Okay, but can’t we factor out those people who do unbelievably stupid shit: [quote=“Skeptic, post:21, topic:80969, full:true”]
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I mean, I can’t even understand what that person was thinking.
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Anecdotally, this Fourth I personally witnessed the following:
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eight (8) gratifying, window-rattling explosions
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one (1) house gutted by fire
Ha, ha.
I wish it was one night. Hell, I wish it was confined to just the various holidays (New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year, 4th of July, 5th of May, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Arbor day…), but besides random fireworks (that are probably birthdays or other parties), it’s days before and after each holiday, and for the period around July 4th, it starts around 7-8pm (even before it’s dark, about the time when I’d normally have windows open to cool off the house) and goes until 1 or 2 in the am (not counting random daytime explosions). I’ve got a neighbor who’s a vet with PTSD and it’s a nightmare for him. My dog goes crazy, and everything I’ve tried doesn’t help (including drugs) - he’s clawing at doors, climbing furniture, pushing furniture around so he can hide behind it or under it, crawling into tight spaces (that he sometimes can’t escape) - not only can I not leave him alone during these times, I’m afraid he’ll hurt himself when I’m not looking/asleep.
Yeah, people nearby are setting them off more or less in front of the fire station (with its big “Fireworks are illegal!” sign, despite the fact that they could issue tickets.
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And yet the guy in the video I posted is doing essentially the same thing, holding a firework made to be firmly planted in the ground. These things are like guns, except they have cardboard barrels, can’t be stopped once they start firing and shoot explosive, incendiary ammunition.
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The first sentence:
“Devon Staples and his friends had been drinking…”
You don’t say?
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I get it - my neighborhood often goes overboard with illegal fireworks too. Our local police mostly tolerate it as long as it doesn’t get out of control.
You can’t get much more apple-pie American than fireworks on the 4th of July. It’s a tradition that has strong roots and celebrates the warmongering of our country’s 200+ year history. Like most, I grew up with fireworks (from sparklers to mortars) and taught my kids to also celebrate blowing things up as the ultimate expression of patriotism.
No doubt there are some who will always take these traditions one step too far. In these case, laws should be in place to protect people and property as much as possible.
Totally banning fireworks won’t work for many obvious reasons and there are many parallels to draw from here. I am a fan of the “why not both?” view but my main point is to illustrate the dichotomy of our elected leaders deciding to crack down on one (largely) innocuous* activity (fireworks) while completely ignoring others (guns) that are far more destructive and deadly.
*yes, I’m aware that I will totally get flamed over the use of the word ‘innocuous’.
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Usually, it’s been like that here with sporadic noise leading up to the fourth and then tapering off for days after. But this year (so far) it seemed rather quiet with just a couple booms the two nights before. It was rather uniform in our immediate area, with everyone lighting off between 7:30 and 10:30, followed by silence until some a-hole threw a loud one around 1:30 a.m. (yes, windows open). I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it pretty much ends tonight?
We don’t have any noisemakers going off during the other holidays. I think the cops have a bigger presence on New Year’s (drunk drivers), which seems to deter the fireworks.
I understand about your dog, though. We never vacation during this time because we’ve always been afraid that one of our cats or our dog would somehow get out and run. Now, we’re down to the one cat and as I said before, he seems to be doing a lot better. (He was incredibly nervous the first 10 years of his life.)
I’ve just remembered the Great Fireworks Battle of 1984. We were setting off bottle rockets and Roman candles in a neighborhood field where, in the daytime, kids would fly kites, practice sports etc. Those present for the fireworks were myself, some neighbor friends, and a kid that I didn’t know well and can’t remember, though he’s central to this story. (No adult supervision; I think the oldest among us was 15.)
After a little while of setting off our own fireworks, some bottle rockets came flying toward us. We immediately realized we were under fire! Someone, actually a group, may or may not have been “just fucking around” but they were deliberately shooting fireworks at us. We moved to the edge by some parked cars but the missiles followed us. One bottle rocket landed on the hood of a parked truck and exploded. Another landed underneath a car next to us. A longer-range rocket sailed over our heads, across the field and clear across the adjacent street. It hit someone’s front door at just the right spot, so it made the knocker flip up and come back down, “BAM.” (No one answered the door.)
Somehow, the bigger/older kids in our group convinced the kid I didn’t know, a smaller fellow, to take arms against our attackers. As the unknown soldier marched out, the aggressors converged upon him, only to find themselves confronted with a discharging Roman candle, which sent a fireball straight into a foe’s chest.
Time to run for it! As we made our escape across the field toward safety, I caught a glimpse of our Roman candle marksman - an aggressor had grabbed him from behind, held him around the chest and was spinning him around in a circle. Not sure what happened after that, as we were running like hell…
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We’ll never know what he was thinking but at least we know the last thing that went through his mind.
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They were giving me a big hug! The gang made me their leader and I’ve been trying to find you for 34 years to thank you for the roman candle.
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Leaving aside the the safety issues (for the users) and quality of life issues (for everyone else) created by the use of the types of fireworks that have always been illegal, even the “safe” fireworks that are now banned are creating huge problems with fires. So that alone seems like sufficient reason to ban them.
I guess I have a lot of asshole neighbors, basically. I can’t even think about sleeping, even with windows closed, until sometime after one am, because the noise is so continuous and loud to that point (though I get sporadically awoken after that). I’m pretty run down from lack of sleep at this point, which is probably why my fantasy of going out at night, tracking down the people setting off fireworks and bludgeoning them seems like a better and better idea.
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Sorry about your experiences; we used to live in a condo and the neighbors were unbelievably selfish and since we rented, we weren’t allowed to complain. I get really cranky when people have after parties, parties that last until the wee hours, or extremely loud bass from outdoor speakers. I generally call the cops after midnight or if our windows rattle. That being said, I can deal with people and fireworks once a year–give or take a few days.
I really hope things settle down in your neighborhood ASAP and you get some rest!
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