What is a Burning man Ranger? Do they really do nothing?
To begin I’ll quote the role of Rangers as stated in the Burn2 Rangers manual:
Role of the BURN2 RangersFirst and foremost, Rangers are participants in the Burning Man and BURN2 ethos, perhaps explained best by the Ten Principles. From that foundation grows the ego-less helpful actions of a BURN2 Ranger.
BURN2 Rangers are traditional guardians of the shared values of the Burner community. We are empowered by the community to address concerns, mediate disputes, and resolve conflicts if they cannot be resolved by the participants themselves and, rarely, respond to non-consensual assaults (griefing). Rangers encourage both personal agency and a community of shared responsibility and assist only as needed. The 11th principle - Consent applies here, too. Members of the community need to be encouraged to exercise their right to say no, not only to touch, but also to unwanted conversations or discussions. The role of the Ranger has been aptly described as "riding the edge of chaos."
Riding the edge of chaos, really does state it well. Being an effective Ranger does require doing that constantly. As with any healthy community, burners have so many opinions, viewpoints, and creativity. Sometimes the waves compliment each other and create such beautiful resonance. At other times though they clash with the potential of such force and destruction. That in part is why I am a Ranger. It’s stressful but also fulfilling to help chart a course with our community through all the cacophony of opinion, art, and expression. To help redirect and minimize the destructive interactions and enhance the positive ones. To keep the immediacy and promote kinship so we all can truly feel like we’re home. It’s an incredibly difficult task, not one that could ever be done alone, but that’s why rangers are never alone. We work in teams to constantly cross check our perceptions, ensure we maintain balance, and we trust other rangers to step in when we are conflicted with a situation that is beyond us. Terms like kick it sideways, kick it upwards, and to “do nothing” when approaching a new situation have so much meaning.
Speaking of “do nothing” what does that really mean?
What’s my thoughts and opinions on this?
Does it mean that Rangers really don’t do anything?
Well of course not! As we learn to FLAME situations we learn we should not immediately step in trying to fix a situation based on personal opinion and preconceptions. We Find out, we Listen, we Analyze what’s going on, and what deeper issues may lie below the most apparent conflict. We also consult other rangers and our manual for experience, and then, only then, do we step in and Mediate as by taking those steps we can hopefully find an agreeable resolution we can then Explain to everyone.
The pace of these steps is varied. Sometimes they can go fast, sometimes slow, the most important part is that the steps are cycled through until resolution is reached. Ultimately if we do this well we can maintain procedure and neutrality while we do something to resolve conflicts and restore community.
However it shouldn’t just start when a conflict has reached its crescendo. Loud conflicts and inevitably hurt feelings from them never lead to the best outcomes. Sure calm may be reached again eventually but at what cost? And what scars may remain? Can’t there be a better way? Well what if I said there was and that it may truly be the deeper meaning of the Ranger “do nothing” mantra?
Well, Keeping with the wave analogy, it could be said that to truly ride the edge of the wave you have to think just ahead of it to proactively understand and know what might be coming. That my friends, is the real key to effective Rangering. Keeping an observation with our fellow rangers on the ripples of our community well enough that we can see conflicts forming before they even clash. With that awareness, we can then even more gently assist our community uphold its values with redirection rather than reaction. Why redirect? Isn’t that doing something and meddling? Well yes it is being a bit intrusive but for a good reason. If we see a problem forming and it can be fixed by just dispelling misinformation, or by just providing a bit of needed insight should we really just standby and watch? If then by doing that redirect, some conflicts don’t even seem to happen, well can it really be said we did anything at all? Interestingly if we take the FLAME acronym and swap out Mediate for Redirect what does that make it? Well FLARE of course for those softer landings. If just some simple insight at the right moment prevents the conflict and its repercussions from even happening isn’t that the better outcome?
Achieving such goals, but not meddling or bending the community immediacy based on our views is truly another part of the edge of chaos. If done selflessly and with proper objectivity it can help make so much more immediacy possible, but if done with any selfish intent and a narrow mind it can lead to even greater conflict and anger. This also cannot be done by being a bystander looking from afar, that’s why rangers should always be from the community and actively engaged and participating in other parts of the immediacy. Rangering is Not a Job in itself, we come to do it in addition to our other talents and contributions. Most importantly; We must always remember that it was never about us, we don’t do this for ourselves, we do this for the harmony, the expression, the joy of the grand experience. We again must constantly encourage cross-checks, we must always have trust in our fellow Rangers and empower them, and we must always know our limits so that we can kick it sideways to another Ranger when conflicted or overwhelmed. In doing all this we can better chart a path and maintain the course together, and together we can find a place we can feel welcome, truly valued, and at Home.
Comments