No Time To Burn

I’m obviously disappointed that a live Burning Man won’t take place this year.  But I understand that in their words they “don’t want to half ass it” which is an admirable goal.  Part of me does still wish they said “fuck it” and see how it would fall together, but I’ve never attempted to build a fully functioning city in the desert before.  Especially not during what is (hopefully) the tail end of a pandemic.

I’m torn even though I acknowledge that erring on the side of safety and greater inclusion in 2022 is a safer bet.

Why now is not the perfect time:

• International travel is still suspect, and would certainly put a dent in the diversity of the population.  I’d definitely miss my friends from other hemispheres.
  
  
• We’re talking about an event full of tens of thousands that takes place 200 miles from the closest major city or hospital.  Safety third is an unwritten mantra of the experience.  It would be more so now during a pandemic.
  
  
• But it's not just the Burners taking the risk.  The area is surrounded by a small rural community, and Native American reservation land.  Both populations have limited access to healthcare.
  
  
• Some of the larger camps had already assessed their comfort level with the situation, and announced they were backing out early even if the event took place.  Regional events such as Firefly in New England have decided to shut down preemptively this year as well.
  
  
• It’s hard to say how this would impact the many, many people it takes to actually build the city in the months to come.  From their press release they mention they’re different from other large scale events that have not been canceled because they’re “building a city not a stage”.  Volunteers don’t grow on trees, and vital city infrastructure components like an: airport, DMV, DPW, private security force (Rangers), etc. isn’t going to build itself overnight.
  
  
• There’s still a number of people that for whatever reason (probably a dumb one) that won’t get vaccinated, and herd immunity needs time to cover their selfish asses.  Even then that’s not a silver bullet.  Measles should have fallen the way of smallpox years ago, and yet still here we are.  Some bullshit about mercury and microchips and Bill Gates and RNA that turns you into a lizard person.

Why now could have been the perfect time:

• No doubt it would have been a different experience this year, but a less populated Burning Man could provide a jumping point for new Burners so they could ease into it.  It’s better than sitting there in your living room with a VR headset in one of the virtual Burns.
  
  
• Speaking of virtual events... everyone is sick and tired of Zoom meetings.  I appreciate the time and effort it must take to put on a virtual event, but I'm supposed to be on vacation here, and I spend enough time in front of the screen already.
  
  
• Everything is a calculated risk right now, and people are already starting to take vacations again.  Burning Man itself on the best of days is a calculated risk in terms of  personal safety.  The land is still public so people are going to go out there anyways like they did during 2020 which was really not the best idea back then sans vaccine, but now?
  
  
• I think I just really miss the desert oddly enough, and all the screwball adventures that comes with being out there with friends.
  
  

I'll have to decide what to do with my time off this year now.

See you back home in 2022.