From: "Matt Heck" > To: > Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 1:15 PM > Subject: An open reply to "Burning Man vs. burning pride in America" > >
> Dear Ms. Morgan, >
> I am disappointed and dismayed that you have opted to consider a knee-jerk > reaction to temporary heavy traffic the appropriate way to gauge and judge > an entire 40,000 person community, particularly one made up of both > Americans from all states and walks of life, as well as foreigners who are > still open to visiting us despite our plummeting international image and > travel hassles. Your original commentary was found at: > > http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp\?ARTICLE_ID=57523 > > In particular, however, what came to mind while reading your uninformed > tirade were three specific projects which have been presented at this > event. > > First, this year, there was a large array of pairs of boots in formation, > one for each soldier killed in the line of duty during the Iraq campaign > who was from, if memory serves, a specific state. A large, weatherproofed > book was present, with photographs and information regarding each of the > soldiers. No political statement was present, no other message was > offered. Simply remembrance of the dead. > > Second, one thing you might consider is than in a 40,000 person community, > a number of us have lost friends or relatives to this war. The event > offers them the chance to build a temporary memorial for these fallen > soldiers, if they choose to take it. Last year, a camp did exactly that. > A pair of boots, an M16A2 rifle, a PASGT helmet, and the soldier's ID tags > were arranged above a red floodlight and below a large American flag, and > a large USMC flag. Again, no political statement was present. > > Finally, it's interesting to me that you, someone with an apparently > religious background, would choose to talk about the burning of the man > instead of the temple. Perhaps you are unaware that a large temple is, in > fact, constructed every year, that it burns a day later than the man, and > that it is a considerably more significant event for many people there. > If so, you would also be unaware that, prior to this event, participants > are allowed to walk through the structure (whose architectures involve > very complex engineering, and have won considerable praise over the years) > and write messages of their choice on its walls or on blocks of wood > placed in its structure. This is not "graffiti", as you probably expect; > rather, these are messages to lost friends and relatives, apologies to > ex-wives and husbands, words of forgiveness to old enemies. This year, as > in previous years, there were photographs, dog tags, and paragraphs for > soldiers who have fallen. They are allowed as much space as is needed. > > We are not a giant group of "teenagers" and "hippies", and in fact, I > recall how poorly both of those groups were received in earlier years. > (The "Hippie Shavin' Camp" and the people " > "fishing" for ravers with glowsticks and a large net might have amused > you.) A very, very significant number of us are professionals, with a > heavy emphasis on engineering. However, here are some interesting > examples of some of the "hippies" at this event: > > * Professors from MIT, Stanford, and so on; > > * Several dozen fighter pilots, some of whom put on formation flight and > dogfighting demonstrations during this event; > > * Collection systems programmers from the National Security Agency; > > * I would estimate at least 7,500 software engineers and system/network > administrators, whom our economy is completely dependent on; > > * A number of ex-Bureau of Land Management employees, who used to enforce > the law at this event but, having retired, now come to enjoy it; > > * Professional architects, electrical engineers, and others demonstrating > novel design techniques for energy-efficiency; > > * A good chunk of the company producing the world's first production > electric sports car; > > * ...and yours truly, a senior software engineer for a company presently > making or licensing 70% of the world's remote controls. You probably own > something we made. I guess that means you own a hippie remote control, by > your math. I have also worked on a stowplanning system for the United > States Navy that helps get cargo to our troops quickly and accurately, and > a tactical simulation system for the Marine Corps as part of the HUNTER > WARRIOR exercise. Oh yes, there are a few pressure-measurement > instruments on the International Space Station, and every shuttle that > flies. I wrote the bootloaders and automatic calibration systems for > those. > > With respect to the environmental concerns, the event does not take place > in the kind of desert that most people think of-- with sand and the > occasional snake or bird. The event takes place well into an alkali lake > flat, a "dry lake", whose surface would be more accurately compared to > cement than sand. Other than trash, which a significant and successful > effort is made to mitigate and collect every year, the primary > environmental concern is a phenomenon known as a "burn scar". Techniques > have been developed to avoid these, and they are now mandatory. The dry > lake itself has, even by strict standards, no detectable ecosystem except > at its boundary regions, which participants are not allowed near (even > though other public users of the Black Rock Desert can and do impact these > areas at other times during the year). > > Having informed you a bit more about the nature of this event and its > participants, I would like to take a moment and note that 40,000 people is > about the size of a large sports stadium, as I recall. When a baseball > game gets out, all of those people stream out to the parking lot, get in > their cars, and immediately attempt to merge onto the freeway (whereas we > deliberately stage outgoing traffic, yield to through traffic, and have > people leaving over 3-4 days). > > I expect that 40,000 baseball fans clogging traffic would have ticked you > off just as much as us. Because you understand that the fans of a > baseball game come from a large cross-section of America, I doubt you > would write a similar rant about them. The only difference is that you > presume we are 40,000 people who you do not rely on, and whose opinions > you do not have to care about. > > You are incorrect, and very likely by a much larger margin than you > realize. >
> Regards, > Matt Heck > > (This is being reposted as an open letter to help others with your opinion > consider this information as well.) >
And Melanie Responded:
From: "Melanie Morgan" To: "Matt Heck" Cc: ; Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 6:00 PM Subject: Re: An open reply to "Burning Man vs. burning pride in America"
> Dear Mr. Heck, >
> This is, by far, the most reasonable letter of response to my column at > WorldNetDaily.com and I thank-you for taking the time to inform me more > about Burning Man. Most of the people seeking spiritual enlightenment and > a sense of global connectedness are writing to me using words like > "bitch", the c-word, and wishing my untimely demise. Hundreds, in fact. > > But it's my opinion, and you and others are entitled to yours, so let's > call it constitutionally even. > > Your e-mail, though, does indeed inspire me to investigate more about the > event held in the Nevada desert each year. My observations about the > people who were leaving Burning Man on the freeways were meant in a > sardonic vein. One e-mailer (who chastised me as well) compared my writing > to a sober Hunter Thompson. I could drop acid until I reach 100 and never > have a tenth of his talent. > > I do, however, share Hunter's appreciation for guns. Lots of them, for > every American. > > Back to the participants -- at gas stations and on the road, white desert > dust covered every inch of the SUV's, minivans and psychedelic busses we > observed, and the participants. There were tons of bumper stickers on > these dirty vehicles saying "F--K Bush" and other political statements, so > I can only infer that many of these participants are political. > > I stand in complete awe of the work that you have done on the HUNTER > WARRIOR PROJECT. And others at BM who have contributed to the safety and > security of our great country. > > I remain skeptical about the lack of 'footprint' when 40,000 people > invade a small space and then leave it again. The Playa will be damaged, > and there's no disputing that. > > I sincerely hope that all of you folks (smelly hippy or not) enjoyed your > weekend. My choice is to stay engaged in supporting our troops in > Afghanistan and Iraq, who do not have the luxury of immolating a ten-foot > tall man. They are too busy killing terrorists who are burning little > children alive, and delivering their charred bodies to their parents to > keep them from supporting security for Iraq. > Each Al Qaida cell is fashioned in the mold of Hitler. But fortunately for > us, our troops are winning this dangerous, volatile battle and serving > American interests of a stable region honorably in the process. > > If you (or your readers) are interested in REALLY supporting our troops, > then visit our website www.moveamericaforward.org. Even if you dispute our > main contention that you support the troops by supporting their mission, > why don't you send them some cookies, coffees, beef jerkies, or help us > with Wounded Warrior care packages for the most grievously injured troops > at Walter Reed Army Medical Center? > > I am delighted that you plan to share your letter (and hopefully my > response) as I plan to do the same. I may even do a second column about > this subject. >
> Peace (Through Strength) >
> Melanie Morgan >