Thanks for writing this— and for the wonderful Pissing Clear/BRC which I loved. Cover to cover.
Kind of a clickbaity title while you say you are going this year and then add that you might say "never say never" in a few months, and then end with this just being your "possible" last burn. :-)
I understand these disclaimers.
I've been 14 times — and love much about it that you expressed —but now (being 71 and getting dust-sun blasted last year) I'm not going anymore.
In brief — Burning Man held the promise of transformation, of individuals, and their vision suggested changing the world. Instead, over the years I've seen people bringing more and more of the comforts of the Default World into the event. RVs and their dreadful generators have taken over, air-conditioned tents, the annually increasing "flaky participants" whose handiwork is shown in the annually more horribly trashed port-a-potties, the oh-so-fab designer influencer costumes, e-bikes, and very sadly for me, the wifi — with people ever ready to have a list of excuses as to why they need them. Yes! — add "consent" — but please keep "immediacy".
Oh yeah — this old curmudgeon has his own disclaimers too. I'd like to go again when/if I make it 75 or 80 if it's still around. (My Social Insecurity check makes it very very hard to do from NYC.)
We even had a Harlem Burn in 2020! (90 seconds)
