BURNING MAN

Every year during the entire week before Labor Day, tens of thousands of people gather in the dessert near Reno Nevada to partake of what can only be called a Pagan Ritual known as the Burning Man. The culmination of this week living simply and on your own resources in the middle of nowhere surrounded by 49,999 total strangers is when they set fire to the burning man...an effigy created from the ground up every year by the sponsors of the event.

This week, while at one of my favorite gathering places in Nantucket for men and women, I learned that one of the attractive young ladies had just returned from an even called Burning Man. I was torn. Do I ask her if this is an event in which Feminists instead of burning their bras, burn some man? Or is this something else? I had never heard of this event. When she explained the festivities to us, I was uncharacteristically speechless. You know how you have preconceived notions about some people? "Butter wouldn't melt in their mouth,"" She wouldn't say S if she had a mouthful. etc?" Well, that horse has left the barn. Among the drugs and nudity and burning in effigy going on, there were some really freaky things too. In the interest of my multigenerational readership I shall refrain from any mention of chickens, war paint, or psychedelic-influenced performance art. Its PAGAN origins are clear. The event corresponds to the Summer Solstice. Then again the date for Christmas was borrowed from the winter solstice by Christians. So maybe that's not a bad thing, nature-wise.

It is not about feminists, but many were there. Nor hippies though they were there too. Is is about:

• Radical inclusion - Anyone who can afford a ticket is gladly welcomed and there are no prerequisites to be part of Burning Man. All participants are expected to provide for their own basic needs and follow the minimal rules of the event.
• Gifting - Instead of cash, event participants are encouraged to rely on a gift economy, a sort of potlatch.
• Decommodification - No cash transactions are permitted between attendees.
• Radical self-reliance - Because of the event's harsh environment and remote location, participants are expected to be responsible for their own subsistence.
• Radical self-expression - Participants are encouraged to express themselves in a number of ways through various art forms and projects. The event is clothing-optional.
• Communal effort - Participants are encouraged to work with and help fellow participants.
• Civic responsibility - Participants are encouraged to assume responsibility and be part of a civil society.
• "Leave No Trace" - Participants are committed to a "leave no trace" event. Not to have a long-term impact on the environment.
• Participation - Burning Man is about participation.
• Immediacy - Participants are encouraged to become part of the event, to experience who and what is around them and to explore their inner selves and their relation to the event.