Kittens Explain The Ten Principles of Burning Man

Kittens explain the principles of burns as practiced at Burning Man and regional burns such as Alchemy and Euphoria (with a little help from Cheesepants)

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Decommodification: “Hand in hand with gifting, burns are environments with no commercial transactions or advertising. Nothing is for sale - we participate rather than consume.”

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Gifting: “Gifts are unconditional offerings, whether material, service oriented, or even less tangible. Gifting does not ask for a return or an exchange for something else.”

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Radical Self-Expression: “What are your gifts, talents, and joys? Only you can determine the form of your expression.”

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Communal Effort: “Cooperation and collaboration are cornerstones of the burn experience. We cooperate to build social networks, group spaces, and elaborate art, and we work together to support our creations.”

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Civic Responsibility: “Civic responsibility involves the agreements that provide for the public welfare and serve to keep society civil. Event organizers take responsibility for communicating these agreements to participants and conducting events in accordance with applicable laws.”

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Radical Self Reliance: “You are responsible for you. Bring everything with you that you need. Burns are an opportunity for you to enjoy relying on yourself.”

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Leave No Trace: “In an effort to respect the environments where we hold our burns, we commit to leaving no trace of our events after we leave. This means everything that you bring with you goes home with you. Everyone cleans up after themselves, and whenever possible, we leave our hosting places better than we found them.”

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Immediacy: "Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience."

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Radical Inclusion: Everyone Is Welcome, All Types, All Kinds, Friends, Strangers, And In Between.

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Participation: The radical participation ethic means you are the event. Everyone works; everyone plays. No one is a spectator or consumer.