Burning Man: Fact & Fiction

You've probably heard it before - "Every year, media coverage of Burning Man gets it wrong."

As a matter of fact, EVERYBODY gets it wrong...

Mainly because there is no "right". Media or not, everyone's experience is widely different. Even two people walking across the playa side by side will often reach disparate conclusions. So much of what we experience is dependent upon your own history and values, our view is drawn by our interests. That's part of what make Burning Man so interesting.

Burning Man: Fact & Fiction

G-Man has written an excellent rational view of the event - but what he describes is far less than anything I've experienced in even my most boring times on the playa (rare).

What he writes is what I call sanitizing for the media. It's writing a digestible version for the rest of America - to give them a "box" to classify the event. G-Man provides a great service in debunking some of the more simple-minded myths, but in doing so he denies by omission the "it" of Burning Man.

It's understandable. But "it" isn't.

Which is why "it" is so hard to explain to anyone who's never been there. Lots of writers (including me) have tried to capture "it" with candid description of actual events, but until we achieve mind-meld, you'll just have to make do with other people's descriptions or...

Go get some dust in your teeth.

See you on the playa.