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Burning Man death rates – A short lesson in statistics

179 points · 243 comments · viraj_shah

  1. m101 · · focus · HN ↗
    Been twice to burning man. It’s hard to describe the corruption of the soul that exists at burning man.

    There’s a focus on the environment yet everything is disposable and people travel from all over the world to go.

    There’s talk of safety but then they will literally kick you out of camp as soon as someone says you’re making them feel unsafe because of some normal thing you did. YES, it did literally happen to someone I know. It felt like a public lynching.

    It’s supposed to be camping together but then there’s pages of rules, documents, charity companies, and letters written by lawyers (yes, still the above).

    It’s a celebration in mediocrity. Most things that happen are very mediocre at best. They just do it because you’re supposed to give something, so they give something mediocre.

    The people are all hyper liberal, and the types that cannot help but judge individuals based on whether they’re in their group on not. People you called your friends for years will turn against you once the group turns on you.

    Obviously most of it is all about seeing and being seen, engaging in the pleasures of sensual experiences on offer.

    I would describe it as literally sodom on earth. It’s shaped like a butthole, and takes a massive shit once a year.

    The best thing about it imo is the cycling around where you can mostly just get away from the degeneracy that exists. The temple is quite nice too.

    1. watwut · · focus · HN ↗
      > People you called your friends for years will turn against you once the group turns on you.

      That is somehow a fault of a week long festival?

      1. alexgoodhart · · focus · HN ↗
        It could certainly illustrate the group mentalities fostered there
        1. throwaway27448 · · focus · HN ↗
          From everything i've seen it seems to have the opposite tone and ethos as biblical sodom & gomorrah—it's oriented around welcoming strangers and not abusing them. Even being kicked out would be preferable.
        2. watwut · · focus · HN ↗
          It is a 60000 people festival where OP came with friends he knows for years (by own words).

          It says something about OP and his friends, but it is unclear who was actually in the wrong. We have no idea whether the "other" people were in the wrong or someone actually crossed lines and "others" reacted reasonably. Because people who, for example, abuse or mistreat others see themselves as victims when it is not enabled.

          But, what is sure is that if your friends turn on you during short crowded festival, the issue is in your group dynamic. And way OP uses language suggest the kind of personality that will blame strategically rather then fairly

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