An old Suicide Club and Cacophony member Bob Campbell, who never attended Burning Man until last year happened to be in the Pavilion when Addis did his deed. Here’s a description he sent me of the occurrence:

“Somewhere around 3:30am or so on Monday night / Tues morning (wild
guess, no timepiece) I wandered into the pavilion for the first time
ever, carrying my djembe drum thinking I would drum a little for the
Man. When I arrived there was a small crowd of 10-15 people scattered
around the massive logs which form the base under the Man. A grey haired
Rastafarian dude was playing his didgeridoo and doing some sonic healing
with it by holding it up and playing it into a few people’s chests. I
went over and got consecrated by his tones and stayed nearby to enjoy
the beautiful vibe of the space and the moment.”

“The Rasta then began about 5-10 minutes of a sweet and thoughtful stream
of consciousness vibe poem about Burning Man, I don’t recall the words
but I was moved and charmed at the time. There were just a handful of us
attending to him and I think all were feeling the love of the moment, I
certainly was.”

“He wound up his thing, and I went a few steps over the the bench that
circled the logs and sat down to get my drum out. I decided I wanted to
play my drum with the poet’s didg and was excited about the chance to
make some more magic in this space.”

“The neon on the Man went dark for a very short time about this time,
then came back on. I never heard an explanation for that. “All of a
sudden” there was a series of loud popping sounds overhead. I looked up
and saw what seemed to be a dozen or two firecrackers going off at the
far end of the huge horizontal support beam under the Man. Immediately
after that there was another series of ‘firecracker’ events that
traveled rapidly down in a straight line on the pavilion fabric to the
ground, passing a few feet over my head.”

“Uh, wow! I was a little taken aback by that, yes indeed. I think at
that point I assumed I was witnessing some kind of tech malfunction. A
few moments later somebody yelled out that there was a fire, and I
looked up and saw a small area of flame where the overhead ‘firecracker’
event at been at the far edge of the beam.”

“People started yelling loudly immediately to get out and I made a hasty
retreat, dropping a few things along the way. I’d guess this was all
happening around 4am, as best I could tell, but not sure. The rallying
cries to evacuate were very immediate and loud and convincing and
anybody not passed out knew it was time to get lost fast.”

“Seems like it took some 10 minutes before the fire really was of
significant proportions, and emergency vehicles were arriving by then.
The rest is all in the news I guess. It was my perception that there was
lots of time to safely evacuate the structure, but I wasn’t at that time
aware of people passed out etc. I guess although I was technically one
of the few directly ‘endangered’ by this event and not very much at
that, I have to admit the potential for serious harm was there,
especially for anybody sleeping through this who perhaps wouldn’t have
been found and moved. That gives me great pause to consider.”

“After hearing the big picture and talking to an acquaintance who build’s
the Man’s head every year (twice this year), it seems like the
‘firecrackers’ I saw were really lighting or pyro devices shorting out,
still not sure about that, especially why they travelled down the
pavillion skin to the ground in a straight line. weird.”

Isn’t it sadly ironic how much praise Hunter Thompson is getting for ‘Gonzo’ — the new film about him while Paul is being severely reprimanded for acting in such a similar way.

Here’s a thought on how Paul could get on parole this Nov.

Bury the fucking hatchet.

Everyone seems to agree it was a prank, right?

If he says he is sorry for the losses he caused others, that he’s paid his penance, that he has no hard feelings towards anyone, and will not do any further destructive “pranks,” — if he could convey these sentiments with a modicum of lucid sanity — I believe the parole board would give him a chance.

In the mean time if there were to be a few fund raisers and or donors to line his restitution coffer, to offer up with, or with a promise to come up with shortly after his hearing, that that might be really helpful also.

On the other hand, maybe Paul will want to stay in. Maybe he’s found his calling there. Or if wasn’t just a prank and he is destined to be martyred as the poster-boy for the anti-whatever jihad, then keep that hatched a-swing’n and tell the parole board where they can stick it.

http://www.doc.nv.gov/notis/detail.php?offender_id=1021703

Paul is at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City: http://www.doc.nv.gov/nncc/nncc.php

His parole eligibility date (PED), when he’s first eligible for parole, is November 24, 2008.

My first impression:

Burning Man, LLC. shall be taken seriously, whatever the cost in human life. They’ve got CLOUT. Be afraid, be very afraid!

–is that the message they send nowadays? Glad I went in 1996 before it was such an “important organization”. But it was always dangerous. Enter at your own risk! Close to my lone tent outpost that I preferred, near Gateway Sound System and the Consortium of Collective Consciousness, people sleeping in their tents got run over & burned when a driver fell asleep in the middle of the night. Or at least that’s what we heard. (Back in the days when anyone could -and did -drive anywhere). Borderline chaos is not freedom, it was discovered. So changes were made in subsequent years.

On the other hand, What Paul Addis did was outrageous and wrong. Thankfully no one was hurt or killed. But the fact that Paul did not plead insanity is proof that, to some extent, he is crazy. I don’t know him. Was he an innocent, fun-loving “crazy artist”? I didn’t get that impression. As for art, most of us who ever made art in our life have had it stolen, plagiarized, damaged or destroyed at some point. No, it is not fair, it sucks. Nor was he any longer a practicing attorney, as he let his license expire in 2005. However, even in counterculture community, there has to be a limit on acceptance of aberrant behavior.

Yet his aberrant behavior is exactly what makes him especially vulnerable in prison, as mentioned. He didn’t stop to think about the repercussions of his actions -not the impact on others, or on his own life. Yet he does not regret his actions. So he really has my compassion, because he is clearly on the fringe. Let’s not call him an arsonist, he was prosecuted for “malicious destruction of property”. Let’s just say that he has a fascination with fire. I can relate. But I only burn my own art, my own writing my own prayers and intentions at my own altar. What do I know? I’m no shrink.

While prayers of protection go out to Paul Addis, and Blessings to Chicken John for being his gutsy self and to the many others for having compassion, it has to be balanced with logic and what is best for the greater good. Now it is simply too late to re-write history or negotiate the win-win solution that would have kept him safer, one that BM, LLC. was not interested in anyway. But can you really blame them?

Sure, Paul was reportedly very intelligent, despite battling mental illness for apparently quite some time. There is an assumption in this entire thread that Paul wanted to stay out of prison. Yet his many actions both in this case and in others suggest otherwise. Is it not possible that he was acting out in a desperate and ultimate cry for help??? What could make a bigger impact than THIS scheme, one that people had joked about but not seriously considered or planned…until Paul did. How tempting it must have been to one with his history of involvement with BM and his subsequent resentment over the changes in recent years. He couldn’t resist. Most of us could, we have inner restraints. He didn’t.

The insight provided by his friend about what they went through trying to help him suggests he did not WANT to be helped. He wanted to make a big statement, yes, and as a learned attorney who was capable of lucid brilliance at times, I think he knew what he was doing. It was willful and pre-meditated, not an impromptu prank. Had someone died, the debate here would be over manslaughter vs. murder charges. But fortunately, no one died, and Paul certainly got more than he probably bargained for, and possibly more than he deserved, but he KNOWS what happens when you break the mold in our legal system, you are made into an example. He knew that. If he was lucid enough to carefully plan so that no one got hurt (something no one could guarantee), then he was lucid enough to have chosen the inevitable, in order to make a statement that was so important to him he was willing to risk prison and risk the lives of others. What I’m saying is that on some level he got what he wanted. He had opportunity to plead differently or show remorse. I think he may have wanted something that would force him to be controlled in a manner that he and anyone in his life were incapable of doing.

Yes, perhaps I am a New-Agey idealist, but I think at this point his friends would find that their time and energy would be better spent finding a way to get him private psych help and convincing BM, LLC. not to appeal his request for parole, when and if the time comes…if he survives that long.

I also want to say that my one and only Burning Man experience in 1996 was full of a range of experience and emotions. I knew I had to get there that year, or I might not ever make it. The following year I was on a meditation retreat in Hawaii in August/September, then I was sick for about 2 years…and somehow BM had become more difficult to access as the years went on. (Now I’m on the East Coast, not in SF/Marin any more).

My point is that I am not one who ever soured or said, “Oh, it isn’t what it used to be…” Of course not! That is the beauty of it. BM is a microcosm of life at large, compacted into an intense and accelerated experience. Life is not static, it flows, changes. I never intended to “not go back”. I hope to go again some day and take it as it is in whatever configuration is current at that time (but not this year).

My one and only Burning Man experience was so ~powerful~ and so ~magical~ that it literally left me speechless. (I am known for my loquaciousness, so that is some accomplishment! :-) It changed my life. For the better.

Thanks all, for your intelligent and thoughtful discussion.

1. It is a communication problem. Soon as we explain ourselves, any reasonable, dispassionate person will understand and sympathize with our actions.

2. We are the victim, innocent and defenseless, attacked without warning by a madman.

3. We had no choice, our hands were tied by the “authorities”.

4. We did all we could for the perp, who, without our help, would undoubtedly gotten a longer sentence… AND, and, and, we didn’t sue him!! (yet)

5. Mistakes were made. By some nameless accountant (btw: his name is Thorny).

6. Many, many people were endangered!

7. Art was destroyed!

8. Steps had to be taken to prevent a re-occurrence.

9. Did we mention that a person most certainly might have been briefly endangered and some art could have been destroyed?

10. Finally, speaking for the organization, the loyal staff and all the participants, we are delighted to put this behind us and look forward to seeing you all at the burn on Tuesday!…. ‘er, ‘uh,… I mean Saturday!

“Now we will take questions, but due to time constraints, we will only recognize the reporter from that paper…. yes, that one over there…, no…, not you, that one… ”

“Thank you. Black Rock Gazette. Are you looking forward to the record crowd this year with even more fucking amazing art? Oh, no need to reply, I found your answer right here on the official handout. Thank you!”

————————————————-

** So this exercise is not a complete waste of time, be sure to do a shot whenever one of these talking points is repeated **

I have no doubt it seems fair and logical to you. This speaks volumes.

–S

I’m reposting it since it’s so damn good:

“I am not normally part of this discussion. I am not from SF or Portland. I am from Pershing County — yes, I am a townie, born and bred, just like the sheep. I am currently employed with the administrative structure of the county.

I attended BM several times, back when the price of admission was less than my student loan payment. It looked like fun, it was fun, but due to my position I do not dare show up there anymore.

But if you are interested in some information from the inside, from a townie in position to know, here it is.

BM had two opportunities to close this case with less flesh off Addis’ bones. They declined. In fact, they pushed hard for maximum prosecution and maximum sentence. That’s what they got. Even some people on the legal side were surprised at the level of BM’s vengeance. They didn’t expect “the hippies” to behave that way.

The judge, as you might expect from a small town in conservative, rural Nevada, was not interested in all the self-important “cultural” arguments from either side, especially from Addis. In his statement at the sentencing hearing he followed BM’s argument that they are running a big business and that Addis caused severe damage to that business. What it boiled down to was money, and BM’s testimony leaned heavily in that direction. If they had gone a little easier in that regard Addis probably would have gotten some jail time, but not four years and a felony rap.

What you might not realize is that the case opened some old sores in this community. It played right into the hands of a small but powerful group, religious types who don’t like BM and what it stands for. The attitude I heard from one law enforcement guy after the hearing was, “Good. If they say they want tough enforcement out there, that’s what we’ll give them.” These guys are tired of your jokes about Reno 911, people. They don’t find it amusing anymore. (I went to high school with this guy. He’s not shitting around.)

If you go this year, don’t expect the guys with badges to turn their heads to a lot of what they see on the playa like they’ve done in the past. Also, this officer said “outside” enforcement agencies have been in touch regarding possible police actions for this year’s event. Politically motivated, he said. Election year and all that. He didn’t say feds, but I assume that’s what he meant. He said it could include the use of undercover agents.

I’m telling you this because I liked most of the people I met at BM: Be careful out there this year. Tell your friends. Be careful who you deal with. Be careful what you do in front of people who are not known to you. Otherwise, some of you could find yourself sharing a cell with Addis.

(PS: I’m going to try to post this on BM’s corporate site as well but I do not know if it will get past their censors.)”

http://tribes.tribe.net/freepauladdis/thread/6d42cb75-d762-4045-a1d6-a46215fbd2c4

I found more truth in the Bush Administrations explanation of 09.11.

Lies lies lies and propaganda.

So.. we’re saying now that that’s 50,000 at burning man? Awesome. That’s $15mil door gross. Let’s hear it for all the artists and their hard work that put on the show, that all have to buy a ticket to show off their art.

I’d also like to take the time t thank burning man inc. for all they give back to the community of artists, namely a handful of chump change art grants that is less than .5% of their door gross.

let’s hear for DPW and all the people who spend weeks prepping for burning man, setting up, baby sitting, and also, have to buy a ticket to show up for work.

Please cry more about permits and portipotties. Cry more about costs. Cry more about art.

Then go blow your nose on a stack of Benjamins.

Dear Ray: Fuck you too buddy

–S

By now most of you have probably heard the news that the perpetrator
of the arson at the 2007 Burning Man event has plead guilty to the
crime of second degree arson and has been sentenced to 12-48 months in
jail, and ordered to pay restitution of $25,000 in damages to the
Burning Man Organization. Often times the news media doesn’t always
give the full backstory, so we’re sending additional information to
our staff because we believe that all of you who were affected by the
arson have a right to know the full story. Plus, every one of us is a
representative of the Project, and we sometimes find ourselves being
asked questions within the community about the organization’s position
on issues like this one. In fact, some members of the staff have
already asked a few questions about Burning Man’s role in the arson,
so we’re going to address them here. Please note that this email is
being sent to staff only, and staff policies prevent cutting and
pasting work emails to other online forums. But, feel free to
communicate the information contained in this email should others in
the community inquire about the Organization’s take on the outcome.

Q: What was the Burning Man Organization’s role in the prosecution of
the defendant?

A: The defendant was arrested by the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office
and faced charges in Nevada for First Degree Arson, Destruction of
Property and Illegal Fireworks. The prosecutor had a choice to bring a
full-blown trial and seek the maximum penalties for all of these
charges, or to accept a plea-bargain for a reduced crime with a lesser
sentence. The prosecutor advised the Burning Man Organization that he
believed a plea-bargain would be the best choice for all parties
involved–the state, the defendant and the victim. In the interests
of justice and fairness, the Burning Man Organization agreed with the
prosecutor that a lesser charge and a lighter sentence would be better
for everyone, including the defendant.

Q: What would have happened if the defendant had demanded a trial
instead of plea-bargaining?

A: The defendant could have been sentenced to nine years in jail for
first-degree arson.

Q: Could Burning Man have refused to press charges or refused to turn
over receipts to the prosecution?

A: Part of putting on the Burning Man event means maintaining good
relations with Pershing County so that we can continue to have the
Burning Man event on BLM land within that county. Good relations
means cooperating with criminal prosecutions. Refusing to press
charges for a felony arson that threatened human life would not bode
well with the government and law enforcement agencies in Nevada that
support our event. Nor would it bode well with the participants and
staff who could have been seriously injured or killed by this crime.
Plus, if the Organization had not submitted receipts the prosecution
would have subpoenaed them anyway. Finally, there was enough evidence
against the defendant for the County to prosecute without Burning Man
pressing charges.

Q: How did the Organization compute the restitution costs?

A: Once the prosecutor requested the information, the Accounting
Department compiled documentation of the following costs: lumber,
hardware, burlap, wax, fabric, neon, labor, fuel, meals, delivery
charges and heavy equipment use. Because some receipts were not
available, the Organization relied on the costs for the first build as
evidence of what the costs of the second build were. Of all the
receipts that were available the total came to a little over $30,000.
Based on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, as well as the
good points raised by the defendant’s counsel, the Court felt that
$25,000 was a fair and reasonable amount.

Q: What about the cost of the artwork under the Pavilion that was
never exhibited due to the crime?

A: The total cost of the art grants and the wages of the staff who
worked so hard to get the projects on playa came to an additional
$42,000 in documented costs. However, criminal restitution only
covers materials that were actually lost. To recover these additional
costs would require bringing a civil suit for destruction of property.

Q: Is the Burning Man Organization going to pursue a civil suit
against the defendant for the additional costs that were not recovered
in the criminal sentencing?

A: No. The Organization feels that the defendant’s plea bargain is a
fair and just outcome for all parties involved.

Q: So, how does the Organization feel about the sentence?

A: An organization does not have feelings, of course – only the
individual people within it do. Like all of you, and the rest of the
community, the staff and the board were diversely affected by the
premature burn, and each of us has our own human response to the
outcome. Not one of us can speak for what everyone around here feels
now that this chapter of our history ends, but we can say that we’re
uniformly glad to have this crime behind us, and we’re looking forward
to burning the Man together in 2008.

Ray Allen
Executive Project Manager
Black Rock City, LLC
1900 Third Street
San Francisco, CA 94158-2502
(415) 865-3800 x137
<ray@burningman.com

True. Cannot deny that. However, they are trying to tone it down a bit. May take some time.

H.T.

H.T.

why i said i tend to lean, meaning its not completely true of false in my mind, and i am not saying that makes it alright in either case.

its this one thing that i am concentrating on to understand how people can generalize and project indignation thats obviously not at the same level of risk involved. even if it turned out to be true, considering things that i have seen at burningman for over ten years now.. art cars catching fire, drunks running over artwork, people throwing stuff in burns that explode, art car flamethworers shooting off around crowds…etc.. its true many things are unsafe, but it isnt uncommon.

yes, the danger aspect has become tame, probably elevated to safety-second or first, and maybe for good or justifiable reasons. but it still happens, yet this is one of the first times its being singled out with a huge amount of scorn.

(ironically, the reactions of dpw’rs to the early burn are some of the most venomous, yet they are some of the most accident prone and dangerous group who have pulled some serious stuff around people.)

Very cleverly put, but that post you’re referring to also claims “The judge also asked how Paul managed to go from being an attorney to pleading on arson charges. ”

Given that Paul was never charged with arson, he was charged only with destruction of property, I’m going to go ahead and assume that entire post is more alarmist bullshit.

I remember when I was at Bman while Katrina was going on, people kept talking about how other cities were now rioting too, how the whole country was going crazy. That was all just playa talk, and has the same flavor as this in my opinion.

I could be wrong though, since I wasn’t at the trial either. So I’m wondering if anyone who was at the trial cares to comment?