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   From:  A Pagan Visitor
   Date:  Tue Aug 21, 2001  1:29 am
   Subject:  Re: [bm-chicago] Re: [burningcorn] Skyclad question

   Really ? It took two people to write that letter ? :)
   Hmmm. Who knew ?

   Mark wrote :

   > This question is for those who are already on the
   > Playa.

   I'm not there, yet, but please bear with me.

   > We've heard
   > some rumors. We hope they're not true, but we'd like
   > to check this
   > out, if that's OK.
   > We've heard that the police are arresting people for
   > indecent exposure
   > at Burning Man this year. We have a few friends who
   > were thinking of
   > going nude there, this year. Are the rumors true ?
   > Should we tell
   > them that they'd better change their plans ? Imagine
   > traveling all
   > that distance, just to end up in jail. Talk about a
   > major suckfest !
   >
   > But is that really going to happen ?
   >
   >
   > Mark and Joe

   Wow, you guys really circulated this one, didn't you ? (I also saw
   this one on the New York City list). I'm  not  out there, yet, so it is 
   entirely possible that I don't know what I'm talking about, but I 
   seriously doubt that this is the case. Here are a few reasons why.

   1. "Indecent Exposure" is not a federal offense, I'm pretty sure, and
       you are on federal land. These are federal cops, right ?
       So why would they even care ? Drug busts are a much different
       matter, of course. Somehow, I'm guessing that if these rumors
       were traced back to their point of origin, there would be a tie
       in, there. A confused 27th retelling of what used to be a drug
       bust story ? An angry user, who wants people there to be even
       more annoyed with ATF than they already are ?

   2.  I'm not a lawyer, and I haven't been able to consult with one yet,
       so take this with a grain of salt. But, I don't think that the
       feds could make an arrest stick. "Indecent exposure" is usually
       defined in terms of local community standards. Burning Man has
       been clothing optional since 1989. Black Rock City isn't IN
       the local community, it IS the local community, since it is
       pretty much the entire population of that part of the Playa.

       They go there, and there will be 24,000 + really angry burners,
       itching to block vote in the next presidential election,
       and no political gain to be had. G.W. Bush is fully empowered
       to lean on these people HARD, and has every incentive to.

   3.  Tentatively, I will be a member of the House of Indulgence,
       my camp away from camp. (My official 'home base' is the Green
       Tortoise bus). Can you picture what nudity arrests would do
       to my camp ? I'm sure I would have heard something. Like, maybe,
       "Jesus, Joe, drop by Western Union when you get here. There's
       nobody left outside, to bail us out".

       I've heard nothing like that, and our camp organizer has been
       online tonight. Really, seriously, one thing that you'll pick up 
       quickly, is that these rumors are good only for entertainment 
       value. Of course, like I said, I could be wrong. News from the 
       Playa overrules anything I'm going to be writing here, as I  
       don't head out for another few days. But, this falls into the 
       "wildly unlikely" category, I think.

       Joe

     Message 16714 of 29717