Forget the man, I'm the one who was burned.

That's been my motto since I left this year. My fifth and final year at Burningman. My (ex)boyfriend and I worked at the center cafe for 4 years and working together to build a camp with friends. We believed in what the original spirit of community and art stood for.
This year was wierd.
I felt a general lack of respect in the air the minute I arrived. The respect for the land has been plumetting for years. But there was lack of respect for each other, for your neighbors, for the people that devote their time and lifes to build and work the event. Someone actually told me that they tried to get onto an art car but they were chosing the "hotest" people to get on. Did Burningman turn into a LA nightclub????????

Then the most disrespectful thing happened of all. My (ex) boyfriend of 5 years cheated on me and decided that he was leaving me for the person he met there. Cliche, please.

Much like this suicide, people run away to this fantasy land to escape the problems in their real life. Stable people can handle it, unstable people can't and they make choices that can be destructive to their life. I never wanted to say a bad thing about Burningman, but it's out of control. And I don't know if it can be saved.

I think a lot of people felt "burned" this year. Good luck to all of you