Burning Man Floods Were God's Punishment, Say Republicans in Congress
By: Miles Klee (Rolling Stone)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sen. Mike Lee and the congresswoman say the desert festival was the target of divine retribution
For days, heavy rains have mired the annual Burning Man festival in thick mud in the remote desert of Black Rock City, Nevada, stranding tens of thousands of attendees who nonetheless struggled to keep the party going. At least one person has died, and organizers announced yesterday that the traditional closing ceremony — in which the titular effigy is set ablaze — would be postponed from Sunday to Monday.
But as burners conserved food and water, preparing to begin an exodus as conditions allowed, two Republicans in congress said their misery was a message from a vengeful deity.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, never one to pass up a chance to talk conspiracy theories, appeared on Alex Jones' InfoWars show Sunday night and said at one point, "I want to talk about Burning Man for a minute." Jones interrupted to allege that festival-goers had staged a "mock sacrifice" before the weather turned dangerous. Greene replied, "God has a way of making sure everyone knows who God is."
Despite chalking the disaster up to divine fury, however, Greene then proceeded with another angle, positing that burners "were probably being brainwashed that climate change is the cause of all of it, it's the root of all evil, and it's going to destroy the Earth. And they're feeling the panic." She further speculated that Burning Man attendees would now go home to evangelize on the importance of fighting the human-made climate crisis.
"I believe this is the left's new lie that they're going to put on the American people," she said. "This is what they're brainwashing people to believe." Greene did not explain how the political left might have colluded with God in order to produce unexpected rainfall that benefited their agenda.
Also on Sunday night, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah took to his account on X (formerly known as Twitter), which he has previously used to threaten the nation of Japan, to imply that the floods were nothing less than "God's judgment." The post linked to a tabloid article describing some of the more offbeat activities at Burning Man, including "group orgasm sessions, daily whippings and naked oil wrestling." Of such pursuits, the senator grumbled, "This isn't healthy." Shortly before that, Lee had quote-tweeted far-right Daily Wire host Michael Knowles' comment that "one should endeavor to avoid traveling to the desert for week-long bacchanalian orgies that culminate in the worship of giant burning idols." Lee wondered how many may have "had a 'road to Damascus' moment" at this year's Burning Man, making a biblical reference to the conversion of Paul the Apostle to Christianity.
This isn't healthy. God's judgment is real.https://t.co/BFbnsVaEld
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) September 4, 2023
I wonder how many people have had a "road to Damascus" moment at the conclusion of Burning Man. https://t.co/j3Pm593f8i
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) September 4, 2023
On Saturday, Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social platform Gab, took a break from pressuring X owner Elon Musk to develop more antisemitic policies and fell for a podcaster's hoax about a virus outbreak at Burning Man. He took it as further evidence that the festival was being punished for devil worship. "Wow God unleashed a plague and a flood of rain over the satanic ritual 'burning man' in the desert that all of the elites attend?" he tweeted. "You don't say." No such plague has circulated among attendees.
Wow God unleashed a plague and a flood of rain over the satanic ritual "burning man" in the desert that all of the elites attend? You don't say. https://t.co/OMxLXNVK9e
— Andrew Torba (@BasedTorba) September 3, 2023
Last but not least, Jeff Clark, a former assistant attorney general indicted in Georgia last month along with 18 others, including Donald Trump, for an alleged conspiracy to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, weighed in with his own moralizing take. Commenting Sunday on a post from former solicitor general Neal Katyal, who had hiked out through the mud to escape Burning Man, Clark called the festival a "neopagan ritual."
"Pray that these folks come to the light & realize that the only path is through and to our Lord," Clark wrote. "We are all fallen and need God, and to repent as a Nation."
Why am I not surprised that Neal Katyal made it a priority to get to a neopagan ritual?
See picture below in lower right.
Pray that these folks come to the light & realize that the only path is through and to our Lord.
We are all fallen and need God, and to repent as a Nation. https://t.co/6m9Dk1Ddcj
— Jeff Clark (@JeffClarkUS) September 3, 2023
Of course, when it comes to repenting himself, Clark is less enthusiastic, having pleaded "not guilty" to his criminal charges in Georgia as he seeks to have the trial delayed. We'll have to wait and see whether that court of law is any more merciful than the Almighty.
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These assholes are never going to leave everyone else alone.
Iraqi theocrats would be proud of our republicans.
MTG and God, drinking beer and yucking it up: "You sure showed those burners in Nevada." Says Marjorie. "Yep. I sure inconvenienced those Pagan bastards." Says God.
I dont care at all about Burning Man one way or the other, but this Bible thumping moralizing is a sickness.
I propose that Trumps four indictments are a message from God to all of MAGA telling them they are going to hell.
Why can't these people just let other people do what they want to do and shut their fucking mouths up! These "christians" do their own sacrifice and you can say it's cannibalistic every Sunday
What the hell is Burning Man, anyway?
Sounds like a bunch of self absorbed posers to me, but I am not going to use God to condemn them. God is above such nonsense.
I found this on wikipedia:
We practice LNT when we camp. We do it because we are good stewards of the land. Didn't know it was a "thing".
I agree but even tho I don't care to participate I'm not about to mock or condemn these people for their fun.
A lot of the problem was that they didn't want people driving in the mud because it could damage the playa.
Thank you. I didn't know about the playa
Colonialism! Systematic racism! Climate change! The will of god!
Same argument, different words.
It seems to be impossible for you to comment on anything here without invoking "both sides ism".
Damn, this is funny as hell. Two in-office members of a political party say something really stupid and the partisans' line up to scream about how evil and bad the ENTIRE party is.
My, what a wide brush is used... sigh
You're right about the broad brush but don't you find this disturbing coming from a man who was elected to office:
No more disturbing than any other elected idiot who lets his mouth run away from common sense. Too many idiots in elected offices who let their biases lead them around by the nose rather than actually work for and represent the people who elected them. Lets be honest, we don't elect the best and brightest because those people don't run for office.
And before the seeder comes in and flags this... YES this post is really bothsiderisms. There are idiots on both sides in office who most of us would not trust to invite into our homes yet they get elected to office.
No...we don't. And that's our fault
But back to what I found disturbing. All of these idiots should know that they represent all their constituents not just the Christian ones. And to proclaim that Burning Man people need Jesus or a road to Damascus revelation really says that they don't care about anyone but the people that share their particular brand of Christianism. Yes, I just made that word up
Amen Trout.
It rains for like one day in Nevada, and people have to delay leaving the desert for a day or two. That’s God’s vengeance. But hurricanes roll through conservative southeastern states week after week, and that’s just weather. Ok.
I tend to think MTG was God's punishment to Congress.
that's funny
I get lucky now and then.😁