At Burning Man Nothing is Sacred. Oh, really?

[DeusRegit]

At Burning Man Nothing is Sacred. Oh, really?

A couple of words I like to use when I describe Burners to other people are "crazies" and "stinkies".
Before heading out to BRC last August I noted in my journal that this year I wasn't going to volunteer, I wasn't going to create an art installation, I was just going to watch the crazies and be one of them. And one of the greatest things I have always admired about burners is their tolerance - "if you want to be stupid and fall flat on your drunken face, go knock yourself out". The last thing I expect at Burning Man is for someone to cater to or even yield to my own feelings or personal beliefs.
But this year something happened at the Temple burn that made me think, do I really want to come back again.
This year my return to Black Rock City was the year I would pay tribute to my father at the temple. At my first burn in 2007 I was awed by the simplicity and function of David Best's Temple of Forgiveness and witnessed for the first time how the Temple burn provides us passage to leave the Black Rock desert after 7 days of pagan rituals, creative pyrotechnics and new age ceremonialism. This year, David's work returned to the playa and so would I.
The hour leading up to the burn was a familiar drill - get there early, don't bring your bike, and don't drink heavily before getting there unless you can hold your piss for the 3 hours it takes the whole thing to finish. I had a good spot, just left of the 12:00 prominade entrance, and sat down about 5 people back from the perimeter. Just to the right of where I was sitting was a bus that I thought was just a typical hippie bus with a party lounge on top. It was parked facing the temple and standing on the second deck were a group of robed people. Hare Krishna on wheels, I figured.
The sun set and the crowd slowly got quieter. Then, a piano somewhere began to play Ave Maria.
Thinking of your father, who passed away when you were young, in the middle of the Black Rock Desert is something you may only do once in your life. It is not something that is rehearsed or thoroughly thought out. You just put yourself there and wonder how it will all finish.
The music was welcomed in my head as I wondered where my dad was and whether he ever knew how much I loved him. The chorus began singing and I realized it was the robed chorus atop the bus next to me. The music was sweet - it wasn't dramatic and it wasn't always on key, but it was good. It was close to how I felt and it didn't need to be anything more. It was one of those things that is created by another burner that, if you come upon it, whether coming out of the blinding dust in your paralyzed movement across the playa or in the intimate moments on the perimeter of a temple burn, makes me forever thankful to not just be a burner but to have somewhat of an understanding of what it really means to be one.
I cried quietly but blissfully inside my head, realizing that I hadn't come to the Temple to put closure on my father's death but rather to find him in somethng. Instead of saying goodbye, I found myself saying over and over, "where are you? I miss you. I love you." I could feel the tears on my face but knew that nobody would mind. Heck, nobody was even paying any attention to me. It was all about the Temple of Juno and whatever it was that brought each one of us to it.
But tolerance is a wonderful thing and it means that no matter what your experience is at Burning Man, it's bound to be something different for somebody else. And so we really don't give a shit when someone writes trash on the walls of our art or plays Free Bird during the silence of the Temple burn (someone said it was DPW, you just gotta' love those guys). But when some woman came up to the chorus bus after the song was over and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Fuck your Ave Maria! Your fucking Ave Maria sucks!", I thought to myself, what has happened to the people of Burning Man?
Some people around me gave a tolerant laugh as if not to let it spoil the moment that SOME of us were in, no MOST of us. And the Ranger who kneeled in front of our section said in a calming but sincere way, "I love you, people", fullfilling her role to keep the burners from getting out of control but also really meaning it.
I was able to ignore the screamer's outburst for the next hour just enough so that I could think that the wonderful misic that carried over the wide expanse of the playa was in part meant for my dad (as well as for all the others that the temple consoled that night in its burning) and provided a sort of gift to him. My father was buried at sea, without music and without his family present. I am only detailing all this because I want burners to understand what the temple burn means for many us and what the moment is that many of us find ourselves in. I understand tolerance and I will always respect the freedom of choice and that some other burners just don't like the way that something goes down at Burning Man. But I really have to wonder, what was that woman's problem? Does she not give a shit about what other's feel or even the fact that hundreds of days went into building the Temple of Juno and creating the chance for thousands of burners to have their own moment to honor someone or to confront the guilt they feel in someone else's passing? Did she really not have the ability, or the courage to keep her mouth shut for just that one time so that everybody else could feel really good about where they had arrived on this final day of BM 2012? Or was she just drunk and stupid - one of the crazies.
I had to make a decision - either that woman that tried to ruin my Temple burn is going to change my opinion about Burning Man and Burners or she's not. I feel strongly that Burning Man is never what it was the year before - it is what we make of it today, inspite of all the confusion, disagreements, and demands of change. If this woman was complaining because she doesn't think the Temple Burn is what it used to be, well it isn't. Nothing at Burning Man remains the same. That is what growing up and tolerance is all about.
I would assume that most of us have asked ourselves at one time or another if this year is the last year we will return to Black Rock City. Even if we say yes, we know we can still come back. I asked myself that for the first time after the Temple burn was over, and I didn't hesitate to answer back - if someone's behavior is enough to make you give up something which you love so much, then all those trips to the Black Rock Desert over the years have been for nothing.
There is that crazy young rebel somewhere hidden in my past that admires the woman that screamed "Fuck your Ave Maria". I just wish she hadn't.

Sandman
http://www.burningmanzeroseven.com

[Ugly Dougly]

Thanks for the rant, Sandman. <3
Ave Maria = Ave Juno?

[theCryptofishist]

There was plenty of invective on the boards about Free Bird...

Of course, "too long, only skimmed" does characterize my reading of the op.

[burner von braun]

(((DeusRegit)))

[Timezone LaFontaine]

Both Ave Maria and Freebird are two songs that have a lot of baggage attached to them.

Freebird has become at various times more of a symbol for overwrought encores, and shouting out "Freebird!" is even used as a way to insult boring or otherwise unliked performers. The ire expressed by people offended by the crassness of cranking Freebird is mirrored by the shocked disbelief from the DPW that anyone could have taken it as anything other than sincere and heartfelt.

Ave Maria has a world of Catholic associations within it, from the sacred to the truly profane.

A lot of the tolerance for the omnipresent electronic dance music in BRC has to come from the fact that it is much more of a tabula rasa than these other kinds of songs that have become loaded with conflicting meanings.

The thing about the temple burn is that you have to accept there will be unexpected actions from some of the many thousands of people you're sitting among. Some might be beautiful surprises and some might be less so. It's always an option to post up at a bit more of a distance to make it a bit more likely that no one is going to barge into your personal experience of the burn.

[RedHeaven]

Great posts people, thanks for sharing that story. I loved the Ava maria and even the Freebird did not bother me, they were honest expressions no matter what they are attached to, and the Ava Maria brought emotion into my heart, it was done live, even more so.
I did not hear the Fuck You Ava Maria, but I would of rather heard that than some dumb stupid drunk bitch yelling ORGASM!!! over and over and over and over
At least the Eff You Ava person had some emotion to it, ORGASM was so DUMB and idiotic...

However, I really cannot let the bad win on this one. It is still thousands of quiet people after a one week party!!! There is still beauty, can't let anything kill it if possible. It was hard to, but I ignored the orgasm bitch.
The temple burn could be more beautiful if people would obey, but it is still really really beautiful.

RIP to our friends and family lost.

[theCryptofishist]

The temple burn could be more beautiful if people would obey, but it is still really really beautiful.

It just sort of hit me in the (eyeroll) 1984 context, which made it all horrible...

"Freedom" dictates that we all accept that other people do not share our sense of sacred.

[Bob]

Here you go.

[DeusRegit]

Thanks, Bob. It all makes sense now (Metallica video) - the thrashing back in forth in bed when I was young. The boy praying at his bedside.
Burners, you never know what they'll say next.
BTW DeusRegit is an old avatar of mine from when AOL was colored text on a black DOS background. It means "God Reigns". Pretty fucking weird considering I am not religious and my father was an agnostic.

[TT120]

For me, Freebird has always had a special meaning so when I heard it while the temple burned, it seemed quite fitting. I didn't hear any of the other stuff. Maybe because I didn't want to hear it. This was my first experience though so I really didn't have anything to compare it to. I was surprised that it was as quiet as it was.

[Bob]

I'm keeping my opinions about the Temple to myself for once.

[Ugly Dougly]

Rule #1: Have fun doing stupid things or whatever you deem apropriate.
Rule #2: Don't fuck with someone else's trip.

[theCryptofishist]

Rule #3 It was better last year
Rule #4 Cranky is the new black

[wh..sh]

The temple burn could be more beautiful if people would obey, but it is still really really beautiful.

It just sort of hit me in the (eyeroll) 1984 context, which made it all horrible...

"Freedom" dictates that we all accept that other people do not share our sense of sacred.

I have to agree with Fishy.

2011's temple is still very close to my heart. It had a different impact because it was a place where people brought all their insecurities. That place had all sort of messages ranging from goodbyes, to-be-left-behind wedding dresses, bras hung to toy spaceships, happy news, "miss you" messages, "love you" message, "hate you" messages, apologies, and what not! All kinds of people walked through - the ones who cried, the ones who smiled, the ones who took pictures, the ones who just wandered... just that was so beautiful!! It gave me a feeling that inspite of all the stuff people were going through, things were going to be ok. I really felt a genuine hope.

On the other hand, 2012's temple was more of a memorial. I am not sure when this transformation happened or why.
The vibe was just sad... there was no laughter, no smiles. If you weren't suffering, you sort of felt out of place.
Maybe too many expectations and rules on what a temple should be has had it's impact.

2011 is still my favorite temple because it brought all kinds of people together (The architecture and build on both were brilliant).

There, I said it!

[RedHeaven]

The temple burn could be more beautiful if people would obey, but it is still really really beautiful.

It just sort of hit me in the (eyeroll) 1984 context, which made it all horrible...

"Freedom" dictates that we all accept that other people do not share our sense of sacred.

I purposely used that word, definitely being sarcastic

[theCryptofishist]

Whoops.
(to herself) dammit, caught again!

[DeusRegit]

I like what w.h..s.h. wrote. I was, and still am wondering if the Temple has changed from what it originally was. I don't go back that far - 2007 was my first. But I can understand how the discreet and toned down nature of this year seeming like a depressing memorial could have been unwanted by burners of an earlier time where the temple might have been a more spontaneous, carefree regurgitation of anything that you needed to let go of.
So let me indulge you just once more and describe another experience I had at the Temple:
After I placed the photos of me and my dad on the wall of the temple, I sat down in the courtyard across from it and just pondered the thought of where I was and what I had done. After a minute or so I heard a scream, a deep howl that I immediately thought was one of the burner crazies doing their stupid thing. I looked over toward the middle of the courtyard and saw a large man humped over, with his hands on his knees and his partner comforting him with her hands on his back.
The man was not one of the crazies letting out a rebellious intoxicated protest, it was a grieving person who had the need, the ugency, the desire, and most importantly the spontaneity to rid himself of the pain that gripped his heart for so very long. I was glad to have witnessed that, and I thanked him in my head for doing something I wanted to do but was too crippled by my own vanity to do on my own.
So the temple might have been quiet at times this year, and maybe next year it will be something else entirely. That's change. But this year's temple had its moments and I guess the crazies, the screamers, the grievers, and yes, even the screaming woman Ave-Maria hater were all part of it. And I do want to thank the chorus for singing Ave Maria. It was something my father never would have asked for but would have felt it in his heart had he been there. And maybe he was.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

I'm keeping my opinions about the Temple to myself for once.

Somebody's hacked Bob's account. Is nothing sacred?!

[graidawg]

The temple burn could be more beautiful if people would obey, but it is still really really beautiful.

It just sort of hit me in the (eyeroll) 1984 context, which made it all horrible...

"Freedom" dictates that we all accept that other people do not share our sense of sacred.

I have to agree with Fishy.

2011's temple is still very close to my heart. It had a different impact because it was a place where people brought all their insecurities. That place had all sort of messages ranging from goodbyes, to-be-left-behind wedding dresses, bras hung to toy spaceships, happy news, "miss you" messages, "love you" message, "hate you" messages, apologies, and what not! All kinds of people walked through - the ones who cried, the ones who smiled, the ones who took pictures, the ones who just wandered... just that was so beautiful!! It gave me a feeling that inspite of all the stuff people were going through, things were going to be ok. I really felt a genuine hope.

On the other hand, 2012's temple was more of a memorial. I am not sure when this transformation happened or why.
The vibe was just sad... there was no laughter, no smiles. If you weren't suffering, you sort of felt out of place.
Maybe too many expectations and rules on what a temple should be has had it's impact.

2011 is still my favorite temple because it brought all kinds of people together (The architecture and build on both were brilliant).

There, I said it!

thanks i couldn't pin down why i didn't like this years temple at all. I felt no sense of wonder while i was there and you may have just nailed it for me

[Savannah]

This year's temple was very beautiful (and I liked the fact that there was courtyard seating) but like Wh..sh, last year's was my favorite--so far. Just an absolute stunner. It doesn't bother me at all that I won't fall in love with every Temple, every year. It makes the beloved years all the more special.

DeusRegit, I really like the nuance of your ultimate conclusion:

I asked myself that for the first time after the Temple burn was over, and I didn't hesitate to answer back - if someone's behavior is enough to make you give up something which you love so much, then all those trips to the Black Rock Desert over the years have been for nothing.

There is that crazy young rebel somewhere hidden in my past that admires the woman that screamed "Fuck your Ave Maria". I just wish she hadn't.

[MacGlenver]

This year's temple was very beautiful (and I liked the fact that there was courtyard seating) but like Wh..sh, last year's was my favorite--so far. Just an absolute stunner. It doesn't bother me at all that I won't fall in love with every Temple, every year. It makes the beloved years all the more special.

Only seen 2 temples (this year and last year), but I will certainly agree with you. The bells last year were amazing.

[graidawg]

also Bacon is sacred.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

DeusRegit, even though the 'fuck your Ave Maria' aspect of your experience was jarring, I think your writings about your whole time there are beautiful. So much of the experience of being there is both subjective and contextual. Wh..sh, I don't doubt the accuracy of your description of the atmosphere when you were there. But it could well be that at another time, the overall feeling of the place changed as it was visited by other groups and individuals. This was my second year working as one of the Temple Guardians, and it was certainly very different from my first year's shifts (in 2010). It seemed almost chaotic in there, definitely quite intense, on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. A couple of young people needed help and were eventually assisted by medics to sanctuary. For many others there at the time, though, they were so inwardly focused I don't think they noticed this intense scenario just a few feet away (or they assumed it was being tajen care of at any rate). I was observing how people arrived and left in uncoordinated yet distinct waves. Some changed the feeling as they arrived while others were influenced by the feeling thet encountered upon arrival. To me it was a more challenging place than in years past even though in years past I had been more focused on my own mourning. I guess my rambling just leads me to a similar conclusion, that each year/day/time it will be a different experience, and the difference serves to highlight our own expectations.

[MyDearFriend]

also Bacon is sacred delicious.

Fixed that for ya.

[DeusRegit]

Here is the prayer that was placed on the wall at the Temple of Juno.

http://burningmanzeroseven.com/Prayer%2 ... Father.htm

[clocksnmirrors]

thanks i couldn't pin down why i didn't like this years temple at all. I felt no sense of wonder while i was there and you may have just nailed it for me

i wandered to the temple, not having any idea its purpose

i sat inside, in the silence, reading, meditating, and spontaneously began to cry. it was overwhelming. unexpected.

i left and never went back.

[Simon of the Playa]

i went once....they shooed me out because i was smoking a cigarette.


i loudly told them to go fuck themselves and then proceeded to go on a Rant right outside the temple "grounds" about how fucking pretentious the whole scene was.

im an asshole that way.

[Zhust]

I just kind of rolled my eyes at they playing of Freebird. And at the high-strung temple guardian in front of me screaming at some guy with a laser. I met someone who suggested that the lasers are a way for people to touch the monuments that they're not allowed to touch (e.g. only a few people get to touch the face of the man, or the peak of the temple.)

But what does bug me about Freebird is the same thing that bugs me about the church down the street's "bells". In both cases, it is the playback of a recording, not a performance by a human. I don't want to hear the best rendition yet recorded, I'd rather hear someone try to do jeir best and perform it. I don't have a good way of explaining it, but I find recordings to be soulless and hollow, even if there is no mathematical difference in the pressure waves reaching my ears. It's the difference between amplified live music and the same music recorded and played back. It's not immediate, present, alive.

So with Freebird, I don't mind the decision of someone to play it as much as the playback caused us to attempt to play back whatever memories and feelings we had experienced before. And we can't shut our ears, so (for me at least) such an experience is inexorable. I was no longer experiencing the burn of the Temple of Juno, I was experiencing all the times I ever heard Freebird ... or maybe a mix of both at the same time. It's mentally jarring and disruptive to a delicate meditative state of presence.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

i went once....they shooed me out because i was smoking a cigarette.


i loudly told them to go fuck themselves and then proceeded to go on a Rant right outside the temple "grounds" about how fucking pretentious the whole scene was.

im an asshole that way.

Yeah, in a giant structure designed to burn, crammed with paper, it's really a dick move to ask you to step outside to smoke. And those pricks up on their high horses, weeping about the kids and parents and loves they've lost and the mistakes they've made and the things they were never able to say when they had the chance -- good thing you were around to knock 'em down a peg or two!

[RedHeaven]

I just kind of rolled my eyes at they playing of Freebird. And at the high-strung temple guardian in front of me screaming at some guy with a laser. I met someone who suggested that the lasers are a way for people to touch the monuments that they're not allowed to touch (e.g. only a few people get to touch the face of the man, or the peak of the temple.)

But what does bug me about Freebird is the same thing that bugs me about the church down the street's "bells". In both cases, it is the playback of a recording, not a performance by a human. I don't want to hear the best rendition yet recorded, I'd rather hear someone try to do jeir best and perform it. I don't have a good way of explaining it, but I find recordings to be soulless and hollow, even if there is no mathematical difference in the pressure waves reaching my ears. It's the difference between amplified live music and the same music recorded and played back. It's not immediate, present, alive.

So with Freebird, I don't mind the decision of someone to play it as much as the playback caused us to attempt to play back whatever memories and feelings we had experienced before. And we can't shut our ears, so (for me at least) such an experience is inexorable. I was no longer experiencing the burn of the Temple of Juno, I was experiencing all the times I ever heard Freebird ... or maybe a mix of both at the same time. It's mentally jarring and disruptive to a delicate meditative state of presence.

Agreed.....I didnt let it bother me but I think this is why I absolutely loved the Ava Maria. Loved loved loved it. I dont think people would of been as pissed at freebird if they got a small intimate group of people to sing it quietly live. It probably would of given me chills!!


SIMON: I think thats why I only went to the temple once the whole week, to put up my friends poster I made him for his passing. There were places to hang and absorb, but I feel like ever since the center of the temple became a place where certain types gather and zen out, I have not really been feeling it there. Before last year, (I didnt go in 2010) I would cry at the temple and wander and read and just be with people there and vibe it up. Seems that since the temples have been bigger, they provide a zen like gathering space in the center. Which is great for those who love that, but for me who just wants a more open chill vibe, I just dont go as much as I used to.