Social media seems to be laughing its ass off about this tragedy, is it because the folks at burning man are perceived as frivolous hippies or something? Everyone I’ve ever met who was a regular burning man attendee has been a solid human being with strong morals, personally and financially responsible, a career. Upstanding members of society for sure. I guess all some people know is the sensationalized drugs and sex. A person died. This is a tragedy for an event that brings positivity into the world. Kind of annoyed.
Can you really blame them? I can’t.
The fact is that we are living in societies with an increasing wealth gap between the richest and the poorest people. While the rich can afford basically anything, including to fuck around in death trap submarines at the bottom of the sea or peyote orgies in the desert, the average people are finding it hard to afford a house, a family, pets, a car, groceries and basic needs, etc. Everything is a rental, the average person owns very little, some people own nothing at all, and that creates a society where people feel they have been abandoned and have no stake in anything. Meanwhile governments and corporations that influence them are leading us towards a future odd climate catastrophe, AI generated bullshit, and economic collapse.
So is it any surprise the poor majority resents the rich minority? The worse the wealth gap gets, the stronger the resentment grows. And it has been that way throughout human history, leading to example after example of social unrest and violent revolution. A stable and healthy society demands an economy with a strong middle class that can afford the things they need and some of the things they want.
Finally. Someone cleverer than me found a good way to put it. Burning Man fiddles while it’s everything else, ironically, that burns.