Dancetronauts banned for 2015

I just read that the Dancetronauts have been banned from Burning Man events for 2015. I am quite conflicted about this news.

On the one hand, I am completely sympathetic to their argument that running a mutant vehicle never quite works the way you want it to. Unaverz has had its share of unplanned happenings that have reflected poorly on us. I myself have had similar conversations with DMV asking for forgiveness for our transgressions.

I am also a bit uncomfortable sinking so much time and energy into a gift I hope to bring to a private event where a single body can decide our ability to attend and the workings of that single body are less than transparent.

I am intimately aware of how a single mistake can blow up into a full meltdown when it relates to following the myriad rules of Burning Man.

But…

All that being said, I think the real issue here is the lack of respect Dancetronauts has shown to the entire Burner community. From what I have read, this was not a single incident but a culmination of an attitude that Burning Man is trying to rein in. Are we allowed to play our music loud? Sure. Is there a time to be respectful and turn it down? Yupp. Every single sound camp knows this as it is part of our contract when we apply to share our gift. And decommodification is a huge deal at BRC. We are seeing just how big a deal it is to BMORG.

The Unaverz crew have been told multiple times that BMORG is getting a lot more strict about sound complaints. If anything Dancetronauts will become a cautionary tale which will help keep the rest of us in line. I will certainly rewrite our sound policies to ensure we are not banned for 2016.

I wish the Dancetronauts success in all of the ventures. I have had some fantastic moments with them on and off the playa. I respect what they are trying to do and hope they find a way to come back bigger and stronger for 2016.

I also hope this becomes a learning experience for BMORG. Everyone who wants to bring a gift to the playa seeks appreciation of their efforts. Maybe BMORG can find a more effective path to herding these cats we call mutant vehicles. I have no doubt the Dancetronauts would have turned down their music if a ranger had asked and they certainly would have had they been hauled off to D Lot.

Banning for a year is extreme. Maybe they deserved it. I am not trying to judge. But it gives me shivers to think after all the years of effort to create our gifts we could lose our ability to share because some jerk DJ says a few foolish words (the DJ really sounds like an ass) and we blast tunes too loud for an hour. I have seen how much effort the Dancetronauts have invested. It saddens me that this is the outcome of all their hard work.

There are many lessons to be learned here.