As thousands of people remain unable to leave the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert after heavy rains inundated their campsites with ankle-deep mud Saturday, authorities say they are investigating a death at the event.
Attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel after a rainstorm swamped the area, forcing officials to halt any entering or leaving of the festival.
The remote area in northwest Nevada was hit with 2 to 3 months worth of rain – up to 0.8 inches – in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday mornings. The heavy rainfall fell on dry desert grounds, whipping up thick, clay-like mud that festivalgoers say is too difficult to walk or bike through.
I hate to sound callous, but I don’t feel much sympathy for a rich person who went out to the desert to pretend to be a hippie and didn’t check the weather forecast.
I used to run in a party crowd that had a LOT of burning man folks in it. There were a couple of them that had middle class incomes, maybe even leaning upper middle class. Those are usually the ones that had an art car or whatever that they sank some money into, instead of the crap that most upper middle class Americans blow their money on.
But the rest of them? They worked at restaurants, did massage therapy, teachers, etc. normal people with median or lower incomes that would forego other expenses to set aside a little a money for their annual get high in the desert trip.
Yes, there’s a bunch of elitists at the core of the event, but it’s not the majority.
This year’s BRC census.
TLDR: The trend of wealthy people is going up while the less wealthy trends down.
The other takeaway is that more than half the attendees make more than 100k a year so not exactly a minority.
100k salary is a decent amount of money but it’s far as fuck from being “rich”.
It might be a perspective thing, and how you both define “rich”.
If someone gets by every week on ramen, a salary of $100k/year would seem like a crap ton of money. Doubly so if most of their community is also living off of ramen. One year on that salary alone would be life changing for this person.
If someone lives in a pricy area and maybe has a few kids, a salary of $100k wouldn’t seem like nearly as much. Doubly so if most of their community makes that much. One year on that salary is just another year for this person.
For some people, “rich” is not having to worry about starving and knowing that they have a roof over their head. It’s about finally being able to buy non-necessities, and it’s about being able to have things just for enjoyment. Some people are very month to month in terms of costs and bills.
To others, “rich” is being able to buy expensive boats and cars. It’s about having excess wealth and never having to worry about any monetary problems. These people might think of millionaires and billionaires when they hear the word “rich”.
Of course some people would consider $100k/year rich. I’m certain that MANY people would take that salary boost in a heartbeat.
I’m not saying that $100k would set you up anywhere near as much as $1m would, but it’s a hell of a lot more money than many people can make.
In 10 years, that salary is $1,000,000. For someone making $50k/year, it would take 20 years for them to make that much. For someone making $25k/year, it would take 40 years for them to earn that much. I would feel disingenuous telling someone who makes $25k/year that making $100k wouldn’t be becoming “rich” to them.
Maybe that’s their monetary sweet spot, and they rely on other things to finish fulfilling their personal definition of “rich”. Family, friends, hobbies, etc.
If 100k isn’t rich to you then you have lived an exceptionally blessed life.
How rich you are on 100k really depends on where you live.
Tell that to people making less than 30k and describe the look they give you
Bro, median household income in the US is almost $80k. It’s not 1998 anymore.
It’s 70k and median means that half of households make less than that, not that its the most common salary.
True for one person but this is household income. A married couple both making $50k would fall into this. While that is definitely not poor by any means. I think it is fair to say that it would be a bit of a stretch to call a person in the us today making $50k “rich.”
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People tend to acquire wealth over time? There is a solid correlation between wealth and age, so this shouldn’t be surprising in the least. And especially those who had time/energy to spare to attend festivals earlier are especially predisposed for acquiring now wealth down the line. Assuming that they return over the years, all of this is pretty much to be expected.
—In 2013, the median age of burners was 32, and in 2022, it was 37.
My take away was that it seems like it is the same people going every year: they are getting older and richer, because that is what happens over time.
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They still should have checked the weather report.
Even if they had checked the weather, would they have known 0.8 inches of rainfall translates into being stranded in the desert and possible death? I’ve never been to BM or spent time in a desert so this is news to me. Were people warning about this and attendees just ignored it?
Yes. You need to stay out of the desert if there is any rainfall. That is basic knowledge you should know before going out there.
That’s a fair point, but at the same time the desert is well known for being the harshest of all environments on earth. It’s surprising so many people treat it like just a drive to the store.
Yeh I don’t understand it either. I’m from Australia. Driving into a desert sounds like a pretty dangerous thing to do, no matter what the weather forecast is.
Nah they know rain turns everything into quicksand. But it doesn’t create a situation more lethal than daily life there.
I didn’t say they were smart people. Just not all rich people.
And done what exactly??
It rains there sometimes. Forecasts change wildly day to day regardless. But it’s a desert and the water typically evaporates so quickly that an hour later there’s no evidence it rained.
Not to mention, it’s unlikely the person died from being trapped in the rain. I’m not sure why the article mentions both things except to give news about the event conditions I guess.
And not gone into the desert in the first place. This is basic knowledge when going into a desert.
Have you ever gone outside?
With that attitude, the only difference between you and the type of rich person you seem to despise, is wealth.
No, you fucking revel in it. Why the fuck else would you feel the need to post this?
First you replace them with your straw man (“rich tech bros”) and then burn it down (“tech bros just deserve what they get”)
Well, stay in your basement you smug piece of shit. Mommy will have tendies ready soon.
Maybe in ten years you can rename it to “Monsoon Man” and theme it around rain.
It’s not a total loss.
Art floats. I see potential.
Lol, lmao even.
Not OP but I also laughed at the ocean sub crushing like a beer can against the forehead of god and I am CACKLING at this.
Same here. No love lost for those parasites.
Blocked.
Most people at Burning Man aren’t rich. I hung out with a bunch of people who go regularly last night and I imagine less than half even own their own property.
So yeah, you sound pretty callous tbh
That’s because the people saying this shit think a 100k salary makes you rich.
These people are so broke that any amount of money to them is “rich”.
The cost of living here isn’t very high. The people I mentioned in my comment as not owning property probably make less than 50k.
A lot of them camp together to split set up costs, gas, etc. So, they make it work, and I know a lot of them make sacrifices to make it work (living in a shitty apartment the other 51 weeks a year so they can afford the lifestyle for example).
It’s not for me, personally. A fun crowd. Like carnies on LSD. But chronic pain and a history of interpersonal trauma make the desert sound like a really horrible time. Plus I’m poor poor (like on disability poor).
I do enjoy the regionals though when I feel up for them.
right, but it’s the reply you’re talking about was the callous one… smfh (/s to be clear - you are the callous one, a classist ass literally making fun of people who are struggling to survive, like wtf)
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Apparently the weather stations in the SoCal desert didn’t see it coming at all. Not sure how that’s possible, but that’s what they said Friday. Tons of flooding in Palm Springs and Vegas too.
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