Please stop
Editor's note: this is a post about American Independence Day celebrations
existentialmemes
Alright, I'm going to launch explosives around your house. For several hours. Yes it is dangerous and terrible for wildlife and the environment. And yes your pets will get sick from eating the debris and you will feel terrorized inside your own home.
No you can't opt out of it. Everyone is doing it and frankly it's weird that you don't want to.
No you can't be the one launching the explosives you need a license for that. You can however launch these marginally smaller ones though. Yeah just whenever you want. 2am sounds great.
So anyway, fireworks were a mistake and it's never too early to start reminding you of that.
274 replies
I'd happily see consumer fireworks banned. If people like them so much then there are plenty of organized displays which have way better shit than you can buy at Walmart, and I know roughly when they're happening so I can turn the TV up loud, close my windows and keep my pets from being too traumatized.
What I can't stand is the random 3AM explosions that sounds like the start of WWIII. If you're one of those people, fuck you. Sincerely.
Well, you could always be the reason they get banned.... just gota get creative with it?
I promise you if that ban happened people will buy gun powder and build their own. Now they're more dangerous and made in Jimmy's garage
You may say ban blackpowder, but then you run into the 2nd amendment lobby
Idiots making home-made explosives sounds like a problem that can solve itself eventually.
You'd be quite surprised. Making fireworks isn't all that complicated.
Of course more would die, but not enough to eliminate the practice
Yeah, just look at how well the Dutch firework ban works. Or how well the German one during covid lock downs worked.
Although in those cases the fireworks were only imported illegally from other EU countries, and not homemade, so it's not a perfect comparison
The Dutch firework ban is only starting this year. During covid there was a ban and while it wasn't totally quiet, it was a lot more doable. A lot less people in the hospitals too: about one third of the previous year. Most people do follow the law.
I get really tired of people saying it won't work anyway. The only reason to say that is to oppose a ban. Instead try to persuade Poland and Italy to stop selling bombs to citizens.
Yeah the free sale of blackpowder is the issue, and that is tied to our general gun control issues. Our Supreme Court has been taking a hard stance on pro-gun rights
Counterpoint
Playing with fire and blowing things up is fun if done responsibly. Really, given the kinds of annoyances that are legal year-round (drunkards, loud exhausts, barking dogs, late-night parties, yelling loudly etc.), it really isn't that bad to have fire & explosions once per year for like... two hours. (Reiterating, responsibly)
I don't know about The North Americas, but in AU all of those things you listed are illegal here. Except the loud exhaust. You have to really piss someone off to get reported, but if your dog barks every night you'll get a knock on the door with a mandatory dog training leaflet. Disruptive parties at night are tolerated occasionally by neighbours, but if it happens every Friday for 6 hours you might get told to turn it down by police. Same with belligerent or disorderly behaviour. I think the law is don't wake people up between 7pm–7am mon–sat. But also the police here won't attack you, so it's more annoying than dangerous for the recipient.
Do you guys have noise disruption laws like this? Genuinely curious.
We do, but it takes more than fireworks.
Yeah fireworks are allowed here too, but only when you would "expect" fireworks if that makes sense. "Firework displays and community events" are exempt. I think it's pretty common sense whether something's ok or not though. Like randomly popping off fireworks every night at 2am would get shut down. Definitely an entire month of fireworks is insanity. But I hear fireworks every major holiday like Easter, Christmas, new year's, Chinese New year, etc. The dogs, cats, birds, possums, everything goes mad like there's a bush fire.
Further reading
it was nice for a few years. i'm not sure whether it was better enforcement or mass trauma after the town nearly burned down, but all the nighttime fireworks just didn't happen for a couple years.
Many regions in America do have those kinds of laws, but the cops are too busy shooting our dogs and pulling over minorities to enforce them
I love fireworks! I like going to the big displays, I like hearing neighbors setting them off in the distance. It reminds us that even thought things kinda suck now, we can still have some fun.
This country has turned so rigid, it is so disappointing. No loud music, no firewoeks, no dance clubs, no outward displays of anything. Just go home buy stuff online and watch your screens quietly.
One night a year... Heh. It's been going on for a month already at my sisters' place
It depends on enforcement. Where I live it's pretty strictly enforced. I do wish the big fireworks show was on the edge of town rather than in the middle of it but I still want the show. Just as responsibly as possible.
if the idiots would actually do that, it wouldn't be a problem. instead it's a two week window of booms and flaming bullshit DURING A HEATWAVE IN WILDFIRE SEASON.
how fucking dumb do they have to be, that this needs to be explained?
Where I am from, civilian fireworks are pretty much happening only during NYE. It is roughly 2 hours. The rest of the year fireworks are pretty much happening on some special shows or celebrations. You almost never hear fireworks the rest of the year.
Where I live now people like to shoot fireworks at random. I used to live near private small garden area and fireworks would fire on weekly basis all year long. It is even forbidden to do it at random, but that is not stopping people for some reason.
Wanted to add also that in my homeland fireworks are sold typically in hunting shops and I guess are strictly regulated while at the country I am at right now you can buy loads if fireworks in a grocery store if some sort of a festive celebration is around the corner.
oof sounds lovely.
in past years it's been like this. I think that they tightened some of the sales because the world cup is in town, but we still have mortars and other shit going off two weeks before the 4th :|
there's too few consequences for irresponsible assholes.
Where do you live where it's only two hours?!?
Large town in Sweden. I'd say 95% is within the legal time span in our neighborhood and from what I've seen elsewhere it's fairly similar.
This is excepting no-go zones & rougher neighborhoods, but in some of these areas they literally attack first responders with fireworks so I'm not counting them.
Okay then let’s do it only in winter when it gets dark early enough.
For some reason all the holidays happen when the day is long except new years which for has fireworks happening at midnight.
The laws are not made to minimize the downsides.
Agreed, but it is interesting to hear about its impact on the environment. Obviously it spooks pets and livestock. But what is it doing to the local flora and fauna? In some situations it probably kills birds through constant stress. And what about trees that are normally used to peace and quiet? They're probably deaf now.
Oh honey. You think it's for 2 hours? It's roughly once an hour from the middle of June to the middle of July
I love this time of year. It drowns out the sound of gunfire.
fr, oh to live such a privileged life that the worst noise pollution you have to deal with is fireworks a couple of times per year.
Where do you live? That's excessive.
Worst I've seen in rural Michigan, is occasional fireworks the week before and after the 4th.
Now that I'm in the suburbs? Maybe a day before and after. Eh, could be worse.
Kansas baby, deep red territory. It sucks here lmao
Doesn't have to be deep red. Sacramento is fairly purple and they've been at it too. Same as every year.
Well, that's how it is in my country, and mostly respected outside no-go zones :)
Slightly different per municipality, but in general it's permitted 23-01 around the new year. Outside that, you need to apply to the police for permission.
Especially barking dogs.
All of whose owners, who let them bark 24/7 the other 364 days a year, go into full meltdown mode on social media over their poor pupper's right to be catered to every 4th of July.
Ok, this bums me out. I love fireworks and the 4th of July. I have such fond memories of it as a kid and am building memories with my own kiddos. Our whole neighborhood gets together and sets them off, and grills and hangs out. It is a whole (wholesome) thing.
There's plenty of fireworks that aren't a problem. Fountains and Spinners and sparklers are rad as hell, and honestly as a kid I hated the ones that are just really loud for no reason
Those are mostly what we do. No fire crackers. My kiddos are autistic, so ear protection is a must, just in case there is a loud one. But they love it and are even starting to love the louder ones as they get older.
Once again, a few assholes ruining it for everyone else ...
All the cool smaller stuff was banned long ago in the UK. 'Items of Erratic Flight' including all the ground spinners, helicopters, bottle rockets etc. The consumer stuff these days is so boring. What would've made so much more sense is to keep the smaller 'novely' type fireworks that are typically relatively low-noise, and much better suited to the relatively small gardens here.
Instead we have these relatively powerful cakes that should have a 25m safety radius that almost nobody actually has in their garden.
Many countries have a unique style of firework making that is part of their cultural heritage, ours is almost completely lost as everything is imported from China now, we outsource the danger of production to child labour in Luiyang. Its a sad state of affairs.
Even the pets? The people with PTSD?
I mean, it is a small neighborhood. 🤷 There are pets, but they appear u bothered. My dog, for example, has no idea they are happening. The hot dogs on the other hand...
Doesn't change the fact that it's bad for the environment and animals, and it's a fuck to of noise polution.
I have fun memories of my country's major holiday blackface character, and yet somehow I don't feel the need to pass that tradition on.
The nice thing about fun is that you need almost nothing other than other people's company to have fun. You can play with sticks or pebbles or flowers or snow or lines in the sand or with just your body. If you're feeling fancy, get a ball or some instruments or a deck of cards or pen and paper. All you need to do is coordinate with your community to go outside together (and prevent any roaming murder machines from murdering people).
Yes, fireworks are exactly like blackface.
🙄
Launching fireworks had been banned in Kyiv for the last few years, for hopefully obvious reasons.
At least one good thing has come from it.
Every year for a dozen years our dog would get so traumatized by fireworks that you could literally hear her teeth chattering. We'd turn up loud music in the house, and make her a bed in a closet, but she'd still bolt out and look for anywhere where it was less noisy or safer (there wasn't such a place, but we couldn't convince her of that). She'd jump into the bathtub or claw her way into a different closet, only to bolt away to find a better spot at the next explosion. And neighbors would light off the occasional firework until like 2 or 3 in the morning. We couldn't go off and leave her. I grew to really hate the 4th.
She died a couple months ago, so I guess that's no longer a problem for us personally, but I know we aren't the only ones with sensitive pets.
Xanax. It’s a good thing.
Benadryl if you can’t get none. Plus the other stuff you mentioned.
Benadryl, or diphenhydramine hcl, doesn't really help much for stress. It's true that it can make dogs sleepy, and if given soon enough before the fireworks they may sleep through them. The problem is that some dogs have the opposite reaction and become hyperactive. Hyperactive and stressed will just make for a bad evening for everyone.
It is best to talk to your vet in the days before the fireworks start. A prescription is likely to be a better option for your pet. Talking to your vet first will also help to make sure you get the dosing right for your dog.
Tried Benadryl and it didn't help. Didn't want to do anything to strong, but maybe should have. Doesn't matter any longer.
well, should it come up again for some reason, talk to the vet about xanax. And either way it's just part of the whole package, which also includes sound isolation and comforting peoples around, as you were already doing. (In case anyone is reading this like a pill will fix it - not as such, no)
I know someone who used to literally move and go on vacation with their dog to a quieter place during fireworks season... Poor things
I can understand that. We had two dogs, three cats, and two birds - so that was harder to do.
Just because society is okay with it, doesn't make all the issues miraculously go away.
Air quality is shit for a long while after displays, especially if you live within view of multiple displays.
Plastic waste and other garbage leaving just from the display alone, to say nothing of the crowds that gather for them.
Animal life around the displays get to deal with the sounds and percussion types that literally gave ww1 soldiers ptsd. They are also animals and have no idea what's happening. Wildlife nearby gets screwed over every 4th. Not to mention animals with sensitive hearing like dogs. Hell, I live many miles and hills away from the closest display I could find with my drone last year, yet my dog was still terrified.
Sorry if that's being a party popper, but at one point in time, public executions were considered entertainment and I'm sure there were a few party poopers who pointed out how barbaric it was. It didn't make them wrong to point it out.
My MIL..
I like fireworks. I don't like when people continue to set them off at odd hours weeks after the 4th.
I think complaining about fireworks on a day of celebration is some grumpy old NIMBY shit.
I agree. There's a time and place. It's the 4th, and maybe new years
Honest question: What the fuck do American's have to celebrate?
Not being British. It's all we got left
Yo mama
Yeah caring about the environment is nimbyism...
You ever taken a look at your local level politics? It's mostly NIMBYs trying to use environmental law not to protect the environment, but to protect their property value and keep out "undesirables."
They're also trying to shut down night clubs, roadblock any method of transportation that isn't car-oriented, enact curfews, and generally just suck all the joy out of life like these no-fireworks having fun police.
The primary perpetrators of environmental law in my city are people who genuinely care about it.
Fire works are not the same as the other things you have listed(well, not the car part); as they do actually have a substantiable effect on the environment and local air quality.
My argument is what the fuck are you celebrating? Did you get enough of your freedums this year?
As a white property owning male it's my day of freedom 🦅🦅🦅
Okay, now say that about literally any holiday aside from the one you personally dislike and see how it holds up.
Halloween. Celebrating recruitment into the skeleton army. Duh? What an insane take. My valid criticisms are invalid since other holidays exist.
You used a bullshit apples to oranges comparison for your bullshit criticism. You didn't say New Years or Juneteenth, actual fireworks holidays, because it highlights how stupid your "get over it" argument is.
I'm just going to chalk this up to either you misreading, misunderstanding, or just being a fucking idiot.
I really have no idea what you were saying then. Are you saying people shouldn't celebrate the 4th because a rapist is currently in charge? Or that doing it every year ad infinitum is too much?
Either way I stand by what I said. Let people have their fireworks and stop being a grumpy old fuck about it.
Sure buddy.
Usually agreed, but July 5th I'll be shopping for some discounted boomies.
They will be on stand by to celebrate a long overdue deposition when the day finally fucking comes.
What if it happens on the 4th? America 250 indeed.
Fireworks start early then I guess
Then we'll all celebrate together.
This sounds like a grumpy old man ranting about “kids these days” lol let people have their fun.
Let people have their peace and quiet.
How often do you get disturbed by fireworks?
I usually only hear them at halloween or at new years eve
In my area it's multiple days before and after most holidays, at times ranging from 6pm to 2am. Hell, this past year someone set off fireworks at midnight Christmas eve.
I’ve been having to deal with fireworks since Friday and it won’t stop until after next weekend with the most absurd taking place Friday and Saturday this week. I don’t bitch but it does kind of suck I can’t just sit out on my front porch in the evenings/night with my dog throwing him his ball for a couple weeks every summer. He seems accustomed to the smaller stuff but I’m not going to risk him running off so our routine just has to shift a little but it’s too hot to be doing that with him before it gets late right now. I guess I feel like it would be entitled behavior to expect so many other people to behave differently just because it’s not something I really care about anymore. I used to think they were cool as a kid.
it's the 4th of July weekend my dude.
also, it was just Juneteenth
and in the UK they have the 5th of November
I'm not British or American, I'm just wondering how often that's an occurrence.
apologies, your post read as a rhetorical question- but also, Diwali, Eid... there are plenty of celebrations around the globe throughout the year
If you want that deeply to be away from people, go live deep in the woods for something.
But I don't want to be away from people? I just don't want bombs going off outside my house, which is generally considered normal 364 days out of the year
Living around other people involves them doing things you don’t want them to sometimes.
Careful dude. The folk on here really don't like being told that
Living around other people also involves a certain level of respect for them and their presence. This goes both ways. If you want to lit up bombs you are free to go out deep in the woods for it (..well, except you'll also freak put the poor wildlife there)
I think you have the crux of it, it's normal 364 days of the year. Lots of folks like fireworks and they mostly limit it to one day annually.
Honestly at this point in my life when I think about fireworks I mostly just have a hard time getting over how expensive they are. But also, they are noisy and sometimes I get dragged out in crap weather to not enjoy them. I'm not a huge fan.
I also was also a kid once though and remember a time when they were the coolest shit on earth.
I can put up with the rare day and let others have their fun 🤷 just my take.
If I punch you in the face once a year for my own amusement, you wouldn't be saying "it's ok because he doesn't punches me in the face 364 days a year"
I'm sorry, but are you trying to compare the sound of fireworks to getting punched in the face?
I suspect the point they were trying to make is that "only one day a year" doesn't automatically excuse behavior. They used a rhetorical device to help illustrate that point by highlighting a scenario that is clearly not acceptable even one day a year.
Is this seriously the level of reading comprehension we're working right now for real?
Let children lose fingers and get blinded.
I love fireworks shows done responsibly, our local show is on a beach away from most of civilization and wild life.
That said I think a drone show is cooler, better for the environment, and would love to see densely populated towns replace them with drones.
On a beach... Away from wild life? What?
No you don't understand, they simply moved outside of the environment.
A wave? In the OCEAN? Chance in a million.
Beaches around here are out in the open with a treeline that isn't close to shore, most animals aren't going to be around due to the threat of predators, with the exceptions of insects.
The area is similar to Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia, though not as far removed from everything and on a lake, rather than on an ocean.
Yeah, I would never expect wildlife to be around a lake, probably no impact at all
Blowing up drones is cooler than blowing up fireworks depending on the drone
I appreciate in the latest season of The Pitt they show a few fireworks injuries. They can really fuck you up if you don't know what you're doing.
Leave explosives to the trained professionals. I don't wish harm on anyone but fireworks are just explosives and if you aren't trained you're just asking for trouble.
I don't enjoy fireworks. Maybe if it was like the year 1600 and I'd never seen color and light it'd be really cool. But we have high definition Tv now.
I also don't get why anyone films them. We have so many videos of fireworks as a species. Like we have the whole phenomena comprehensively documented, we're good.
They're recording a memory
Yeah, but that’s almost everything. I see tourist taking shitty pics of things that have been documented millions of times while their family stands next to them. I’m like, “Get them in the picture!” If you want it to mean anything.
A few winters ago, I took a trip to Iceland, specifically Reykjavik. I learned that, for new year's, there is an organized party well outside the city limits with no fireworks. This was for folks that didn't want to participate in the usual celebrations that take place in town. They noted that it was quite popular with the Syrian refugees on the island. I think about that a lot.
I'll add that NYE Fireworks in Iceland make American Independence Day celebrations look like a solemn funeral in comparison. I've never been anywhere that has been shelled, but I now have a really good idea what that would look and sound like.
People love loud sounds and lights, be it explosions, light shows, loud music, automobiles, and a myriad of other things, what can I say? It's a form of group stimulation that for whatever reason cultures find acceptable.
I don't launch fireworks, and I agree people should be much more considerate about it, and keep loud sounds to specific pre-arranged times like 11pm to 1am for midnight events like New Year, 9pm-12am for other events. It's not so bad if you can expect it, but it's the random intermittency through the whole night is what I think is the most harmful thing about it. ANC headphones is the opt-out.
Animals will not expect it. Also they do not unterstand why and what's happening.
How about an opt-in?
Yeah why is it okay to demand opt-out as the default for tech stuff, but unreasonable to expect the same courtesy for the crazy things society deems "normal"
Because opt-out in tech stuff is stupid too.
I don't have a pet either, but I'd think to wrap a scarf or blanket around the head of your pet to dampen the noise and keep them close to you or in your bed to reduce the harm.
The OOP mentioned there's no opt-out, hence my suggestion of ways to opt-out, but most public firework shows are opt-in and I agree it should be the main way to see fireworks. I bring earplugs to some fireworks shows I see, because I'm trying to protect my hearing even as I am enjoying it. In the spirit of offering solutions to this problem, you can start your own HOA where you either ban pets because they could be harmed by fireworks, or outlaw anything that could ever be an inconvenience to anyone.
That's not doing the job. But I admit you are indeed able to reduce the noise with ANC headphones attached to the dog. (Did this and seemed to do the job.)
But that's not the point. I shouldn't be forced to do that in the first place.
This could be a solution (banning private fireworks at the same time), but ignoring the fact fireworks not only harm pets but animals in the wild too.
Snarky.
I can wish for a better situation too, while still saying why we are in an unideal situation currently.
I was so annoyed when NJ finally went and allowed fireworks in public hands. Now instead of having nice controlled by the township level shows with professionals, I get dipshit down the street setting them off and causing every dog to go batshit. And because anyone can buy fireworks, no one donates to the township show so we don't even get to see the nice show anymore.
I spend much of my year in a country where fireworks start in early December and go until mid January. Random pops at 3am on any given day of the week are entirely normal. I’m convinced that people who can seemingly be perpetually amused by “haha it go boom!” again and again and again are fucking simpletons.
Heh, I live in a racially mixed neighborhood where the Mexicans help the rest of the us find the "good stuff". I have been in an actual war zone but my neighborhood is at WW1 level amounts of black powder and badly made improvised explosives with copper, magnesium, and titanium sprinkled in for seasoning. Last year there were teenagers with eight inch mortars which I cannot convey how insanely illegal those are.
Kind of amazing we haven't set the neighborhood or even a single house on fire now that I think about it.
Not so much illegal as commercial. For professional use only.
PSA do not mess with additives other than Titanium for salutes. Ideally do not mess with improvised explosives at all but if you really are hell-bent on upping the noise, a string-bound blackpowder maroon is the way to go. Hello interpol my old friend.
The real way to get on the list is to give advice on how to acquire salt peter or acquiring in bulk precursors like ammonium nitrate (or is it nitrite, not going to look that up)
I don't wish maiming on people who light fireworks. They can learn. I sure did. Used to be a huge fan to the point my dad and I would volunteer to help setup a few pro shows around us (one of only three happy memories with him so you can imagine how important they were to me). I now understand though and don't light them myself. I've found many people around me legitimately have just never heard the arguments against them and when I lay it out they at least only light them at reasonable times and clean up more though some no longer light them at all.
Now my asshole neighbour who three years in a row I've had to sic the city code enforcement on for just tossing his mortar tubes and boxes and stuff into my yard...
Professional firework displays are ok. If it's scheduled ahead of time and there's some choreography and art to it and it's contained to one area, that's cool. It's the people setting off mortars at all hours of the day in residential areas that I have a problem with.
And I don't really want to see limbs blown off, it's just that I've interacted with enough people who hear arguments against it, and still set a bunch of fires and blow up a bunch of explosives outside my damn house, that I have to assume malice on their part. Like, every house on this street has dogs. They've seen how their dogs react to fireworks. Why are they setting off pounds of dynamite?
What really set me off was getting banned from reddit for expressing an opinion moderately spicier than "explosions can be bad, sometimes." I like this platform because having strong opinions doesn't get me instantly banned by a machine before a human ever sets eyes on it. Even if a moderator removes my other comment, I won't be too upset, because there will be a human being behind that decision instead of an algorithm
Celebrating america's freedom by triggering all of our traumatized veterans with inescapable rapid-fire explosions for three weeks straight!
Who the fuck even thought of this?
It makes more sense when you realize that Americans don't actually give a shit about their veterans, they just like virtue signalling like they do. The VA would be in much better shape if they actually cared.
Oh, trust me, I know. Especially republicans...
No one has ever accused Americans of being smart.
This is america, everyone here either doesn't care about or actively hates our own veterans. You got the right (red) who only likes them while they're overseas killing middle easterners, you got the right (blue) who doesn't think about them at all, and you have the left who think we're the villains in every armed conflict since WWII ("Kuwait? What's that?")
Caring about veterans makes you a tiny minority in this country
14th of July is the day in France for fireworks, there's the fireworks set by the city for 30min and after that everyone goes back home, dont have people setting them off all night 🤷
I see your point, but what if you love to be drunk, belligerent, and imposing your will on unconsenting, helpless victims? 🤔
God damn that is American 🫡 🇺🇸
Thank you. Fuck fireworks and the apes who enjoy them.
That aside, what do you even have to celebrate? Fuck you if you're proud of any of this.
I’ve never thought about the country when lighting off fireworks. It is just the time of year to do it.
All of the points OP put down to not light off fireworks I completely agree with. Maybe “apes” is the correct description because that boom boom sparkle really fires off the seratonin in me.
So you're a mindless sheep with lack of critical thinking skills?
i lIgHt fIrEwOrKs oN DaY BeCaUsE OtHeR PeOpLe lIgHt fIrEwOrKs oN DaY
You're a very charming person with rational, valid takes all over this thread.
That’s a bit harsh. I already admitted to being a fireworks gooner in the original comment.
Once we actually get rid of slavery and stop lynching black people I'll set off a firework or two
As I was reading this I thought it was going to be about Gaza.
If you take into account how much it freaks out animals to the point of heart attacks it might as wel be to them.
We used to hide in the basement with our pup and watch a movie. She could still hear the fireworks, but it seemed to take the edge off.
Current pup has gone deaf in his old age. Before then, he'd growl and bark at both thunder and fireworks. Now he just sleeps through it.
have a hound that couldn't give two fucks about the cacophony. also have a staffie that will try to dig through the linoleum in the basement trying to get away from the cacophony. fucking bullshit rah rah patriotism, and some poor kid is gonna get third degree burns or lose most of a hand, whoopee 'merika
Fireworks are generally not allowed near airports, so getting a room at an airport hotel might be a good way to g give you and your pup some peace and quiet. Just a tip.
haha I live miles from Boeing field and SeaTac. Nope.
Fireworks apparently cancelled at SeaTac?
https://jetmagazine.co.uk/seatac-fourth-of-july-celebrations-canceled-what-happened/
I'm a lot less irritated by the pro displays because they happen on the holiday.
It's the endless boom of assholes setting off mortars that shake the windows for weeks before and weeks after.
My first dog was so chill that he didn't give a single fuck about fireworks or thunder. He'd sleep right through it. Even before he went deaf. I swear he was just a dude who got turned into a dog or something because nothing about the human world seemed to bother him.
Nothing to celebrate anymore.
It's like if a dog was a human.
I'm more down for burning in effigy
Had an apartment in a shady neighborhood for the first time in my life once. Did not appreciate the random "pop" noises that never really sounded like fireworks. Will never live that down.
Been there too.
Pretty much all of June and July was spent convincing myself that yeah, that was definitely just a firework. Or a whole string of fireworks in rapid succession...
isn't most of the world moving away from fireworks? too polluting.
Yup but here in the good ol US of A we are dumb as fuck and polluting our environment is our way of life.
it's so weird, coming to the US from Europe is line travelling 20 years to the past.
Huh, we arnt as behind as I thought.
yet, y'all racing backwards
On one hand, agreed. On the other hand, all of those Europeans are here for the world cup. I'm absolutely giddy to see their unbridled horror at this shit.
American who lives in Denmark now.
New years here (where anyone can buy mortars and set them off whenever and wherever) makes the 4th of July anywhere I've been in the US feel tame.
The rest of the year you won't see any fireworks at all. It's like the purge
German here. Same. How could you even tell it's the new year without everyone on your street setting off a dozen rockets plus various assorted low altitude fireworks each?
The Dutch won't bat an eye. Absolute warzone in every city and village over there on NYE. They light fires on street crossings and all the neighbors come out and throw their old furniture on there. The real OGs also do carbide explosions. Did I mention they light fires on street crossings and then all the neighbors come out and toss old furniture on there?
On one hand, a firework, on the other...
I don't have another because I accidentally blew it up because drinking and fireworks go hand in han— nevermind
This is better with a visual gag element but joke incoming:
How do you give a redneck a vasectomy? Light a cherry bomb, put it in an empty beer can, give it to them and tell them to count to ten.
Redneck holding the can in the left hand, starts counting on their right hand. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5....... puts beer can in between legs and continues on their left hand 6, 7, 8, 9, boom.
On the gripping hand, the point stands that fireworks were a mistake and should not be allowed.
I swear, I thought they were talking about internal combustion engines until the last line.
This but instead of playing video games they're standing outside his door blowing up bombs
and lighting up the neighborhood, during a fucking heat wave.... gee let's see how many fires we can start this year!
quit having your fun at the expense of your neighbors, prick.
You shouldn't assume this type of thing. Most of our neighborhood comes out to see our show; some even donate to it.
My actual opinion is that fireworks on the actual night of the 4th, especially ones designed for visual flair, are fair game, whereas launching sonic boom mortars at 3am is lame. It's just about respecting other people, like most larger exercises of freedom.
If your fun removes other people's rights to enjoy their life in their own home, your fun fucking sucks and so do you.
You are an unpleasant person and do not understand what I have already written. Blocked, and please reconsider yourself.
What kind of pussy replies to someone then blocks them?
I mean, the same person who loves fireworks and doesn't care about how other people around them feel, so the main character syndrome tracks.
You know what's unpleasant? setting off explosives to celebrate a country that's done the shit the USA has done in the last year.
rah rah america bullshit blam boom fucking garbage
We set them off to celebrate with our friends and family. America sucks but I am not letting that take away our joy.
BULLSHIT. your neighbors hate your garbage. I hate your garbage.
Some dumbfucks give you money for fireworks - that's not a plurality you dope.
yes, you might keep your bullshit to the 4th, but that's not representative of the majority who do it all hours for weeks on either side.
if you respected other people you'd go to a show and leave it to the pro's.
hope you don't blow up your face or hands.
Step back for a second. You're assuming a lot of things that you have no way to verify are true. You don't have any real idea what my neighbors think or how they behave-- surely less of an idea than I have. I also agree with you that people lighting them at 3am on some random day in late July is dumb. I appreciate your concern for my face and hands but I assure you I am very safe in dealing with them.
I'm curious what argument you have that supports going to professional shows, but not in running a consistent large show for the community ourselves? To give you some context, this is a 20+ year tradition involving several redundant fire protection systems, fused + remotely detonated fireworks, and special effects. The only actual difference is the scale (obviously a town can afford more fireworks) and that we aren't technically professionals.
do you have the consent of the entire community?
no you don't. don't even lie.
you do it because you want to, and fuck all the people it effects that aren't you.
You've made your incorrect thoughts about my motivations clear already. You also avoided answering my question. What is the difference? Are professional shows not similarly violating the consent of some community members?
I ignore pointless questions because - haha - I'm not here to answer your fucking queries.
you're the one trying to justify setting off explosives 'because everyone loves it and gives you money blah blah'.
Professional shows end at the appointed time and usually no one gets maimed.
The only thing wrong with hurting other people for your own enjoyment is when they complain about it
I've had a car roof dented from a chunk of concrete from a firework. Not a fan.
If they are tossing around concrete and denting cars, then the proper term isn't fireworks, it's demolitions.
"Concrete" may not be the exact term. After looking it up, it's a clay plug from a mortar.
There is a family several miles away that loves to blow up shit at random times periodically. The police know who they are. Most of the town knows who they are. The police do nothing, and it just goes on.
I just want some bottle rockets, maybe a couple of small crackers, couple of fountains and some blacksnakes.
The big stuff isn't all that amazing if you're not right under it. Watching a show from a mile away is FAR less than then screwing around with a handfull of fairly safe rockets in your backyard
Bottle rockets, firecrackers, fountains, snakes, rad as hell. Love em. Mortar shells that release a concussive blast that makes the dishes in my cabinet rattle? I wish harm
Snakes? Wouldn't the rockets and fire crackers stress them out? Ive never heard involving snakes in a celebration, except maybe in some religious ceremonies from some niche christian groups, but even there I think they use venomous ones.
(Not sure if sarcasm or ernest) Blacksnakes are a small pellet that grows into a long tube when set of fire.
Oh, I think ive heard of like chemistry demonstrations that do a trick like that but ive never heard of it as like a fireworks thing. I've seen enough people refer to black ratsnakes as just "black snake" that that was where my brain immediately jumped for some reason, like someone taking their pet snakes out to a homemade fireworks show for some reason, which would seem inadvisable.
Black snake firework
Yeah, those are cool, and they aren't noisy or explosive. I am annoyed that the snakes on the box are green, though.
Glad you cleared that up, I was pretty sure you were just being funny :)
Celebrate the fourth by blowing up a piece of it with fireworks
Y'all are why the right thinks the left is full of whining pussies.
Why should I care what they think?
These idiots keep me up all night, but at least I'm super tired when I get called in to check out what's left of their hands or face. Great situation all around, so fun, every single year.
If caution, awareness, and altruism makes me a whining pussy, then I boldly accept it as my moniker.
Hey guys, caring about how other people feel about traumatic experiences makes you a pussy.
Call me a pussy then.
No, they think that because they're morons
Two things can be true
meanwhile the right has a lock on stumpy claw hands, emergency room visits and hearing damage.
oof, those silly libs afraid to live a little
I really want more drone light shows instead.
I generally like them, except those really loud ones that barely look like anything. After I got my dog who is terrified of them I'd happily never seen fireworks again.
Take it up with Guy Fawkes then.
What if it was in the rainy season instead
I love how often they're being replaced by drone shows! If they fail, all the do is drop to the ground, not explode peoples hands off. I was at a fireworks show where the tube stand holding some fireworks fell flat and launched fireworks at the crowd, luckily they were on water, on a barge far enough away and it dropped downwards enough to just go into the water. I was in the trajectory with two small kids. I don't think I've been to another show since then.
As a professional, that's wild.
We are seeing a lot of drone shows. But nothing truly replaces the experience of fireworks.
When we set up, we anticipate an issue where a shell detonates in the mortar. The more experienced among us know how to lay out the hundreds of mortars so if the support fails the tubes fall and point to the side and not toward the audience.
But where I am, I carry a license to run these shows. Some states don't have license requirements. I have a lot of permitting and meetings with AHJs to ensure we're safe and prepared.
I'm in Australia. Maybe that's what it was, maybe that trajectory was a planned failure route? It did just go into the water. Watching fireworks hit water and not go out, was very sobering.
There's some really good fireworks to celebrate America's 250th anniversary and the improvements Trump has made to society
I truly hate fireworks so I agree passionately
I've had yokels launching aerial fireworks that were extremely loud and bright within city limits when it is expressly against city ordinance to do so for 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after the 4th of July. My windows shook over and over until 3 a.m. I had to work at 7 a.m. the next morning. My cat hid in the downstairs shower because it was the quietest place in the house every night. People who do this have ZERO regard for others. I expect the night of 4th of July to sound like the war of 1812. Not every night for two weeks leading up and 4 weeks after every night past midnight. Have some respect for your neighbors by stopping by 11 p.m. or Midnight the rest of the nights. Nobody wants to hear fireworks after midnight except you.
very polarizing it seems... how much damage do fireworks do?
Depending on how much you value a life, somewhere between "not much" and "way too much." 15 people died last year and there were a bit under 15,000 injuries
yeah idk. i like trains and they killed 286 people last year
https://oli.org/track-statistics/collisions-casualties-year
idk if I like fireworks even 1/20th as much as trains
Trains actually do stuff though
Both things do as advertised
My neighbor sets of fireworks all summer. But they really go nuts on the 4th.
Not once have I felt "terrorized".
Cam we stop with the over dramatization of everything. And don't give me 'well some people might have PTSD from being deployed'. My brother in law is one of those. You don't need to white knight for them, or wrapping their experiences for you agenda. They know the 4th is coming, they know what to expect.
Had a shooting in my neighborhood a few months back. Multiple neighbors reported it, but the police dragged their feet to investigate because it was being written off as "just someone playing with fireworks again". Family annihilation. Really grizzly depressing stuff.
Anyway, you still see folks popping off in the group chat every time we hear a loud bang, because everyone's trying to figure out if it's fireworks or more gunshots.
On the flip side...
We've been able to do these for nearly a decade. They're less expensive. They're more artistic. They don't have all that ugly smog the next day. And you don't need to terrorize every dog in the neighborhood to put them on.
I don't make a big deal about them them on the 4th on for New Year's. They can be fun and people love the experience.
But they also terrify my dogs, so the other 363 days of the year I'll call the cops.
Why does no one ever consider the people who don't mind it? I mean shit, some people like blowing up fireworks 365 days a year, so I guess it's always fine!
Gonna set up a shooting range in my front yard, and if anyone complains I'll just direct them towards the comments in this thread
Hey everyone, shut the thread down. This one individual doesn't feel bothered or affected by fireworks. Therefore if you have PTSD, severe anxiety, or your pets panic over loud sudden noises, it's perfectly okay because this one person's anecdotal experience overrides everything you feel.
Their opinion is not overriding your own or anyone else's. They dont mind the fireworks and you do, why make it out like they're trying to silence you?
They said can we stop over dramatizing it, which is minimizing other peoples experience of being startled, scared, or in cases of ptsd actually terrified. It's like if I said "I was in a car crash and was fine, can we stop the dramatization of car crashes?"
This is actually happening in my community and we're trying to get the guy to leave. He's a part of a PMC and they are doing drills and testing. The howitzer is very loud and disruptive. I could probably find the New York Times article on if if people are interested
My neighborhood starts early, as early as those stands pop up, and somehow they continue for months.
They also import illegal ones, although not at much this year. Local city governments have been cracking down. Last year, I heard heavy duty fireworks as early as mothers day.
No you don't understand...
It's a celebration!
For what? Well uhh, nothing much in the past decade (we even lost a few wars)...
but the country became independent 250 years ago so we do this every single year.
Wait till you learn about birthdays, even if people have shitty years the undeserving bastards still celebrate them.
Well, I'd say lots of miserable people likely wouldn't choose to have even candles and singing. At least my last birthday was less of a party and more just an excuse to have ice cream and frozen cake.
Just doing his part for the environment.
The one thing that it's ok to blame China for.
I know you think your heart is in the right place but can we please have at least one nice thing? One fun thing? Feel at least one nice thing about where we live? Just one thing that we don't get guilt tripped over, when bigger, worse things are happening by bigger, worse people? Do you have to try to ruin something to make yourself feel better, more lefty, more woke? Or do you have to ruin things for other people because you personally don't like it?
If your "one nice thing" is setting off explosives outside my house strong enough to rattle the fuckin dishes in my cabinet, then no, you can't have one nice thing. There are so many fireworks out there that don't ruin your neighbors' evenings. Get fountains and sparklers and bottle rockets. Your fun should not come at someone else's expense
All fun comes at someone's expense. Sparklers and fountains are made in factories, probably sweat shops, then sold by underpaid people while other folks benefit. No ethical consumption under capitalism after all.
I can, like you, make anything you enjoy shit.
This is called the nirvana fallacy. Yes you can go forever and you should reduce your consumption as much as possible. That doesn't mean I have to buy the specifically really loud animal-terrifying cabinet shaking wake people up who have work tomorrow variety of fireworks, and that doesn't give my neighbor carte-blanche to do whatever they want no matter how much it bothers me. It's possible to do better without doing perfect.
At what point is consumption fine to do? If we're to reduce the consumption and harm, what level is it acceptable to have some consumption and harm for what we want out of life?
Weirdly enough, I think the things you enjoy you'll find are acceptable to compromise over and the things you don't like are unacceptable. You have a bias as well.
So when the tone of this post, others comments and your comments leave no room for compromise, and people start whipping out the straw men and exaggerations, you'll have to excuse me if I don't take your "we can do better without doing perfect" as something said in good faith.
The line is arbitrary but "have things that sound like explosions for 2 weeks that might happen at any point for 24 hours a day that causes massive stress to animals and some people" should be crossing that line. Same for the animal industry and supporting AI when the data centers are causing huge issues.
I think almost anyone would agree if there was a set firework show, that lasted 30 minutes to an hour, and no other explosive fireworks outside the show (sparklers etc are totally fine), you would have 1/100th the people complaining. I am not personally massively affected by fireworks but I don't think that's an unfair compromise at all.
Weird that the anti fireworks people don't advocate for that then
Good point. I've always wanted to build a shooting range in my own front yard, and you've convinced me to finally set it up. If my neighbors complain, I'll just explain that there's no ethical consumption under capitalism and that all fun comes at someone else's expense
Maybe you can put up a scarecrow in the range, too, since you like straw men so much.
When your one nice and fun thing directly removes someone else's nice and fun things, your nice and fun thing sucks.
Your enjoyment of things cannot exist by removing other people's happiness. Fireworks trigger severe PTSD, cause pets a lot of anxiety, and can literally kill them.
If your fun activity is killing dogs and sending humans into a massive panic attack, your fun thing kind of fucking sucks ass and you should stop doing it.
Every single thing you enjoy is harmful. Every joy you have can have some level of guilt associated with it. Fireworks aren't an exception, you just don't like them so you justify that dislike by pointing out the harm, and ignore the harm you do every day with the things you, personally, enjoy.
Me reading on my deck, or playing video games in my office doesn't cause someone else to have a massive panic attack or traumatic PTSD episode you wanker.
Way to ignore the problems with deforestation, exploitation, animal deaths, slavery and human death you're totally fine with that's related to those things. Just because it's not in front of you doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I'm sure the child slaves who mine for rare earth minerals have PTSD episodes, but because it's far away and brown people, and you happen to like video games, suddenly they aren't problematic?
Oh yeah, it isn't because it isn't inconvenient to you, personally.
You certainly seem working to compromise when it's something you like, but are weirdly hard line when it's something you don't.
I live on a farm. I raise livestock. I literally own land with woodland on them I use for heat, production, and regrow everything I cut down that isn't naturally felled by hurricanes. My work and my land contributes to society.
What have you done?
If you could for one second stop talking out of your ass, you might make a respectable point. But I'm sure it's real easy to act how you act from the middle of an apartment downtown in a city.
Whipping out your privilege of owning a lot of land doesn't suddenly make those kids not dying in mines for your electronics and trees not getting cut down for your books.
So nice try but that's got nothing to do with this conversation, and owning a farm doesn't make you right all the time, nor a better person.
I kinda doubt you're on a farm, honestly, if you have that much of an opinion about fireworks. You don't have them blasting off from your neighbors right next to your house till 3am like people in the city do.
Why do you think I moved to a farm?
Just because you don't give a rats ass about other people because them being miserable or having medical episodes obviously comes second to you having your "fun" setting off explosives in populated areas.
You're just an asshole.
The tearful narcissist "Why won't you let me hurt you because I like it?? YOU'RE BEING AN ASSHOLE."
You're not enjoying this? Well I am so fuck you.
I love speeding down the highway. That pedestrian I hit ruined my fun.
An extremely American holiday
Name anything enjoyable that isn't harmful in any way shape or form.
Fuck off with your chud logic, Ben Shapiro
Sorry, I didn't like that comment, so I should be able to dictate what you say. You know, because the person who doesn't like something gets to control everyone else.
Coherent thought, bro 👍
Hey, don't blame me for your lack of reading skills.
I hate it, but I do enjoy the resulting exploding hands videos
Every cloud has a silver lining
"I hate when people have fun but I love when they get seriously injured trying to have fun" - Psychos
You have fun with explosives, you know you can blow your hand off, and you still blow your hand off.
That's funny, you are a Debbie Downer
Why would you feel terrorized in your house?
PTSD is a thing
Oh noooo, you don't like fireworks? Maybe fuck off somewhere else for that one day then? It's not like it comes unexpectedly. For fuck sakes, they even made it a holiday so you CAN go somewhere if you choose to. Don't want to go somewhere? Get some fucking headphones then.
People have fun setting off fireworks, it's part of a celebration. You might as well be complaining about kids playing in front of your house. Maybe recognize that part of living in society is that it's not always about you?
Lol "That one day". They've been going off nightly for at least three weeks now and it's only going to get worse after the 4th.
Why don't you fuck off and set off your bombs in an unpopulated area? You're the one shelling my house, you fuck off
I don't know, maybe because we live in a society that has chosen to have a couple days of celebration where it's 100% ok to do so? Rather than the entire population having to go somewhere else so that your precious little ears don't hear fireworks, maybe you could just stop being such a whiney bitch about it?
Maybe you could stop shelling my house
Ah yea, because loud noises are the exact same as actually blowing up your house. Quit being such a fucking baby.
I don’t like fireworks because the mortars used to launch them sound identical to the mortars lobbed at me with the intent to kill me while overseas. Plus, it freaks out my dog
I had them go off 9 30 pm last night for no reason. Not too crazy but close to our house and the baby was already sleeping.
Yeah that's the whole point of not wanting fireworks going off constantly and at wild times close to where you're living. Like, recognizing they can be traumatic to soldiers with PTSD, disruptive to wildlife and pets (my dog, rip, hated them he used to get inside the couch on July 4th basically all day), and just overall a noise pollution nuisance is the whole "living in a society" thing.
Now, having said that, I fucking love me some good fireworks, blowing shit up and doing all that jazz but I don't really do it much anymore because I live in suburbia.
It's just that I value the other stuff I said above more than my own giddiness derived from lighting my money on fire in fun ways. I don't mind so much when it's one day a couple hours, hell I'll blow off some stuff myself, but that's not really what this post is complaining about.
I got temporarily banned from Reddit for saying that people who blow their own limbs off with fireworks had it coming, so here I'll post my actual opinion: if you set off explosives in the middle of my neighborhood, I hope those explosives take both of your hands so you can never set off fireworks again.
You wish grievous, life-altering injury on people who… irritate you once a year? Girlypop you got some issues to sort out
Were im from, its a month long event. And then a week for new years, and then throughout the year just for the hell of it.
I’ve already been hearing them go off all month long in my neighborhood. Still another month to go.
And during the day when kids launch them at passing cars.
Of course not. I wish they wouldn't detonate bombs in the first place.
stupidity based injuries are consequences. the fuck did they expect?
got banned for something similar.
funny how advocating safety and common sense is a bad thing on Reddit.