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# comment by John Law
on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 4:00 am

"Paul Addis early burning of the corporate logo of the Burning Man event last year was the single most pure act of radical self expression to occur at this massive hipster tail-gate party in over a decade. The extraordinary publicity that this singular act focused on the event had to be good for, at a bare minimum, 1-2 hundred last minute ticket sales at the highest rate of (correct me if Im wrong) maybe $280.00 or $300.00 a pop.

That would work out to a bare minimum of $30,000.00. Not to mention the residual benefit over the course of succeeding years that that type of high profile exposure provides for the bottom line of a corporation engaged in the pursuit of long term branding opportunities and ticket sales.

$30,000.00 is the amount of receipts that Will Rodgers, as representative of Black Rock City LLC presented to the Federal Court as total damages incurred by Addis action. Id say that, on the balance, the BMorg benefited financially from Addis action as opposed to being financially damaged.

The irony of Will Rogers being the corporate officer (one of six that own the event) that was saddled with the onerous task of administering the wrath of BMorg onto the hapless prankster Addis is deep and cutting indeed to anyone who is familiar with Rogers history and disposition in dealing with his duties as operations manager for the event for over a decade now. Addis is in jail, Rogers is not. Its a strange world, indeed.

Paul Addis prank, when symbolically infused into the collective self image of the BM is as mythic an action and as profound an image (relative to persons who might care) as Stephen Colberts roasting of George Bush at the White House Correspondents Dinner some time back. Colberts incredibly ballsy action will be lauded for decades to come. He directly challenged and (with humor) berated the most powerful man in the world (sic.) No one in the Bush White House had him arrested or assassinated even though his verbal attacks could be interpreted as extremely insulting even slanderous. Similarly, as long as there is a spark of originality, passion and true creativity in Burning Man, those who adhere to these precepts - precepts that originally fueled the event, these people will discuss and ponder the import of the epic action that Pauls inner voices compelled him to make. Nonetheless, Paul, unlike Colbert will be serving hard time for making fun of a powerful image.

BMorg faced a profound choice when dealing with the fall out of Addis seemingly deranged action. They could have understood and capitalized on the PR value by simply, graciously accepting what happened and then making the best of it. They could have been (or claimed to be) compassionate. It might have looked something like this: send Harley or M2, (not the compromised Rogers) to court with receipts for less than $5000.00 and a request for community service for the offender Addis. He was (and is after all) one of the events children. The Feds would have prosecuted and convicted Addis of a MISDEMEANOR arson charge (under 5K is not a felony.) Paul would have been punished appropriately for his transgression - time served, probably and his friends would have thrown a fund raiser to pay it off; future potential transgressors would have been dissuaded from similar high jinx and all would be well in the kingdom.

As you all know, this is NOT what happened. Pity.

An essentially decent (tho undeniably off balance) young mans life and his potential career have been crushed to pay the debt of anger and retribution of a vengeful corporation. He was made an example of in order to insure that NO ONE would ever challenge or desecrate the empty symbol (Oh.. excuse me, the brand trademark) of a corporation that could have been so much more.

Some have brought up the point that the decision whether or not to prosecute an arson case lies with the DA (or in this case the Federal Prosecutor.) Just to be crystal clear here - this is technically correct. However any prosecutor who does not have the tacit support of the aggrieved party in such a case (vandalism, property damage, etc.) will think very hard before dedicating his/her offices limited resources to a case that very likely will not culminate in a conviction. Make no mistake - Black Rock City LLC knew very well that if they declared their financial loss for the early immolation of their corporate logo to be less than $5000.00, the best conviction the prosecutor could have hoped for would have been a misdemeanor rap culminating in a much more appropriate finale for all parties. Any decent group of people that were part of a would have acted with circumspection and compassion in this case.

Now, I would like to commend Chicken John for his passionate arguments regarding this issue and address some misapprehensions and misinterpretations put forward by various individuals in the responses posted on this blog.

Ive heard so many people who became involved in BM in its later years excoriate Chicken and other old timers for sour grapes or living in the past, or simply being stick in the mud types unable or unwilling to allow the newcomers their right to simply enjoy their participation in the event without a lecture about how cool it used to be and how watered down it is now.

I believe that any misunderstanding here is simply one of definition. So, lets define what Burning Man is and what it was. Also, lets put the event into the larger context of the and culture scene of the Bay Area and beyond.

Now, Burning Man (legally speaking, Black Rock City LLC) is a for profit corporation controlled by six people (Marian Goodell, Harley Bierman, Michael Mikel, Larry Harvey, Will Roger Peterson and Crimsom Rose) that generates in excess of 12 million dollars annually for producing a one week event. Much of the labor to produce this event is volunteer or compensated at well below market value for comparable work on comparable events (Oregon County Faire, Coachella, etc.) Burning Man (like Montsanto, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Intel Corp) has embraced themes to validate its corporate mission statement and counter balance its corporate on the environment as well as to assuage the conscience and expectations of its target market (you.)

Burning Man (like Starbucks, Apple Computer and Nike) provides a superior product that generates intense consumer adherence and loyalty.

Burning Man (like The Body Shop, Esprit and Ben Jerrys) derives a great deal of its consumer adherence from its very successful PR campaign equating the corporation and its goals with specific ideals. Powerful ideological constructs that connect the consumers with an idealized vision of what the brand can mean as it exerts its sway on the larger world is also crucial to the corporations marketing campaign.

People go to the playa. They spend whatever it takes to be prepared for their individualized experience. They proselytize their friends and acquaintances to join them in their odyssey. They return again and again, adhering to the social order and cultural precepts that preconceived notions of the event and group peer conceptualization demand.

If theyre lucky, they are part of a crew primarily driven by the collective desire and motivation to create singular or experience at the event - either underwritten by the BMorg (with not that much more butt kissing than might be expected from the average arts funding council) or self-financed. All in all the, consumer experience is a very good one and more than worth the cost of admission to a majority of the consumers.

So, as you see, you get what you pay for. In my mind, with the current BM set-up, you probably get your moneys worth.

What BM was:

A radically inspired and thoroughly experimental event created and organized by a loose cabal of nearly penniless artists and pranksters. During the early years of the event in the Black Rock Desert anyone could do anything they wished. The cops came and left soon thereafter because the was not interfering with the property rights of powerful interests. In case you didnt know, the primary job of law enforcement in the USofA is to protect property. Thats much of the reason that I have never had a problem with cops: theyre merely working class guys with a good job. They didnt fuck with us because we chose to put the event as far away from civilization and commerce as humanly possible. Later as the event grew in commercial stature and the various governmental entities saw it for what it was becoming - a cash cow (BM provides most of the operating budget for the Winnemucca office of the BLM and buys various law enforcement agencies a lotta cool toys - helicopters, RV command centers, etc.) It was a trade off that organizations greater and lesser have made as well over the years. Had BM stuck to its original heart and inspiration it would probably have been snuffed out long ago. So it became something that could survive and thrive: a corporation that sells a lifestyle to a target market based on an original theme and spirit that resonates to this day with a tiny portion of the initial essence that drove the bus and forged the myth.

What many newcomers dont realize is that BM isnt a in and of itself; it is merely the most visible and commercial exponent of an actual movement that is much more amorphous and indefinable than a business that sells a lifestyle. BM grew out of a vibrant and completely anarchic underground scene in San Francisco (and other cities across the continent) that has continued to mutate and grow to this day. Artists and pranksters that meet and collaborate through BM move on to form alliances that are of value in order to experiment and create long after their last trip to the Playa. This is the same as it was when I showed up in Frisco at age 17 in 1976 and was immediately sucked into the swirling vortex that was to be my home for the next 32 years. Chicken John and other concerned parties are simply lamenting the fact that an event of such power and purity has inevitably devolved into a commercial endeavor that packages and sells (very nicely and effectively, I must say) a replication of that original spirit of such undeniable value. The heart and soul that birthed BM exists now apart from this commercial entity as they always have. The simple fact that that BM has chosen, essentially to sacrifice one of its own members in order to retain some semblance of owning and controlling that singular spirit is a sure bet that the magic is gone, replaced by a commercial simulacrum of that spirit.

Weighing all accounts of the early burn event that Paul enacted and, delving into my own not small experience (professional rigger, former operations manager for BM) as well as my personal knowledge of Paul Addis as a troubled but pure and sincere soul, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that no one was physically threatened by his masterful prank. Consequently, I am forced to conclude that
CLLC/BM acted egregiously and erroneously by not interceding with the authorities in order to mitigate Pauls punishment for what was in effect a gift to them and their event. Paul Addis is paying the price for speaking truth to power.

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