New York — Burning Man, the desert confab that descended into chaos over the weekend, isn’t quite the scrappy, free-spirited revelry that it once was. For many watching the disarray of Burning Man from afar, the rain and mud that left 70,000 people stranded quickly became a symbol of the festival’s departure from its roots. Or, more simply: how the billionaires ruined Burning Man. Going to Burning Man is, in some elite circles, akin to having climbed Everest or taken ayahuasca on a meditation retreat — a spiritually transformative experience, undertaken with a considerable safety net of privilege. “Burning Man is the perfect example of how many rich White people recreationally manufacture hardship because they are immune from it systematically,” wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter, this weekend.

Source: CNN September 05, 2023 18:24 UTC