Burning Man
 

What is wrong with these people? Even without the weather, this looks like a recipe for disaster.

Burning Man 2025

I think very few people ventured into that area of Nevada when I lived there from 1970 through 1983. Maybe if you wanted to drive very fast. I did that a few times. I had a purple Nova with flowers on it. Probably would fit in with the crowd there now. The flower child car I mean. I was in Denver from early Summer 1983 through early Summer of 1984.

It's a very strange phenomenon, for sure. Oddly enough it usually isn't a disaster. In 2023 there was flooding but remember - this is in the middle of the desert. So most people think desert = no rain = no flooding. Problem is, if it rains on the desert, the ground where people are camping/parking is compact and doesn't really absorb the water very well, leaving it no place to go. It doesn't take a lot of rain to flood the desert.

There was a woman who gave birth there this year, who didn't even know she was pregnant. And another person found dead in a pool of blood that is being investigated as a homicide.

Of course all that would be considered "just another Tuesday in the Ocala Forest" so I dunno what to tell ya.

People are strange.

Very true. But even without the weather, not my idea of a good time with no showers, real toilets or sane people.


True story: My aunt was so fat, she didn't realize she was pregnant until her water broke!

This should surprise no one.

I've never been, and now I know not to bother.

Understatement.

I’ve had invitations but it never appealed to me. Extreme philosophical/endurance statement, in my opinion.

I guess you weren't the camping type. We did summer camp every year growing up, and girl scout camp didn't have indoor toilets, we had outhouses and slept in enormous tents (there were 15 bunks in the tent). A few years later we did Jewish camp, and while we did have showers, they were long buildings with a dozen shower heads lined up and no hot water in them, and we shared the bathrooms with daddy long-legs spiders and mosquitoes as big as your thumb. When I was 18 I went on a thing called American Teen Tours/American Trails West, before they did the glamping/hotel setup. We hiked and bicycled and camped our way across the country and back. Most of the campsites had plumbing, a couple did not, and a few times we washed off in streams or soaped up during downpours and let the rain wash us off.

Living in nature gives you a different perspective of things. I can still squat, so I don't need any toilet at all if push came to shove and there were some non-poisonous leaves nearby.

Based on what you see in videos and news sources, it looks like a bunch of people who are content on not bathing for days and living in pig slop.

Whenever you get a large group of people together, with or without drugs, with or without alcohol, you’ve trouble.

Remember woodstock?

No, but my babysitter did.

I have met a few people who were at Woodstock. One used to work at the Blockbuster and then I would see her at the Publix or maybe it was the Winn-Dixie south of the Villages Regional Hospital.

Apparently the "Orgy Dome" was destroyed.

The priest Savonarola loved Burning Man (the idea came from him, sort of—he burned men for heresy, or had the “secular arm” do it). Thenit caught up with him and he got burned, too. Doesn’t this bonfire look like the one when they burn the huge wooden man at burning man?

Didn't you just describe The Villages?

When I backpacked 50+ years ago, it was to get away from people. Can’t imagine camping with 10,000 strangers. As a nature counselor at a boys camp in Becket, Ma, I enjoyed introducing nature/camping/backpacking to NYC kids. Not having a toilet didn’t bother me but there were always a few who were taken back by not having a toilet!

Yes saw that!!! Mother Nature didn't approve! LOL

You all would be surprised at the number of travel trailers, RVs that attend every year. So they have showers, toilets and power. There have been several high profile CEOs who have taken there entire executive teams in 1/2 million dollar RVs
with their own chefs and support staff on "team building " adventures. The entire purpose behind the Black Rock Burning Man event and the other 18 similar events is to escape from the hustles of everyday life.
I personally knew a middle school teacher and a youth soccer coach that attended to clear her mind before the grind of being a teacher. She was one of the most grounded individual
I have ever met. Small sample size but an example that all kinds of people attend for various reasons.

Of course all that would be considered "just another Tuesday in the Ocala Forest" so I dunno what to tell ya.

... Oh my!!! I'll tell you-For someone as liberal as you are in your frequent posts... to openly, smarmingly mock abject poverty rubs me the wrong way!

To other readers, please know that the Ocala Nat'l Forest is a true American Treasure:

Marjorie Rawlings 1930's Author of Cross Creek, The Yearling, etc tells the story of the forest people before drugs infiltrated their secluded lives.

Silver Springs State Park - Famous for its glass-bottom boat rides and wildlife.
And
Rainbow Springs- Also, Natural Springs, known for pristine water. Tubing, waterfalls, botanical trails and Crystal- Clear swimming.

Don't miss something great because someone wanted to elevate their stature as "all knowing" when they Do Not Know what they are talking about...beyond Painting a sub-culture of forest people with a very Broad Brush, the likes of which we'd all be admonished by her if she understood these very impoverished people.

Cringe at the thought of crime, fine, but do not objectify a whole area of pure mineral springs and beauty.

If you can't be a part of the solution, then don't be a part of the problem.

It's so weird, to make a post denigrating people thousands of miles away, for doing something you wouldn't want to do. I have friends who go every year, they enjoy it. Since no one is forced to go, I don't understand why you care what others do, if it's not affecting you.

Now that is scary if the best a middle school teacher and a youth soccer coach can do to "clear her mind" is to attend a burning man event. Don't suppose she ever heard of a peaceful hike by herself with pauses to sit and ponder. :laugh: But whatever they want, as long as they don't get shot, go for it.

Maybe she was pointing out the misery of the forest for many and let's not over-glorify living conditions. The "object" truth of those living there is many want to live that way and are impoverished by life choices they make.

I wasn't mocking them. I was pointing out that the Ocala Forest, right near us, has had horrible situations because of that abject poverty, and that it has been considered commonplace. And for people living HERE in The Villages, so close to the Ocala Forest, to mock the same situations at Burning Man, that we already have "in our own back yard" so to speak, speaks loudly of the ignorance and fear of other that I mention often.

Out of sight, out of mind. Every time there's a story about it here, they say "oh no there's homeless people filthying up our forest get rid of them!!!" for a day, and then they promptly forget about the existence of the problem. And then a story about Burning Man shows up and they go on about how people love being filthy with no plumbing or food - as if they didn't know that the concern they're pretending to have, is going on right here. All they care about when it's here, is how to get rid of the people. Not how to solve the problem.

Also, don't be so quick to regale us with the glories of the Ocala Forest. Embry-Riddle is still going through with clearing acreage to build their satellite aeronautics school campus and landing strip. So much for the beauty and peacefulness of one of Florida's most beautiful natural preserves.

There is nothing wrong with people. This event was started in 1986 and a little rain is going to fall on us all. OK, this year, a little more than just rain.

I did get the impression from a news segment I saw somewhere or other was that Burning Man was created by Silicon Valley types who were disillusioned by a site they had picked for a social gathering and for some reason they picked one of the most isolated places in a state that has many places where only lizards travel. Maybe not even lizards.

And remember, these are the same people that preach "do no evil" to the environment. They certainly aren't practicing THEIR edict: Take only pictures; leave only footprints.

Yeah! Snoopy's little friend.

That seems to be their site each year. I would not be surprised if they left some stuff there from year- to -year.

I had a VW beetle that I painted red, white, and blue around that time, but I wasn't aware of Burning Man back then.

AI Overview:
The dark side of Burning Man includes significant environmental issues from fossil fuel use and the event's large carbon footprint, safety concerns like sexual assault, extreme conditions, drug use, and even deaths, a perception of exclusivity and commercialization that contrasts with its original countercultural ideals, and a lack of adherence to principles by attendees, leading to issues such as discarded bikes and disrespectful behavior.

Excess population growth CAUSES problems.

Can’t imagine the smell.

I was at Woodstock (actually had tickets). And yes, it was impossible not to get wet if you stayed for the full weekend. But nothing like what's shown in this picture. Also, I don't recall any RVs, some tents, most just stayed out in the elements. Just an event that became spontaneously huge, beyond planned capacity.

A man was found dead lying in a pool of blood on Saturday at Burning Man. Looks like homicide. He certainly got away from it all…

I can. 🤢🤮😵😵*💫🤧

Given the opportunity to do so, many will intentionally make the wrong decision.
Hold my beer while I show you how it's done.

Those two statements are diametrically opposed.

To each his own. Just commenting on popular culture. It seems like most here agree with me.

The difference is the people at Burning Man choose to put themselves in that situation. Assuming the majority living in Ocala Forest is due to lack of better options.

Hardly the same.

Tell that to the experts who fear population collapse, as the birthrate in most of the world outside of Africa is below replacement rate.