"Burning Man" festival may be getting too big

[BowtieGuy]

Over the years, there have been quite a few threads posted here on LPF, related to the annual Burning Man festival, and today, this interesting article from NPR caught my attention.

The 2019 Burning Man is scheduled for Sunday, August 25 through Monday, September 2.

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/14/7377...perils-festivals-free-spirit-ethos-say-burner

A preliminary report from the BLM called for new regulations, including an attendance cap, mandatory security screenings and a concrete barrier to encircle the perimeter. Federal officials have since eased those controls for now, except for the population cap.

 

[RedCowboy]

They can't let people be free even in the middle of nowhere.

 

[BowtieGuy]

I agree, especially after reading that article and learning what imposible and insane things that the BLM is proposing (vehicle barriers, searches, etc.).

I'll bet the government would let them gather in any numbers that they wanted, if they could charge a large admission fee (tax).

I'm sure there are issues that need to be dealt with, such as trash, with so many people gathering in one spot, with no amenities, but as usual, it seems like the gov. is going to try to over regulate to keep us safe from ourselves.

 

[paul1598419]

Huh. The Woodstock festival in 1969 had five times as many attendees. I guess it would be a problem today by these standards.

 

[Dr_Evil]

I saw something about that a while ago. I understand the trash problem. Barriers though? You're in the middle of BFE. No need for barriers.

 

[kecked]

the event morphed. the people changed. now people are getting hurt and drugged. it's not what it once was. it kind of sucks. it was a place where you could go and really just let it out without having to worry about that kind of crap. society has encroached it's MOOP

 

[LSRFAQ]

Working at a College, I can tell you DHS mandates a minimum of one sworn peace officer per 1000 persons at large public events. Your seeing the regulatory backlash from a eclectic event getting too large. It has always amazed me how Black Rock City and the corporation behind BM always got immense co-operation compared to some events I've worked on in the past. FAA even supplies guest ATC at the runway etc..

I'd imagine the hidden costs of allowing this event have gotten too large for someone to stomach, especially with some folks bringing what might be legal on their home state's turf, onto tightly regulated federal land. Couple that with "Security Theatre" and our sad trend towards mass shootings and you see why some one wants security beefed up.

Woodstock is a poor comparison, it dumped huge amounts of money into the upstate NY economy, and despite the temporary inconvenience, many of the local townspeople saw the event as harmless and a coming of age experience for many of the attendees. , . The land owner was an open minded conservative business man, who was impressed in the end with how peaceful things were.

Its hard to see appreciation by the BLM of the dumping of money into a desert that becomes Brigadoon once a year.

Steve

 

[paul1598419]

I think it depends on what kind of regulations we are talking about on federal land. The Trump administration has opened much of it up to the oil and gas companies to the consternation of many groups who want the land protected against this kind of wholesale drilling and fracking. All you have to do is look at places where this has been done before to see how bad it is for the environment.