In the year of unthinkable things happening that is 2016, we can add another incident to the list. The festival of Burning Man, an annual idealized society sharing music and art amongst the sands (of Black Rock Desert, NV), has sustained an outburst of pure viciousness. White Ocean Camp has been a popular gathering spot since 2013, offering food and a stage set up that hosts a number of electronica acts lasting into the early hours. Unfortunately, members of the camp came back to find their digs thrown into chaos. In response, members of the collective took to social media (excerpt below).
The White Ocean camp is what some might call a “luxury camp,” having been founded in 2013 by Paul Oakenfold and the son of a Russian billionaire. As their post states, their camp was raided and flooded and electrical lines were cut, leaving them without power or refrigeration.
Elena Serdiouk, a Burner from San Francisco, told the Reno Gazette-Journal: “This is evil. This should not happen at Burning Man. This is supposed to be about love, happiness, sharing, giving and appreciating. It is unbelievable that there are angry people here.”
Others are happy that people are trying to take back the festival from the glampers.
Tony Wichowski, a Burner, said: “And so the revolution has begun. Taking Burning Man back from the parasite class, back from the electronic dance music tourists. Taking Burning Man back for the people. This wasn’t much but it’s a great start.”
Danielle Palmer, another Burner, accused the camp of having “paid staff and bouncers.” She said: “You’re a closed camp and not very welcoming. I got yelled at for coming to close to your ‘gates.’ We know you hire people in to cook and do other things. Feeding friends of your paid campers does not count as feeding Burners.”
Police are investigating the incident.
H/T Telegraph