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Thursday, September 3, 2015

They hate us for our freedom



Now it's come to light that the FBI has been gathering intelligence and spying on the participants of Burning Man.

Burning Man is basically a counter culture art festival and party in the desert. It certainly isn't any sort of threat to national security. Sure there's illegal drug use, but probably not much more than at any of hundreds of music festivals. One has to wonder what other events the government is spying on. SCA medieval reenactments? Steam Punk events? Jazz festivals? Boy Scout Jamborees?

Back in the late 70s and early 80s I used to go to the Dowsers Convention held in Danville VT. There were government spies at that event. The first few years they were easy to spot as they were the ones in the suits. Later they tried to blend in better. However, the brand new L. L. Beans clothes combined with government black leather shoes was a dead give away.

It seems the government has difficulty with anyone doing anything outside the box. People who don't do what all the other sheep are doing are suspect.

Did I ever go to Burning Man? Naw, while it might be interesting, it's held in the summer in the middle of the freaking desert. Believe it or not, it has become too mainstream for my tastes. It's organized. There's an entry fee. The organizers try to work with the local authorities. There are less structured ways to meet with interesting people -ways that keep the FBI out of your business.

-Sixbears

14 comments:

  1. more waste of tax dollars.
    there are plenty of criminals. why can't they seem to find any?
    spying on dowsers! maybe they thought you were dowsing for communists?

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    Replies
    1. It was a weird time. The Russians had a paranormal program and by golly the US was going to keep an eye on all those strange people.

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  2. What a shame about the FBI targeting Burning Man. I guess they know that a lot of alternative folk will be in the one place at the one time eh.
    You'd think they'd have better things to do...

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    Replies
    1. When a government doesn't trust its citizens it doesn't know when to stop.

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  3. While there will always be the pacifist branch of government that says they are enforcing laws to prevent homegrown terrorist (the most dangerous kinds), there has got to be a better open way than spying on folks.

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    Replies
    1. The government has gotten so afraid of the average person that everyone's a threat now.

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  4. Well if the desert in summer isn't your thing, how about West Virginia in winter? http://www.frostburn.org

    Kind of gives a point to burning stuff....

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    Replies
    1. Hey John, thanks for the link! Looks like a lot of fun.

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  5. It is time to elect an all new government.

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  6. The FBI busys itself here with using informants to sit in McDonalds and Waffle House, hoping someone will say something "anti-government." Four old guys in Toccoa Ga did, and were arrested and charged with all kinds of stuff. There was no evidence, and they were later released. But the informant, a long time felon with a long record, had over 100 pending charges for child abuse against him dropped as a result of his "efforts."

    Makes a fellow feel dizzy.

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    Replies
    1. Dizzy, or angry? What a huge waste of resources and a miscarriage of justice.

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  7. Sixbears

    Thank you for adding The Last Tradition to your blog roll. Your added to mine!

    ReplyDelete