[imagesource:facebook/scottlondon]

The legendary Burning Man festival kicked off this week, with 80 000 people heading to Black Rock City for the big jol. Far from getting off the ground without a hitch, an intense stand-off between climate change activists and local law enforcement went down on Sunday.

Protesters affiliated with a movement called Seven Circles brought the highway leading to festival in north-west Nevada to a standstill by creating a makeshift roadblock.

Four individuals chained themselves to an 8-metre truck, resulting in traffic disruption for over an hour.

According to a statement issued by Seven Circles:

“The purpose of the blockade is to draw attention to capitalism’s inability to address climate and ecological breakdown. The blockade is also in protest against the popularization of Burning Man among affluent people who do not live the stated values of Burning Man, resulting in the commodification of the event.”

That’s all very well, but reports have surfaced that the activists were informed by members of the Paiute Tribe, the owners of the surrounding land, that their protest was not allowed on tribal grounds. Despite this clear message from the locals, the Seven Circles advocates refused to vacate the area, and prevented festival-goers from entering the designated Burning Man area.

Approximately 36 minutes after the blockade was established, officers from the Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal police department arrived at the scene. One officer warned a protester that they risked arrest if they did not disperse within 30 seconds.

At that moment, a second ranger drove through the road-block, and an officer was observed brandishing what appeared to be a firearm, aiming it directly at the activists.

Nevada rangers drove directly into a blockade set up by climate protestors on the road to Burning Man. An officer pulled a gun out, tackling a protestor and threatening to shoot

Environmental activists were demanding that #BurningMan ban private jets + single-use plastics pic.twitter.com/dawDjxhV4y

— michelle lh࿊࿊q (@MichelleLhooq) August 28, 2023

Amidst the commotion, cries of “we’re non-violent” echoed from the protestors and the moment devolved into a confusing mess. Four activists were arrested and will be facing court in October.

The group of protestors, who arrived with signs sporting messages like “Mother Earth needs our help”, “General strike for climate change”, and “Abolish capitalism”, had presented a list of demands prior to creating the blockade. The demands included some hefty requests, such as banning private jets, single-use plastics, unnecessary propane burning and limiting generator use per capita.

While the polarising incident has left many in support of the eco-activists, some are concerned that the protestors did not respect the requests of Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal community.

Emily Collins, a participant in Burning Man and co-founder of Rave Revolution, has voiced her support for the protest in a press release, and has attempted to remind ‘Burners’ why the festival was started in the first place.

“Burning Man itself was born as a protest to the growth-dependent capitalist default world. As Burners, we understand the power of community and have shown time and time again that we can create a new society, with new rules that include dignity for every living being. We must extend these principles into the default world after 37 years of practice. We can no longer remain apolitical in a time of crisis.”

Maybe ‘Burning Earth’ would be a more appropriate name for the festival, as we evaluate the serious effects of climate change worldwide. When it comes to real change, I don’t think a poorly-executed road-block is gonna cut it.

[source:nme]