I was assaulted at Burning Man

[wugwug]

Hey all, my name is Spiff. My project for this year was a musical robot costume. I performed each night at the man for 2-3 hours to a very positive reception. But on Friday while performing on the playa, I was attacked. Someone leg tackled me while I was wearing 45 pounds of robot and had almost no visibility through the robot head. The wind was knocked out of me, my arms, legs, ribs, and neck were bruised, and my project was completely destroyed. 10-15 people witnessed this and yet nobody stopped the assailant from leaving the scene. He and his friends were allowed to just walk away. Nobody detained him. Nobody went to get a ranger.

I think that this is a serious problem. Burning Man has been invaded by outsiders who do not respect our community. We need to raise awareness and learn to look out for each other. If you see people violating the rules of Burning Man then you need to get involved. You need to get others involved. We need to band together as a community and hold these people to the consequences of their actions. I am interested in getting in touch with the organizers of Burning Man to discuss how best to spread this information. I want to start an information campaign to help burners prepare for the worst so that we're able to do what is necessary if we witness a violation of Burning Man conduct. If anyone can help me get in touch with people who can help me make this happen, please let me know.

[Miles]

Hi Spiff. That fucking sucks. I think I met you at the reddit meetup Wednesday....did your costume include a Korg Monotron that I asked you about? I was the guy who brought homemade pickles.

What pisses me off the most about this is that nobody stopped the guy. I would have chased him down, no shit. We can only hope that the bystanders were too shocked to take action.

We should always educate people who dont "get it" in one way or another, but in a city of 50,000, there's going to be plenty of assholes. Like the random guy who, on Friday night, had no glow. I pointed out a mooped blinky to him and told him to put it on. He just made a stink face like I harshed his mellow, bro.


I think some kind of ministry of propaganda is in order, because clearly plenty of people aren't reading the survival guide. Imagine a WWII style poster "Don't be a Darkwad!", "Glowsticks = MOOP", "If you see someone being evil, contact the Rangers." I'd be interested in collaborating on such a project- let me know what you think.

[BigD4077]

I'm a virgin who was frequently mis-identified as a veteran, aka 'no way this is your first year man'. The Playa atmosphere was 99.9% great people showing their love and appreciation. Alas It was not utopia as I was verbally assaulted and threatened on one occasion. Upon entering a Playa bar and getting a drink I was asked to remind someone that he needs to be spanked. When I asked when I should remind him the person who would have been the recipient said to the affect, "How about after I pummel your....." While I was leaving he was still ranting and screaming verbal threats that I could hear 100-feet from the bar. One instance out of a thousand. I feel blessed.

Original poster >>> keep on keeping on man and thanks so much for giving back to BM with your participation!

[MrMullen]

If you want anyone to come to Justice for this, you need to post more information. We need date, time, location and general description of what happen to you. If you saw the attackers and what some of the bystanders looks like. Anything can help, even stupid little bit of information can be help.

[wugwug]

If you want anyone to come to Justice for this, you need to post more information. We need date, time, location and general description of what happen to you. If you saw the attackers and what some of the bystanders looks like. Anything can help, even stupid little bit of information can be help.

I'm afraid I don't have much faith that the guy will ever be caught. I filed an incident report with the rangers and gave a full description but I'll go ahead and give it here too.

The guy was very tall, around 6' 5'' or so. He was very pale and had a prominent pointy nose. He spoke with a slight European accent that I could not place. The incident took place at the base of the blue balloon trail at around 10pm on Friday night. He had three friends as well as his girlfriend with him. I heard them telling him that what he'd done was really stupid and yet none of them were ready to own up to it and bring in the authorities. He was wearing a fuzzy coat and hat and I should also mention that he was completely clean. He'd probably been on the Playa for 10 minutes, worked up and ready to party.

What pisses me off the most about this is that nobody stopped the guy. I would have chased him down, no shit. We can only hope that the bystanders were too shocked to take action.

Exactly. This is the problem. People are not prepared for this kind of thing and they don't know how to react when it happens. Burning Man creates a euphoric mentality and it can be hard to snap out of it when necessary. This is why I think there needs to be an official information campaign. People need to go out on the Playa ready to have fun and express themselves but also ready to step up when a bad situation arises. We can't expect someone else to do what is necessary. We all need to feel a personal obligation to protect our community.

[jkisha]

Always sorry to hear about these types of incidents. I'm glad you are OK.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

This really sucks. I think I might have heard you on BMIR describing the incident too...? There definitely needs to be some guidance on how witnesses can respond. As far as I'm aware, the BRC Rangers aren't really able to detain people. Please correct me if I'm wrong. But I think you'd need to get LEOs involved for something like this. Maybe the Rangers would be able to quickly facilitate this with their radios.

Did the witnesses there even help you out or check to see if you were okay after it happened?

[Ugly Dougly]

I know it may be difficult to recollect, but, was anyone else around at the time?

Not searching for witnesses, but I'm amazed that a bystander would see a fellow burner being beaten down and say either "cool" or "oh well"...

[wugwug]

I did make a statement on BMIR about it, they were very supportive of me when I told them what happened.

There were many witnesses. There were probably 15 people standing around me when it happened. They were all very supportive of me as I had an emotional breakdown while picking up my ruined costume. They were good people who wanted to be supportive but none of them realized that they needed to do more than just support me. They needed to detain the person and summon help.

I'm pretty sure that rangers can detain people, or at the very least follow them while radioing for backup. They have access to the police. There is law enforcement out there but it can't be everywhere and burners need to be ready to step up and deputize themselves when the situation calls for it. Even if they couldn't detain the guy they still could have followed him.

[anonymousdonor11]

BOOOOOO.. F those guys!!!

Had I not have made such a virgin mistake and not fractured my ankle the first day on a Tramp-o-leen...I'da bee looking around for that guy and group-o-d-bags...

The euphoric mentality can rub off easily if one or few step up.. Communities like burning man need leaders that facilitate motivation in other burners.. if we step up and cause awareness, we're breading leaders who (at burningman) will regulate the wrong on the Playa.


maybe im just high....

[RedHeaven]

I am soooo soooo soooo fucking sad this happened! I was just looking at my pics I took of you while we danced around you. Gave me the warm and fuzzies, the costume was adorable and fun and just made me smile. This really hurts. I cannot believe this shit happens. 50000 peeps is no fucking excuse, it shouldnt happen out there!!!! And to think a bunch of clueless apathetic Burners did nothing....fuck wads.....sorry I am not adding anything constructive, I just wanted to vent for you and I am so sad it ruined your time because I absolutely adored you. My heart is broken.

[headquarters]

The guy was very tall, around 6' 5'' or so.

I'm really sorry that this happened to you. I can imagine the shock that it sent to those around you and yourself. Also I could imagine that it would be hard for someone to run and tackle such a large man. I'm 6' 260# and my internal self preservation (scardy cat) would make me think twice about going up on someone that large. Not to say that I wouldn't do anything, heck I have no idea as it's hard to place yourself in such a situation. Things like that seem to happen so fast it's hard for people in a completely different place emotionally to wind up quickly. Some can do it, but many can not. It's no excuse and if anything I will remember your story to fuel myself to be quick to help if ever presented a scene like the one you describe.

The closest analogy I can think of is something like first aid training. Only after doing it a bunch of times and having it burned into your reflex brain does it seem easy to do something. Otherwise people often just sit there and stare at someone bleeding all over the ground or something.

[theCryptofishist]

Thank you, headquarters.

[wugwug]

The guy was very tall, around 6' 5'' or so.

I'm really sorry that this happened to you. I can imagine the shock that it sent to those around you and yourself. Also I could imagine that it would be hard for someone to run and tackle such a large man. I'm 6' 260# and my internal self preservation (scardy cat) would make me think twice about going up on someone that large. Not to say that I wouldn't do anything, heck I have no idea as it's hard to place yourself in such a situation. Things like that seem to happen so fast it's hard for people in a completely different place emotionally to wind up quickly. Some can do it, but many can not. It's no excuse and if anything I will remember your story to fuel myself to be quick to help if ever presented a scene like the one you describe.

The closest analogy I can think of is something like first aid training. Only after doing it a bunch of times and having it burned into your reflex brain does it seem easy to do something. Otherwise people often just sit there and stare at someone bleeding all over the ground or something.

He was actually as skinny as I am, I'd put him at 160-170. And I was still wearing my robot feet which give me another 6 inches so I was almost nose to nose with him. He wasn't scary, he just stood there with a baffled look on his face.

[1durphul]

As nice as the idea of detaining this individual is, it may have resulted in legal complications for the one doing the detaining.

First: I'm not a lawyer. I have however read up some on the legal aspects of citizens arrest. In California for example, if you conduct a citizen's arrest AND attempt to detain a person, but the person has not committed a felony, you yourself could face legal repercussions.

A quick google search turned this up regarding Nevada law: http://www.ehow.com/how_6560532_make-ci ... evada.html

It sounds like (if you trust eHow) in this circumstance a citizen would have had the authority to arrest the individual who assaulted you in a public place.

[subliminalkick]

HHHMMM this does suck and reading i would wonder about detaining the asulter in fear of getting the legal end of the stick myself
BUT i'd stalk the guy raising all sorts of hell not letting him outa my sight till i grabed the atention of someone who cared to alert the rangers/leo or alerted them myself

im a little guy 5'7 so a guy that big turning on me is kinda scary but as a good protection for every one
learn the pressure-----points theres some really nasty ones brought down friends twice my size crying like babies
good for all sorts of situations

beein a noob this year like stated above 99% of peoples were cool as hell
dont let this ASS deture you burn prooud hope to see ya next year

[A Jester]

I am soooo soooo soooo fucking sad this happened! I was just looking at my pics I took of you while we danced around you. Gave me the warm and fuzzies, the costume was adorable and fun and just made me smile. This really hurts. I cannot believe this shit happens. 50000 peeps is no fucking excuse, it shouldnt happen out there!!!! And to think a bunch of clueless apathetic Burners did nothing....fuck wads.....sorry I am not adding anything constructive, I just wanted to vent for you and I am so sad it ruined your time because I absolutely adored you. My heart is broken.

Post the pics?

[wugwug]

As nice as the idea of detaining this individual is, it may have resulted in legal complications for the one doing the detaining.

First: I'm not a lawyer. I have however read up some on the legal aspects of citizens arrest. In California for example, if you conduct a citizen's arrest AND attempt to detain a person, but the person has not committed a felony, you yourself could face legal repercussions.

A quick google search turned this up regarding Nevada law: http://www.ehow.com/how_6560532_make-ci ... evada.html

It sounds like (if you trust eHow) in this circumstance a citizen would have had the authority to arrest the individual who assaulted you in a public place.

I think that we ought to be educating ourselves on these things. I think that every burner needs to know what they can and can't do during an incident and they need to be ready to do what they can. If we can't detain someone then we can still follow them. As long as they aren't allowed to disappear into the Playa they can still be held accountable.

This should all be taught to burners. Every citizen of BRC should be ready and able to step up and handle a bad situation rather than cowering from it. We owe it to each other and to our entire community.

[bluesbob]

Did you yell at all? Many might have thought it was a performance.

[Ugly Dougly]

There were many witnesses. There were probably 15 people standing around me when it happened. They were all very supportive of me ....

In my barbaric mind, being "supportive" doesn't include standing idly by while someone is beaten. Come on people!

[Simon of the Playa]

we need to police ourselves....not in a bad, violent way, but in an understanding, calm, rational way.

i know...WTF...is this simon or his not so evil twin?


true story...this year we had a minor incident in the booby bar involving a newbie burner, his GF and a boobarian bar tender...it was a little bit of shoving and pushing (AND MARTINI STEVE WITH A CHOKE HOLD TO END IT...YEAH STEVE!)

but the point is, the two disappeared and when i went and heard about it my first reaction was to kick some ass.

i wandered around until i found the couple who fit the description ("some bitch in a feather headress and her aussie BF") again, at first i was ready to pound the little drunk douchebag, but i knew that this whole thing was like a Kurosawa movie, it was one action with many viewpoints, and most likely a misunderstanding of sorts.

i put away my normal ideas of how to handle this, and calmly talked the young man into coming back and apologizing, because thats not how we do things at burning man....i actually surprised myself by my diplomacy.

in the end, everything was somewhat hunky dory as both parties shook hands...(The bitch in the headress is another story she wouldnt shut up about a lost pair of fucking sunglasses, but i digress)...

my point is, we need to watch out for each other, but not meet violence with violence if at all possible. The situation ended as opposed to escalating, and it never made it to the rangers or beyond.

it was a rite of passage for me personally, i avoided my natural tendency to allow anger to dictate my actions.

we can all GET INVOLVED....we can be good samaritans, we can police ourselves, and we must.

we can not allow a "Kitty Genovese" (google it, youngsters) to occur on our watch.

this is your Burn, this is OUR Burn, protect it.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

I think that we ought to be educating ourselves on these things. I think that every burner needs to know what they can and can't do during an incident and they need to be ready to do what they can. If we can't detain someone then we can still follow them. As long as they aren't allowed to disappear into the Playa they can still be held accountable.

This should all be taught to burners. Every citizen of BRC should be ready and able to step up and handle a bad situation rather than cowering from it. We owe it to each other and to our entire community.

I think you're right on about this. I totally agree with you. I thought of one other aspect that could help in a situation like this, especially considering the nature of your performance included decreased visibility in a complex costume -- maybe it would help to have someone with you who can hang back and keep an eye on the situation while you're performing. One person who would know for sure what is actually an acceptable interaction and what is not, and maybe just to be aware if there's about to be some sort of accidental collision or something due to the decreased visibility. I don't want this to come across as laying some kind of blame on you at all, though, because I think you have every right to expect to be having fun with the performance and not have to worry about some random act of idiocy endangering you. And it sounds like it was delightful for people up until that happened. But that's just one thing that came to my mind that could possibly help in the future, because whoever is hanging with you would be alert and know what's what and be able to respond appropriately immediately. Maybe kind of like the temple guardians... for the most part they just hang around and don't directly interact with people at the temple, but if someone starts doing something potentially dangerous or is having some kind of serious problem, they'll step in and have some procedures they've set out in advance to resolve the situation.

But yeah, just to emphasize what you said, it's important for everyone in BRC to be aware that some situation might unfold around them that needs to be addressed appropriately with urgency, and to think about ways to respond. Also think about, if you were following someone until you could spot a ranger or LEO, how you would get their attention if they were quite a ways away. One thing I thought about was flashing a light at them, but BRC at night is a sea of flashing lights.

[Ugly Dougly]

Yes, people in complex costumes should have "minders". Don't be afraid to volunteer to be one!

And Simon are you morphing into a Ranger?

[Timezone LaFontaine]

I would love to hang with the musical robot for a few hours! Spiff, I hope you'll not be too put off by this incident to come back to BRC next year and do your thing again. It sounds like a great gift to the city that tons of people really appreciated and enjoyed.

[wedeliver]

we need to police ourselves....not in a bad, violent way, but in an understanding, calm, rational way.

i know...WTF...is this simon or his not so evil twin?


true story...this year we had a minor incident in the booby bar involving a newbie burner, his GF and a boobarian bar tender...it was a little bit of shoving and pushing (AND MARTINI STEVE WITH A CHOKE HOLD TO END IT...YEAH STEVE!)

but the point is, the two disappeared and when i went and heard about it my first reaction was to kick some ass.

i wandered around until i found the couple who fit the description ("some bitch in a feather headress and her aussie BF") again, at first i was ready to pound the little drunk douchebag, but i knew that this whole thing was like a Kurosawa movie, it was one action with many viewpoints, and most likely a misunderstanding of sorts.

i put away my normal ideas of how to handle this, and calmly talked the young man into coming back and apologizing, because thats not how we do things at burning man....i actually surprised myself by my diplomacy.

in the end, everything was somewhat hunky dory as both parties shook hands...(The bitch in the headress is another story she wouldnt shut up about a lost pair of fucking sunglasses, but i digress)...

my point is, we need to watch out for each other, but not meet violence with violence if at all possible. The situation ended as opposed to escalating, and it never made it to the rangers or beyond.

it was a rite of passage for me personally, i avoided my natural tendency to allow anger to dictate my actions.

we can all GET INVOLVED....we can be good samaritans, we can police ourselves, and we must.

we can not allow a "Kitty Genovese" (google it, youngsters) to occur on our watch.

this is your Burn, this is OUR Burn, protect it.

So, I picture Simon with his bullhorn, 1/2 inch away from this fellows face, quietly convincing the person to do as he is told. Sinom your boots are made for walking and thats just what they do. I mean you wear big boots. oh, this is starting to sound strange. but, either way. good job on keeping control and tryig something new. hey, its the burner way.

[Simon of the Playa]

Yes, people in complex costumes should have "minders". Don't be afraid to volunteer to be one!

And Simon are you morphing into a Ranger?

no way....i just can't do the whole "Tan" thing all week....i need a little diversity...and i never wear hats, so i dont think they would have me anyways...

the uniform makes the man, and i dont want any uniforms to pin me down.

[wugwug]

I think that we ought to be educating ourselves on these things. I think that every burner needs to know what they can and can't do during an incident and they need to be ready to do what they can. If we can't detain someone then we can still follow them. As long as they aren't allowed to disappear into the Playa they can still be held accountable.

This should all be taught to burners. Every citizen of BRC should be ready and able to step up and handle a bad situation rather than cowering from it. We owe it to each other and to our entire community.

I think you're right on about this. I totally agree with you. I thought of one other aspect that could help in a situation like this, especially considering the nature of your performance included decreased visibility in a complex costume -- maybe it would help to have someone with you who can hang back and keep an eye on the situation while you're performing. One person who would know for sure what is actually an acceptable interaction and what is not, and maybe just to be aware if there's about to be some sort of accidental collision or something due to the decreased visibility. I don't want this to come across as laying some kind of blame on you at all, though, because I think you have every right to expect to be having fun with the performance and not have to worry about some random act of idiocy endangering you. And it sounds like it was delightful for people up until that happened. But that's just one thing that came to my mind that could possibly help in the future, because whoever is hanging with you would be alert and know what's what and be able to respond appropriately immediately. Maybe kind of like the temple guardians... for the most part they just hang around and don't directly interact with people at the temple, but if someone starts doing something potentially dangerous or is having some kind of serious problem, they'll step in and have some procedures they've set out in advance to resolve the situation.

But yeah, just to emphasize what you said, it's important for everyone in BRC to be aware that some situation might unfold around them that needs to be addressed appropriately with urgency, and to think about ways to respond. Also think about, if you were following someone until you could spot a ranger or LEO, how you would get their attention if they were quite a ways away. One thing I thought about was flashing a light at them, but BRC at night is a sea of flashing lights.

In retrospect I realize that it was careless to be performing where I was. On Monday through Thursday I was performing at the man and it was very safe. There was light, rangers, people on man watch, etc. I was naive to think that I would be safe without them. My girlfriend was with me when I was attacked. She tried to stop the guy from leaving too but one of the witnesses told her to let him go and actually told the guy and his friends to get lost. I'm sure he thought that he was being the voice of reason and diffusing the situation when in actuality he was telling an assailant to leave the scene of a crime. My girlfriend was as distressed as I was and with no support from the other witnesses she was unable to detain the guy or keep track of him after he left. She even said "he destroyed my boyfriend's project, it cost him seven hundred dollars." The guy's response was "what, do you think he's going to GIVE him seven hundred dollars or something?" Um...YES. When you destroy someone's property you pay for it. When you assault someone you face the consequences. This was no different than any other hit and run situation, except that the bystanders actually told the perpetrator to leave. I'm still in a state of disbelief about the way people around me reacted.

If I make it back out there next year I will definitely be smarter about where I perform, but this still doesn't address the problem. Simply trying to avoid the douchebags isn't enough, we all need to be ready to deal with them. I still can't believe that someone was telling me to calm down while also telling the guy to leave. It was a terrible mishandling of the situation.

[Miles]

In retrospect I realize that it was careless to be performing where I was.

FUCK THAT- you are not to blame. It's purely the tall asshole's fault.

[Penny Dreadful]

Dammit! This really pisses me off to hear this, especially as someone who also put in a lot of work into a costume to bring joy to others.

People get intoxicated or a little overexcited, to say the least, at Burning Man, and wrongly come to think of it as a no boundaries paradise, of which your terrible experience is an example. I'm even more offended that others didn't at least say something to that jackass. Unfortunately, the shock of those people is a very common reaction. It happens all the time and in every situation, not just at Burning Man; it's not just the 'euphoric' atmosphere of the event that stuns everyone into inaction whenever they encounter something very wrong or unexpected. It's just part of human nature. I know it doesn't mean much now, but I'm fairly confident I would have yelled at the asshole, because I have before at other jerks who blatantly disrespect the playa, and the community and its participants. But I'm also the loud and confrontational type, something I've had to keep in check at BM.

I may sound prejudice for saying this, but I strongly believe your attack underscores the difference between people who view BM as just a giant party and people who really view it as a community. We're protective of our communities; a party is just where we go to please ourselves. Please, please, don't be disparaged. That guy was a fool. Sooner or later it will dawn on him just how big a fool he was. Who knows...he could have been on something, or he could have gotten a touch of what I call 'playa madness,' the over stimulation by all that goes on at Burning Man, leading some people to act in catastrophic ways.

Like another poster said, 'keep on keeping on,' bro.

[Penny Dreadful]

I think you're right on about this. I totally agree with you. I thought of one other aspect that could help in a situation like this, especially considering the nature of your performance included decreased visibility in a complex costume -- maybe it would help to have someone with you who can hang back and keep an eye on the situation while you're performing. One person who would know for sure what is actually an acceptable interaction and what is not, and maybe just to be aware if there's about to be some sort of accidental collision or something due to the decreased visibility. I don't want this to come across as laying some kind of blame on you at all, though, because I think you have every right to expect to be having fun with the performance and not have to worry about some random act of idiocy endangering you. And it sounds like it was delightful for people up until that happened. But that's just one thing that came to my mind that could possibly help in the future, because whoever is hanging with you would be alert and know what's what and be able to respond appropriately immediately. Maybe kind of like the temple guardians... for the most part they just hang around and don't directly interact with people at the temple, but if someone starts doing something potentially dangerous or is having some kind of serious problem, they'll step in and have some procedures they've set out in advance to resolve the situation.

Yes, this exactly. I'm always worried about yahoos at BM, and according to my friend, a BM vet, they seem to be increasing every year. So I always had several friends with me while I wore my giant kitty head. One night, a drunk guy came up behind me and repeatedly slapped the back of my helmet hard. After I yelped and yelled at him, he apologized and backed off. My friends were also there, thank goodness, to buffer me from the real rowdies. I really suggest getting some 'muscle,' so to speak, to back you up.

If I make it back out there next year I will definitely be smarter about where I perform, but this still doesn't address the problem. Simply trying to avoid the douchebags isn't enough, we all need to be ready to deal with them. I still can't believe that someone was telling me to calm down while also telling the guy to leave. It was a terrible mishandling of the situation.

Yeah, this sucks, but people have to be trained to handle violent situations competently, or else their brains will just tell them not to get involved. The guy acted irrationally, so it was easier to tell you to calm down than to yell at him for his behavior. Also, they could have been worried for your safety. Some people, depending on their sobriety or mental fitness, can be dangerous when confronted.