Man. It's a BIG DEAL up here!
MM (no, we're not seeing each other anymore) is going to Burning Man. He would say for weeks how he needed to prepare for Burning Man. So, I thought I'd jump online, do some research, and help him get ready. I read blogs of what you'd need when you were there. But, I was really turned off as I read more and more of what Burning Man has become: a week of complete hedonism: sex, drugs, and anything/everything for shock value...the freedom to do whatever you want without consequence...all under the guise of "art" and "celebration of life".
I don't mean to come across as small-, closed-minded. Really? Go for it. Pay the $200+ for admission. Spend a week in brutal, desert conditions. Sleep around, drug it up, risk being raped, pilfered, and beat up. "Celebrate life" and "appreciate art". But, it kinda ticks me off that this event still wants to pretend that it's about what it was when it first started...simply because they continue the tradition of setting aflame the "burning man".
I get what Burning Man was all about in its inception. Burning a wooden man to symbolically burn away all the pain, heartache, fault, guilt in one man's life. In fact, when I was younger, at a summer church camp, we wrote down our biggest struggle on a piece of paper and burned it in the campfire. That symbolic act was very powerful for me.
I get what Burning Man evolved into. A celebration of the free spirit, of art, of music, of people expressing themselves to embrace who they are. I am friends with many creative people (heck, I work in advertising!) and I'm amazed at what people see through their eyes that I would never have noticed. I love art. I love music. I love creativity.
But, what Burning Man is today...that I do not get.
Growing up in SoCal, I had never heard of Burning Man. Please, I lived in the suburbs and did all my shopping and dining out at chain stores. People's self expression came in the form of what color Hurley shirt they'd wear that day or what ammenities package they'd get with their new Audi. But, Burning Man is quite "the thing to do" up here in SF. You HAVE to go to Burning Man. Stores (Trader Joes's, Sports Basement) have entire display sections of products "suitable for Burning Man". People count down the days to when they leave for Burning Man. It's a BIG DEAL up here!
MM (no, we're not seeing each other anymore) is going to Burning Man. He would say for weeks how he needed to prepare for Burning Man. So, I thought I'd jump online, do some research, and help him get ready. I read blogs of what you'd need when you were there. But, I was really turned off as I read more and more of what Burning Man has become: a week of complete hedonism: sex, drugs, and anything/everything for shock value...the freedom to do whatever you want without consequence...all under the guise of "art" and "celebration of life".
I don't mean to come across as small-, closed-minded. Really? Go for it. Pay the $200+ for admission. Spend a week in brutal, desert conditions. Sleep around, drug it up, risk being raped, pilfered, and beat up. "Celebrate life" and "appreciate art". But, it kinda ticks me off that this event still wants to pretend that it's about what it was when it first started...simply because they continue the tradition of setting aflame the "burning man".
I admit, I've never been. And I don't even know why I'm so fired up about it. I just think I'm annoyed at this point because this city is so obsessed with it.
Forgive me...
