when discussing burning man as a countercultural movement, it should be addressed that it is actually a counter-countercultural movement.

the LLC is strictly a corporate culture. this rigid hierarchy at the top has over the years trickled down throughout the infrastructure-building communities of the event, the volunteers. these volunteers, these thousands of yes-men (no-men get systematically removed), view the event as THEIR event. there is nothing counter-cultural about being a good soldier within a vast corporate structure. these volunteers who lay claim to ownership of the event are simply infrastructure specialists who are good at following orders.

the other class in this caste system created by the formation of the LLC, are the tens of thousands of participants. the vast majority of these people (after 10 plus years of rule by the LLC) are simply workaday city folk on a costume adventure camping trip. they breeze in and breeze out, fully dependent on the infrastructure provided to them by those who view them as visitors (or at best, civilians) in THEIR city. at the end of the event, these participants return to their normal lives with tales of their adventures. not bad. and these people are also not counter-culturalists (as a rule).

where is the counterculture aside from the few exceptions who still attend? it ain't there. 'counterculture' is a false label on this product called burning man. and that is why it is counter to the countercultural movement - it lies about what it is. and this lie brings would-be counterculturalists into the hierarchy of the corporate fold where they may never find a way out until they are kicked out; their years of dedication to a false ideal used up.

the mainstream culture needs a healthy counterculture - not a massive corporate entity masquerading as such. every good story knows when to end. we can only hope that paul addis turned the first page of the last act on this playground in the desert.

Phil, the event and people you describe are unrecognizable to me, so I can only guess that it's been awhile since you attended Burning Man. While it's true that the event is run by an LLC, it is in many ways the antithesis of what most people consider to be "corporate culture." The city is created almost entirely by those who attend, based on their own visions of what they want to see. Most employees are fierce individualists and their belief in this project isn't a result of being "told what to do." Similarly, attendees provide their own infrastructure (with the exception of porta-potties) and the nature of the event makes it impossible to "breeze in and breeze out." Both employees and attendees are allowed and encouraged to pursue whatever projects or initiatives they can dream up, and that "rigid hierarchy" you describe rarely says a word about it, let alone does it stop people from pursuing their visions.
Phil, you may not like Burning Man, that's up to you, but you're clearly misrepresenting it here and failing to recognize that there are tens of thousands of people who still think this is a relevant, important experiment, so much so that they're willing to devote copious quantities of their time, money, and energy to it. And to assume that we're doing so because we're simply "following orders" is ridiculous, insulting, and elitist.
stj

>>Marian Goodell wouldn't discuss the charge. "It doesn't do us or him any good to open that wound again."

Self-inflicted wounds never close. Finally discussing how the LLC has become so vindictive would at least serve in relieving some of the hurt it's caused to the community, Marian.

as the city has grown, it has become too CIVIC. almost 20% of the population of the city works within the infrastructure. your average US city has a workforce of 2-3%.

BM is strangled by its own municipal. there is no need for all these city workers - they choke the life out the event and make unpredictability and spontaneity scarce, and radical self-reliance unnecessary.

this 20% of the population 'working for the man', divides the community between 'us & them'.

20% is an exaggeration for illustration. the point is, if it's not 1 in 5 then it's 1 in 10 and that's 10 times too many (talking about the volunteers here too - all of the enlisted, anyone who has access to the commissary - including the damn lamplighters)

every unnecessary member (pretty much all of them) of the infrastructure is a person who diminishes the need for participants to be radically self-reliant. their bloated numbers create a communal divide, and this divide is intentional.

the divide exists to give purpose to the borg itself - to manage all these people. and to make the participants dependent on the infrastructure created for no other reason than giving context for the 'going concern' of the LLC. it's a monster.

i think phil was "assuming* you work for the infrastructure based on what your wrote. i assumed the same thing... not a 'corporate culture' - are you kidding? that's the type of perspective you'd expect from someone downing A LOT of kool-aid and gently blowing into will rogers ear while rubbing crimson's cold tits.

making an assumption about someone isn't an insult, especially when someone writes before the assumption that they're making an assumption. you can refute the assumption... something like, 'that assumption is incorrect' would be okay.

it's not a war, it's just a monster.

This whole line of argument seems bizarre to me. You condemn Larry Harvey for creating something that you don't think has social value and celebrate Paul Addis for attacking it. Why? If you really value art and creation, what did Addis create or accomplish? For that matter, why don't you and the other haters put all that energy you expend bitching about Burning Man into creating something better? You're like that anti-government teabaggers who are utterly obsessed with this thing you claim to hate but actually barely understand. In their case, at least government is something that citizens can't completely ignore or escape, but nobody is forcing Burning Man on you. And if you must maintain this obsession of yours, you should at least try to break out of your insular little world with its made-up "facts" and people turned into cartoonish caricatures and gain a better perspective on this culture, because then you'll see how little you really understand it. Try visiting the American Steel warehouse in Oakland, the Shipyard or Michael Christian's studio in Berkley, or the Box Shop here in San Francisco. Talk to the "burners" and "artists" and you'll find a smart, creative, diverse, independent, and lovely group of people who really don't much care what Larry Harvey says or does. You and the other haters are the ones who put him on some kind of pedestal so you can practice your tired old nostalgic target shooting. The rest of us are more concerned with making art and strengthening our community.

Paul Addis came to SF after going to college in Miami, is not a native of SF, and was not part of the "SF underground arts scene". For at least three years in the mid-1990's, he went to law school on Mission Street and later failed the Bar Exam. He does like guns and was known for being confrontational with people, almost to a fault. He was an early adopter of Burning Man and he is genuine in his enthusiasm for it. The fact that this many people take Paul's actions seriously demonstrates how something can get over-analyzed. The writer should do some background checking before accepting self-created mythology.