Volunteer? I would advise against it!

hey Ben here, wow I'm really not sure what to say man, maybe cause I'm hanging out in the clouds right now but I for one, and I'm sure I speak for a few people, or maybe I can't but, I wish that wouldn't have happened to you and I am a little hurt that any new member of our Tformus community would be treated with disrespect especially when they would volunteer. All I can for say certainty is that Volunteering = Good, even though a person treated you badly, how many people were you able to help or make feel happy, Now I hope you are going to transformus this year cause every year is so different ya know, and you'll be prepared.

I'm curious why you would anonymously make these accusations Redneck Samurai? If these accusations are true, why set up a new profile just to make them? Why not name names -- including yours? Something about this feels fishy to me.

"She is evil." What kind of accusation is that? It is neither measurable nor is anyone accountable for being "good" vs. "evil". This feels like a cowardly attempt to slander someone from the dark recesses of cyberspace to me. To tell you the truth, this sounds like "spurned lover talk" even. "Stars come out of her eyes but she's evil?" C'mon now. How about some radical honesty? If someone did something that you think is unethical, say so. Jeeez... Don't just make nefarious, references to possible, well, evil...

Is your deal that you feel you were excluded because you were not "young and beautiful"? If so, how the heck did you come to that conclusion? Again, it sure feels like "spurned lover talk" to me.

What the hell is wrong with these people who make vague accusations but who won't actually clarify exactly what their accusations are!?! Grow some balls people! (Or ovaries. The choice is yours.) Personally, I've had about enough of this high school shit. Either say what you have to say or don't say anything. These games are bullshit.

In my experience, Transformus often magnifies what you are ALREADY feeling. If you are feeling vulnerable and insecure it will be magnified. if you are feeling open and loving it will be magnified. For many people, it somehow brings up a lot of stuff you are just too busy at home to notice.

As for cliques, I feel they are a natural element of the human experience. Humans naturally gravitate to groups that make them feel safe. The clumping often leads newcomers feeling -rejected-. So the question is how to respond to this -perceived- rejection.

People have the right to like you or not like you. It is irrational to expect EVERYONE to like you although many of us have that expectaion. When people like you or don't like you they are exercising their right to have an opinion. A right we ALL have and I am sure you exercise as well. (I will say there are the rare individuals that can unconditionally love everyone)

The pain of rejection is very real - although the thoughts behind it are a little off. It usually goes something like this:1. They don't like me- 2.that means I am a bad person-(and often)3. I must hurt them back. Number 2 is where we get off track - when someone "rejects" you it is because they are reflecting something you already feel about yourself " I am unlovable". If you like yourself and think you are lovable then when someone rejects you - you can see it as just there opinion and not as the truth about who you are.

I am not saying it is easy. I have some rejections I am still nursing. For me the first step was to learn not to lash out when I was hurt. Next I have been practicing letting people have their opinions -without making them personal. It is a work in progress.

"You will be making a mistake if you volunteer." - Wrong. I have volunteered the last two years and made great friends and had a good time.

"Any time you hear someone say they are for "diversity", that means they are for diversity as long as they get to chose which diversity is acceptable" - Wrong. I embrace diversity and I don't have to choose which diversity is acceptable. That doesn't mean that I have to kow-tow to anyone though. You don't have to be like me but if you're rude, I don't have to go out of my way to show you a good time. That ain't part of the deal.

"Any time you hear someone say they are for "Radical Inclusion", that means they are for "Radical Inclusion" as long as they get to choose who is included." - Wrong. Radical Inclusion means including everyone, even if they are different. It doesn't mean I have to hang out with them if they make me unhappy though. Again, it's not about sacrificing yourself to people you don't get along with. If you want friends, it's still important to play nice and be nice. Buying a ticket does not equate to buying a new group of friends. It's still up to you to earn friends.

"If you are not one of the hard core burners, if you are not part of the clique, if you are not one of the young and beautiful, you WILL be excluded." - Wrong. I am not a hard core burner or part of any click and I have never felt excluded. I have felt not exactly young and not exactly as beautiful but I recognize that that is my own issue and, again, I have not been excluded for it.

These sweeping "You wil regret it" and "You wil be excluded" statements do not jibe with my experience at all, or those of my friends or the many friends I've made at Transformus. I think they tell us more about the writer than they do about the event. That said, I think Junebug makes a good point. Transformus brings up your "stuff". It throws all your insecurities and doubts into sharp relief, magnifying some and helping you release others. It's called TransformUs for a reason. People are never the same afterward.

Instead of projecting all of your "stuff" onto 1,500 other people, I recommend sitting with these ideas and trying to get to their true source. What feelings came up for you? When have those feelings come up before in your life? What was your expectation versus your experience? What could you have done differently to have a different experience. How can you be radically self-reliant to ensure you have an excellent experience next time?

I appreciate your bringing your expertise and skills to Transformus. We need people like you who are skilled and willing to help and you, like everyone, are welcome. This is your event as much as anyone's. Perhaps if you come again, you might try volunteering your skills in another area. Perhaps bring a couple of friends so that you don't feel alone while you make new friends. Be proactive in making the experience a bright one.

On the other hand, I don't appreciate you making anonymous and sweeping generalizations about people and the event from the dark recesses of cyberspace. I don't appreciate you slandering volunteers personally. That ain't cool. We are all adults here, right? So why do I feel like I'm suddenly back in high school? You are doing exactly what you say you don't like -- excluding people, promoting cliques, sewing seeds of negativity, talking about people behind their backs, even railing against the "diversity" of an event that may have some people in attendance that you don't like. Radical diversity means there will definitely be people there who put you off. Get your mind around that now. It's just like the larger world. There are lots of assholes. It doesn't mean you have to be an asshole too. Instead, I recommend "owning" your experience. Look for the lessons in it and commit to being radically self-reliant about taking care of your needs and your good time next time -- both at Transformus and in your Life. The power is in your hands.

My first large burn (other than small 100 person local parties) was TF07. I have NEVER seen or experienced a more inclusive caring community. I did not have a single experience that comes anywhere near what you are describing RS. I'm sorry you didn't have a good time, but I have to agree that what you are describing is probably a reflection of your own issues. I must have had 100 separate moments of real, deep connection at Transformus, and I can't wait for TF08. If you happen to come back RS, come on by Camp PGP and hang out, I'd love to meet you.

"I also worked 2 years as a full-time EMT on a county ambulance, and had 2 years experience as a volunteer EMT/Firefighter with a county volunteer fire department. So I was asked to also volunteer for the EMS Team. I came prepared with two trauma bags, an extensive burn kit, a box of extra supplies and a tank of oxygen. I had everything needed for basic life support."


Me too. Except scratch the oxygen, add 2 more years of full time EMT experience, and add a radio. The radio is key here. I brought all of that, and I didn't "officially" volunteer. People asked me if I was a ranger when they heard my radio go off and I replied "I'm a ninja ranger". What exactly is stopping me from being radically self reliant? I do not need a "team lead" to provide BLS care or listen/respond to public frequencies. I also didn't want to be "official" at a burn I hadn't attended before. I would be official this time around though, as I know whats what now.

It sounds like I missed out on seeing a pretty girl, but not much else. If someone treated me the way you describe, I'd just take my trauma bags and walk away. They can have their radical self expression all they want, but I'm not sticking around to listen to it. If they have a bullhorn, you just have to walk farther away... and then everything is peaceful again :)


"On Friday night I was lied to, manipulated, insulted, discriminated against, and treated rudely and with disrespect."

Me too. I was lied to, dozens of people were rude to me. etc. etc. I was shocked. Friday night had a lot of confusion among volunteers, parking was a mess, and had a weird spectator vibe as the night wore on. I decided to just retire for the night, and I got over it listening to the thump thump thump and relaxing my sore muscles (from hauling all my gear in on foot). I never had ANY problems after that.


""Radical Inclusion" is a lie."

Duh! Thats why we have a gate :)

i'm sorry you felt that way.

i have never been to a TF burn, however, i would like to bring attention to this being a singular event. in no way, does ONE person represent the intentions set up by others.

this is one person, one event. again, i'm sorry that you felt this way, and yes, some people definitely suck and are on some unsavory trip in life. you happened to have your TF volunteer experience with that ONE person.

so let's make the story bigger and say that maybe this one incident was shitty AND the possibility of other volunteering experiences being positive are endless...

Rangering is never bacon donuts with sprinkles. If you're really lucky, it's really boring. Lets get a couple of things straight about Transformus last year.

1) We didn't have the Texans. In '06, the Texans came out to show the Transformus community how to properly ranger an incredibly rapidly growing burn whose infrastructure was young.

2) Sidewinder couldn't make it. As Sidewinder was the Ranger Lead, everyone was doing the best they could. There were shifts with no coverage, there were shifts that had too much coverage.

3) Rangering is not like being a Park Ranger, or an EMT. As you know having gone through the training, the point of Rangers are to help keep people chill and safe. Our job is to walk around and provide conflict resolution, and help people. That's It. If people are having an argument, then the rangers get involved in a calm, non-confrontational manner. We listen to everyone, and find beneficial solutions to people's problems, other than that, we provide directions, another set of "eyes with radios", and assistance setting up tents in the dark. We are everyone's friends. We are not authority figures. We are not Law Enforcement. We are not Security. We agree to do what is asked of us. Every Ranger on duty is supposed to be self-sufficient enough to be able to stay in a single location (i.e. with an injured person, or location holding clues to where a missing person has gone) for hours.

4) Everyone's definition of Radical Inclusion is just a little bit different from everyone else's. The BOD specifically addressed that point during the Work Play Weekend Town Meeting. These connotative differences have led to such troubles as our invites system, the drama that followed the awards, and apparently now, this post.

5) I didn't enjoy or appreciate part of my Ranger shift either. Another Ranger and I were stuck out at the Owl Gate - FREEZING - The Rangers were woefully understaffed, and due to changes that none of the Rangers had control over, the security guards were patrolling Transformus (instead of guarding the gate), which meant that the Rangers had to guard the gate. (See #3 -- not supposed to be our responsibility as we are not security) Also, later, I found out that there were several incidents inside the gate that we could have been assisting with. As it was, other team leads were answering calls because they had radios (even though they weren't supposed to be on call). I didn't like it, but I did it.

6) I have no clue who you are talking about. Or what team you were on when you had these problems, however you imply that you were on a ranger shift, so I will reply as though that is the case.

7) Burns are stressful for anyone in a position of responsibility. There are newbies who don't understand what primitive camping (or no dogs, or decommodification, or LNT) means and how it affects the choices available to them.

8) No one sleeps at burns. Nuff Said.

So keeping these things in mind. Let's look at your statements. They can be summed up into the following (lightly sarcastic and rife with hyperbole) paraphrase: Comments in (parentheses) couldn't wait any longer, and are my response.

Since I had no clue what I was going into, except my preconceived notions (possibly due to the name) I volunteered to be a Ranger. I have experience in the Real World, so I should know what I'm doing in Burner circles, even though I've never been to a burn. On Friday Night, (very stressful, everyone shows up(they are all stressed out), and the Team Leads have been there for three days already.) I was not made to feel like I normally do in a gathering of hippies out in the woods. One person(who may have been stressed and sleep deprived and not even a qualified ranger, but the only person available at the time) was mean to me, and instead of finding another team to join, one that would probably welcome me with open arms(since they are ALL understaffed), I went away and cried into my beer. And now I want everyone to destroy the event (by removing the critical infrastructure required to have the event), instead of finding a constructive way out of this.

OK, I'm done. I've been trying for 10 minutes to write a response that says more than the paraphrase. Lemme just say that volunteering is a wonderful way to meet people and become part of the community. I have yet to go to Burning Man, I don't always get along with everyone, and I don't really try to make friends, but I now have friends up and down the East Coast and even over in Texas (Hi, Y'all!) that are a direct result of volunteering at Transformus. I pissed off a bunch of people in '07, but I also put in my (roughly) 24 hours of volunteer help and ~14 in '06(Most during the RV/rainstorm debacle).

And as a Mysteria Ranger, let me say: If you're having a problem with someone, come talk to us about it maybe we can help.

--The FNP

Hmmmm... who was the Team lead for the rangers last year? She sounds hot.

I have never been to Transformus, but it sounds like a TERRIBLE event.
There must be hundreds of people who had a lousy time and everybody treated them
like shit. So everybody who had that experience, post your story here..........

Redneck, I'm sorry that you experienced something like this.

I've never had such an experience, at my first burn, it was a learning experience and I certainly didn't take on more than I could chew til I learned the way things worked at each event.

There are hundreds of ways to volunteer and participate. At transformus, at other regionals, everywhere.

It does ring like a bitter post because of the anonymous nature of your message and the undertones of attacks against some other person.

Radical inclusion isn't a lie to me. Certainly there are cliques at every event, but that's a goal in and of itself to eliminate. By simply not volunteering or participating, you are making the radical inclusion a lie.....not any gorgeous ranger lead who you label as evil.

What were you lied to about? What were