Burning Man’s White Ocean venue was attacked and partially destroyed by attendees, who claimed that the Russian organizers are acting like “douchey people who opened a luxury and closed up camp that was very unwelcoming.”
White Ocean presents itself as a group of friends, who are passionate by music and travel the world promoting their passion and creativity. White Ocean also claims:
“We come from all over the world, from every race, religion and culture. We love, respect and embrace diversity and through diversity, we conceive and create.”
White Ocean, which was put together by Timur Sardarov, the son of a Russian oil magnate, has never received a warm welcome since it started appearing at Burning Man in 2014. Fans of White Ocean Camp appreciate it because the camp sells good food and hosts an extensive list of electronic acts.
However, angry festival-goers, who gather at Black Rock City in Nevada, see White Ocean as the opposite of a melting pot. They view it as an exclusive group, which snubs people from their fancy camp.
Every year, White Ocean is received with some hostility and this year, those, who hate them took things a step further. A group of people destroyed the camp, and White Ocean described them as “hooligans,” who also stole from them and glued their trailer doors shut.
The White Ocean called the Pershing Country sheriff’s office, which is investigating the matter. In a lengthy post shared on Facebook, White Ocean stated:
“This year has been quite the challenge for our camp. We have felt like we’ve been sabotaged from every angle, but last night’s chain of events, while we were out enjoying our beautiful home, was an absolute and definitive confirmation that some feel we are not deserving of Burning Man.”
Burning Man fans are split when it comes to the attack. One person said they should have never come to the festival in the first place:
“If you cannot survive in the Nevada desert without electricity, internet, bottled water, etc., then you should not be there in the first place. Born and raised in Reno, I love going out in the desert and mountains alone, or with 1 friend. The desert is art in itself.”
Another commenter stated that they were not welcomed:
“HAHA!!!! Your misguided attempt to be the big unifiers of people,love and music, failed miserably and was a funny story for us to laugh at! Clearly some things cannot be bought! Thank God for the rest of us and the occasional reckoning of the angry mob! There is your lesson! Your spirit of exclusivity and decadence is exactly why the world, outside of your luxury camp is so fucked today. Luxury seekers are twats. Not cosmic, not cool, and certainly NOT what any festival is about! Anyone knows that! I think Burning Man were totally right. You got what you deserved and now you want to cry like the victims!! Case closed!”
Moreover, a third individual said such behavior was not necessary:
“That should never happen at Burning Man, it goes against every principle of the event, regardless if some people like White Ocean and some don’t. Not cool. Please know that your camp is a huge contribution to the Burn and you provide way more pleasure than pain to the magical city. Thank you.”
White Ocean did get some support, a backer revealed:
Much love for you guys, Pathetic from the people that did it and don’t understand the massive gift you bring to the playa each year. People that do these things don’t belong at Burning Man at all. You from white ocean on the other hand more than belong there.
It will be interesting to see if the incident will lead to some changes at the gathering.