Yesterday, August 27, perhaps the most famous US festival Burning Man 2023 started in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Its opening was overshadowed not only by Hurricane Hillary that swept the day before, flooding the location, but also by the protest of the members of the "7 seven circles" movement. Read today in USA.ONE magazine:
Climate activists tried to derail Burning Man
What caused this action?
Burning Man 2023 is in danger 
Tens of thousands of people rushed to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to celebrate the grandiose Burning Man festival from August 27 to September 4, whose theme this year was animals — ANIMALIA. But on the very first day, they ran into a problem: the road to the makeshift town was blocked by protesters. They blocked the track with trailers and locks with chains, creating a traffic jam for many kilometers.
In the hands of the participants of the movement "7 seven circles" there were posters with the inscriptions "Down with capitalism!", "General climate strike" and "Instigators of the world unite!" The main goal of the action of climate activists was to oppose the popularization of Burning Man among wealthy people who do not follow the values of the festival, which is why the whole event turns into a commodity and a commercial project.
It was also the intention of the protesters to bring public attention to the inability of capitalism to solve the pressing problems of climate change and the threat of an ecological crisis. The activists declared radical self-sufficiency and self-expression as the main values of the festival, which have lost their relevance due to the influx of wealthy visitors. According to the protesters, consumerism and materialism directly contradict the values of Burning Man.
In addition, they accused the festival of being apolitical about carbon emissions, which continue to rise despite government and corporate commitments to halve them by 2030.
"The problem is not the climate, but the economic system, which is part of capitalism" protesters said. "History shows that capitalism cannot be changed inside or reformed. We are not ready to sacrifice everything for an outdated and unequal economy. So maybe it's time for evolution?"
Members "7 seven circles" appealed to the leadership of Burning Man with a call to advocate for systemic changes at both the political and economic levels. For example, banning private jets, banning single-use plastic products, unnecessary propane burning, and unlimited use of generators.
The mood of the audience was not shared by all the people stuck in a traffic jam. Verbal skirmishes quickly escalated and led to the fact that festival visitors tried to remove the obstacle from their path on their own. Tensions mounted, and there was jostling and physical clashes. Half a dozen protesters chained themselves to a trailer and refused to leave the road.
Then the Rangers intervened. They arrived at the scene and, at gunpoint, ordered the protesters to lie face down on the ground. The activists objected to the use of force against them, so they were unarmed and just protested peacefully, which they had every right to do. However, some of the participants were arrested. They were taken to the station, and the barricade that prevented the passage to the festival was removed from the road.
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