Fireworks 🎆

[Guybrush]

The same amount of enjoyment can be had in less damaging ways, I think. It's a little vulgar.

I'm much more annoyed at the people who shoot their guns off in crowded residential neighborhoods which is very common here.

Oh yeah, I'd think so too. I've never seen or heard anyone fire a gun in celebration here.

If someone did, I'd probably think they could do with some time in jail.

[Jwb]

The same amount of enjoyment can be had in less damaging ways, I think. It's a little vulgar.

Like what?

Oh yeah, I'd think so too. I've never seen or heard anyone fire a gun in celebration here.

If someone did, I'd probably think they could do with some time in jail.

well technically shooting your gun in the city limits is a crime.  And I have known a couple people who actually got charges for that.  But you have to get caught.  And the chances of that happening are slim around here.  You have to keep in mind I live in the south. The whole country is not quite the same as here I doubt  - though I bet much of it is. But either way,  around here people love guns.  And they just shoot them off for fun randomly pretty often. 

At one point I lived in the actual country for about 6 months and Thanksgiving literally sounded like the fuckin opening scene from Saving Private Ryan. They have actual machine guns out there, fully auto. It's commonly thought to be illegal but I'm pretty sure in reality you just need a special license that's hard to get.

[jimmy jazz]

Around here people love guns.  And they just shoot them off for fun randomly pretty often. At one point I lived in the actual country for about 6 months and Thanksgiving literally sounded like the fuckin opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.

Good grief

What a country.

[Lisnaholic]

I agree that fireworks are not a huge issue either way, though I lean towards the Euro Safety State, with controlled displays, perhaps phased out by the intriguing idea of drone displays that someone mentioned.

How many people are killed or wounded per year with fireworks?

Funny you should ask that, Jwb ! according to google:

Fireworks were involved with an estimated 10,200 injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments during calendar year 2022 (95 percent confidence interval 7,800–12,500).Jun 17, 2023

Here's an idea of what 10 000 people looks like:

Coming soon: a photo of 10 000 emergency-department nurses patching up the unlucky kids who could've been better protected by their parents/society.

In Europe, population densities are extremely high, health services are usually stretched to the max, so why not ban something that (yes, in a minor way) makes things worse ? "I enjoyed it myself as a kid" is not to me a good answer. I enjoyed not wearing a seat belt, I enjoyed getting cigarettes from the corner shop, etc. but I'm ok seeing those pleasures sacrificed for a safer environment to grow up in.

[jimmy jazz]

I definitely remember in the early noughties a big push from the government and TV about firework safety and how dangerous they can be especially in the hands of kids. We had people coming into school and I remember it being drilled into us. Horror stories of kids burning their faces and hands off. It's common here for kids to get them and set them off all over the place, not just around November 5th and New Year but all through autumn and winter. We even did it once. I remember my friend lighting them in his hand and throwing them like grenades. I just thought you have no way of knowing which direction that's going to shoot off into.

Shit like this happens now:

And people setting them off from cars.

Get them restricted!

[jimmy jazz]

Also I'm not sure if the smoke thing was in response to me but to be clear I was referring more to the noise. It's not good for animals and people with PTSD and other conditions and we already have restrictions on noise with things like public gatherings and music events in residential areas so it's not as if we don't already have rules in place for that.

[Lisnaholic]

I definitely remember in the early noughties a big push from the government and TV about firework safety and how dangerous they can be especially in the hands of kids. We had people coming into school and I remember it being drilled into us. Horror stories of kids burning their faces and hands off.

^ Yes, I remember, not school visitors, but public-service TV announcements in the run-up to Nov 5th - usually squeezed in between the ads for fireworks. Perhaps those ads have disappeared now, due to "the nanny state" ?

That agressive use of fireworks in your video clip should be (and probably is) illegal. In fact, they could modify the rule that Timothy Leary suggested about the use of LSD: "I shall not alter the consciousness of another person without their consent." Something like that, anyway.