The Burning Man event welcomes all attendees from all walks of life to the Black Rock Desert for 10 days of festivities with a philosphy of radical inclusion; however, one group is alleging that it was unfairly excluded from the event.
On Tuesday, the Christian missionary camp Shift the Atmosphere was asked to pack up its belongings and leave the playa. According to videos posted on Instagram by camp member John Hinerman, the complaint stemmed from the camp engaging in nonconsensual activity, including filming Burning Man attendees and encouraging them to “receive a blessing.” Burning Man has strict rules regarding privacy, and no photos or videos that show attendees faces’ are allowed to be taken without permission.
“Burning Man takes participants’ right to privacy seriously,” said Burning Man spokesperson Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley. “Seeking permission and consent before filming or engaging other participants in Black Rock City is a requirement and responsibility for anyone at the event. This camp received multiple warnings and opportunities to correct their behavior, yet continued to violate our policies and were therefore evicted.”
Hinerman’s videos allege that the camp was being discriminated against based on its religion and that its members were given only three hours to pack their belongings. The camp alleges that over 600 attendees had “given their lives to Jesus,” with the group conducting baptisms on the playa in small water tanks. Some commenters on Reddit noted that the use of communal water on human bodies violates Burning Man’s rules regarding no public pools or showers, which stem from Nevada’s state health department.
Attendees in neighboring camps commented on Shift the Atmosphere’s presence on the playa. Jenae Gerstmann gave an interview to an SFGATE reporter while serving ramen spiked with vodka at Camp F—king Magical.
“They were giving away coffee and matcha,” Gerstmann said. “They definitely had some really loud music. We had to tell them, hey, the volume’s too high. You got to keep it down,” noting that the music was Christian EDM and that the volume was eventually lowered.
Shift the Atmosphere was located directly across from the Kidsville camp, with one 12-year-old who’s attended the Burn every year of his life noting that he was offered matcha and coffee, but before receiving them, he had to listen to prayers and was given a yellow cartoon pamphlet whose cover proclaimed, “For God so loved the world.”
Julien Rabinow, a San Francisco man at the Axis of Stillness camp, noted that members of Shift the Atmosphere invited him into the camp to look at biblically inspired paintings and asked if he was in the mood for submitting his life to Jesus Christ. Rabinow declined but agreed to let a man pray for him.
“I can understand why some people might be a bit put off by the question, ‘Are you ready to submit your life to Jesus?’ I’m not one of them. That’s just me,” he told SFGATE.
Rabinow saw Shift the Atmosphere tearing down its infrastructure on Tuesday around 10 p.m. as wind gusts led pieces of its camp to fly into the street. Nearby campers noted that the group had left much of its gear behind, breaking Burning Man’s leave no trace rule.
“So we were hearing some shouting there, and then it calmed down,” said Rabinow. “We saw a cop car show up, and then we walked around there again, and we saw one of the structures had just like flopped over and was blocking the street there … They cleared that out after like an hour or so….”
From SF Gate
There are some legitimate concerns. (Actually, many about Burning Man itself, but here I’m referring to the actions of Shift the Atmosphere). But, honestly, SF Gate is not an unbiased news source. It would interesting to see the other side of this story. Would Catholics be allowed to set up an Adoration chapel and/or offer prayer with and for attendees? That would demonstrate inclusivity. We live in an apostolic (and post-Christian) time. The Apostles and early disciples didn’t wait for pagans to come to church. They took the gospel of Christ to the lost everywhere,
other deserts in another age, but they were not deterred.
Three people died at Burning Man this year. I hope those “burners” were ready to meet their Maker. Who knows, maybe the Shift the Atmosphere people got them thinking, and praying. One wouldn’t want to be a “burner” for all eternity. I prayed for their souls. Senate candidate James Talarico’s supporters earlier chanted. “We’re all going to hell!” Hell should be taken seriously. Mr. Talarico is a perpetual Presbyterian seminarian who loves to selectively quote and twist the Bible. Maybe he should warn his followers. Hell, like heaven, is open to all, Republicans and Democrats, those who attend Masses with guitars or the TLM and everyone else. Lord, have mercy on us all. Grant us the grace to follow You and Your ways.
It completely baffles me why this event is so popular with young adults. They don’t even have any live rock bands, like the great music festivals of the 60s and 70s had. And during this time of year?
Hedonism