Join The Volunteers List
For all of the talk of Participation and "No Spectators", many individuals in the larger Burning Man community don't participate in their real-world self-organized leadership (government and politics) and some don't even vote. Of course, most of us are frustrated about government or politics or the way things are, but the amount of time most of us spend per year making it better is really small. The majority of us admit that they aren't even active in any political or activist causes. And yet we live 51 weeks of the year in the real world, not Black Rock City. Isn't it about time that we take some of the ideals and principles that we've learned in Black Rock City and apply them to the real world? That's where the Real World Greeters come in. Real World Greeters are not at Burning Man this year. However, you can familiarize yourself with the Participate! messages on http://www.particip8.org and get involved with that project. Read an Associated Press News Service article on Real World Greeters. So, What's The Plan?My name is JX Bell and I'm leading volunteers at the end of Burning Man to talk to people leaving Black Rock City. Yes, people in their cars! Real World Greeters have exactly three tasks:
It is critical that Real World Greeters not promote one political party over another nor mention any specific candidate for any office. The idea is to instill the general ideals of Participation and No Spectators, not the details or implementation of any particular agenda. If at the minimum, we register some people to vote and show people how to do the same for their family, their friends, and even people at the local Walmart, we'll have made a difference: more real-world participants and fewer real-world spectators. We'll also give out postcards that reinforce the ideas and messages behind the vision. On the front, will be the high-level messages (see below) in a way that might be appropriate for a refrigerator door or thumbtacked on a wall. On the back will be a list of resources, voter registration tools info, and explanations of each high-level message. Just in case you didn't catch it above, the Real World Greeters will not promote one political party over another nor mention any specific candidate for any office. The Messages
How Do I Get Involved?Real World Greeters are not at Burning Man this year. However, you can familiarize yourself with the Participate! messages on http://www.particip8.org and get involved with that project. Please sign up on the mailing list. Also, please get the word out to your camp-mates, villiage-mates, and any lists of friends who might have some folks going to Burning Man. The total number of volunteers will be totally key to this project because there are lots of people leaving and not much time to reach them on the way out! Tell your friends that you are doing it and that the Real World Greeters is a great way for them make a difference! Please give them the URL to this page (http://www.realworldgreeters.org) for more information. Thanks! I'll help coordinate volunteers, figure out tasks, organizing, etc., on the list. In addition to many volunteers, I need up-beat, articulate, and extroverted people to coordinate and train volunteers on the playa. If you think you are well-suited to this task, please sign up on the mailing list like normal and additionally e-mail me and let me know that you want to be a Team Leader. Please start familiarizing yourself with the Participate! messages on http://www.particip8.org I'll now leave you with a quote from the Burning Man website about the Burning Man Greeters that reflects some of my vision for the Real World Greeters too. :-)
Thanks for your Participation! Post-Burn Followup!If you joined us on the playa, please sign up on the mailing list. We got some press! Here is an Associated Press article, for instance. |
