Burning Man Death, Who is Leon Reece, how did he die? – StyleCaster

After an unusual downpour and blustery weather left thousands of festival-goers stranded, the news of Burning Man’s death sent shockwaves – and a slew of misinformation – on social media.

What began in the 1980s as a ritual summer solstice bonfire has evolved into an annual festival (although the founders dismissed that term, instead using “community and global cultural movement”) in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, drawing more than 70,000 each year attracts visitors. Revelers build a temporary city, and the event culminates in the burning of a large wooden effigy called “The Man”. The website states: “We do not book gigs and do not provide entertainment. What happens here is up to you! There is no corporate sponsorship. You enter a “decommodified” space where participants value who you are, not what you have. There are no spectators! You are expected to be involved, collaborative, inclusive, creative, outgoing and clean up after yourself.”

Attendees are usually warned of the danger of dehydration in the remote, parched place, but 2023 saw extraordinarily heavy rains that turned the makeshift city into a mud pit and stranded most of the crowds who were told they should Save food, water and fuel. and to provide protection in place. “We came here knowing that this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive,” the organization said in a statement. “Because of this, we are all well prepared for a weather event like this.” After the chaos subsided and the “exodus” began on Monday, September 4, 2023, police officials confirmed that one attendee had died. Here’s what we know about the death of Burning Man.

The Death of Burning Man

Burning Man’s death was confirmed by Pershing County and his identity was later identified as Leon Reece. The 32-year-old was found lifeless at around 6:24 p.m. on September 1, 2023, without a cause of death being immediately apparent. Investigators had previously stated that Reece’s death appeared to have nothing to do with the weekend’s weather, but the stormy conditions delayed efforts to send aid.

“Pershing County dispatchers received a call regarding a male individual who was unresponsive on the ground at the Burning Man festival, and medical personnel performed CPR on the man,” Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said in a statement on September 3, 2023.

“Due to the unusual rain event at Playa, access to the area and investigative efforts have been delayed. By the time officers from the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office arrived, the festival’s doctor had already determined that the male subject, later identified as Leon Reece, a 32-year-old man, was deceased.” An inquest and toxicology report are out in progress.

Rumors of deaths at the festival circulated on social media — “A few people didn’t make it,” said one Burning Man attendee in a now-viral video after the flood — before Reece’s death was known. There was also a hoax that Ebola was being spread among the stranded crowd.

The main event, the burning of the man’s effigy, was postponed from Sunday September 3 to the following night due to inclement weather – on Friday night more than half an inch collapsed causing flooding and foot-deep mud.

After the initial garbage dump, the Bureau of Land Management released a statement saying that access to Burning Man was permanently closed and anyone still en route to the area would be denied entry. “Officials from the BLM and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office have barred entry to the Burning Man event effective immediately and for the remainder of the event. Attendees arriving at the event should turn around and go home. The rain over the past 24 hours has created a situation that has required a complete halt to vehicle movement on the playa. More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa.”

Burning Man participants must abide by the rules 10 Principles of Burning Man “Not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the ethos and culture of the community as it has evolved organically since the event began,” wrote co-founder Larry Harvey in 2004.

These principles include:

radical inclusion
Anyone can be part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. There are no prerequisites for participating in our community.

Give
Burning Man is dedicated to giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting is not about returning or exchanging for something of equal value.

decommodification
To maintain the spirit of giving, our community strives to create social environments that are not mediated through commercial sponsorship, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist replacing participatory experience with consumption.

radical independence
Burning Man encourages individuals to discover, train and rely on their inner resources.

Radical self-expression
Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one but the individual or a collaborating group can determine the content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this sense, the giver should respect the rights and freedoms of the recipient.

community effort
Our community values ​​creative collaboration and collaboration. We strive to create, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art and methods of communication that support such interaction.

Civic Responsibility
We value civil society. Community members organizing events should take responsibility for the common good and strive to instill civic responsibility in participants. You must also accept responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state, and federal laws.

Leave no trace
Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities, no matter where we gather. We clean up behind us and strive whenever possible to leave such places in better condition than we found them.

participation
Our community is committed to a radical participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can only happen through deeply personal involvement. We achieve being through action. Everyone is invited to contribute. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through heart-opening actions.

immediacy
Direct experience is in many ways the most important touchstone of values ​​in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and acceptance of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and exposure to a natural world that is beyond human powers. No idea can replace this experience.