NBLB, Turtle Feedback???

You know I think that this crowd should “gush” a little more about what a good time that they have at the events around here. Sometimes it seams like people are left to see the event only through their own eyes and they miss some of the great things that transpire at these events.

I thought it was great that we had so many new people at the event. It was never supposed to be a Turtles only thing. We just wanted to throw up the Turtle structure so that no one else would have to worry about bringing out any sort of crazy shade set-ups. To make it easy for everyone else to just come out and have a good time.

I got to know several of these folks a lot better and that is what these sorts of events are supposed to be about. One regret that I have is that we didn’t have more things in place to cause the people to mingle more. Some sort of “Ice Breaker” type game would be a good idea for next time.

I actually enjoyed having the rock band show up, and I also liked the “enforced silence” during the power outage. And OH MY GOD where those showers great or what!

The Burner Vs. Raver situation has been circulating around for a while. These two groups get along together in varying degrees all across the country at these types of events.
You should read the chapter in “This Is Burning Man” where a flame-throwing art car pulled up to the Rave that was a mile or more away from BRC and the Burners and the Ravers squared off with each other and then ended up embracing and joining together for a great party. Here in San Diego it seams like it is the over 40 crowd who has the issue with all the DJ&D parties that are so prolific around here (and not all of them by far). I can understand why they feel this way. Who wants to see 40+ year olds bumping and grinding anyway? But they have been expressing themselves through this venue for a long time now and they feel like it is changing in a way that is pushing them out.

I think the Burners just feel threatened right now because out of all the “Interactive Art” events that we have in this area, the majority of them are DJ driven events. I keep trying to tell them that if they want more art and workshops, then they need to make it happen themselves. I think things will swing back in that direction soon. It is all a natural progression. Like a pendulum.

Monkey Doo, Thanks for all you did this weekend bro! You were a huge help!

My only complaints: People who expected a larger crowd and didn’t know how to enjoy themselves with out it. People who stressed about the music being out during the day (I got a little concerned about lights myself around dark, so I just pulled out some battery lights that I had.) People who had no plan for getting their own trash out. (That is just a pet peeve)
Flies and yellow jackets, and the awkwardness of hanging out with people that I hadn’t met yet and not finding much in common to talk about.

With my recent back injury I have to find a new way to approach these events and life in general. I have always been the one to dive into the physical aspects of helping out. And now I have to be conscious to limit how much physical activity I do. So as a whole I felt awkward and out of place this weekend. My actions are not natural anymore and I felt like I was a poor example of how to behave this weekend. I am still looking for that new path. Usually I enjoy walking around the events picking up bits of moop from the ground and providing an example for others in this way, but now I can't bend down as easily and I feel like a poor example.

I wasn't there .... I was at the burn this year .... but I do want to stand behind all that JuSTChris wrote. Moon Drop was a bit shocking. There was out of control substance abuse not use with the ravers. Screaming and yelling and obnoxious behavior - some quite violent! One DJ got jumped while spinning on his own stage .... what's up with that??? There was crude conversation, negative attitudes, agressive approaches .... I'd never been to an event like that and was really sad to see it at an event that was supposed to be based on the beautiful side of humanity. I picked up trash for a couple of hours at the raver side of camp at Moon Drop and didn't find much of anything at the Turtle side of camp. I DID run into a couple of ravers that were absolutely beautiful people - they got it. But they were also friends of burners there so there was probabably something significant in that.

I don't know the solution. I just think the mix makes for a very fragile balance and maybe there needs to be a community brain storming session to figure out how to head off these problems before they happen - if the mixed events are to continue. I'll be very honest though. I go to the burner events to go into a refuge from the uglier side of humanity. I go in complete trust and love and am refreshed and filled with joy and hope. It's so upsetting to have to deal with the harshness that appears when the crowd is mixed ... anywhere! I get the same thing when the events are at public venues and regular public people are around. There's something magical about burners and when they have an event, I want to be submerged in the magic and be able to be completely open and free. It seems that can't happen when the events are mixed.

Sorry to step on toes .... just speaking from the heart. I love the Turtles, whomever they all are, and I love the ambiance they create .... as with Liquid O and other local burner tribes. Those are the events I want to be part of and to tell you the truth ..... I don't think I'll go to anymore of the mixed events. It's not worth the frustration of dealing with the crappola just to try to find peace!

Ive created a new thread in the SD Burners Tribe.

I vote for Skandar as "Raver/Burner Negotiator"