300 million lbs of fireworks and 2.7 billion dollars gone in a cloud of smoke.

  • rodbiren@midwest.social
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    6 months ago

    I can’t think of other art forms that blow off the hands of so many people, wake up my daughter in terror at 11PM, and make both dogs and veterans suffer for an extended period of time. I’m fine with the large group spectacle that is planned and controlled. What I can’t stand is the widespread uncontrollable nonsense of just anyone buying them and setting them off at any hour on the 4th. Law enforcement can do absolutely nothing about it. I’m just gonna have to deal with it. I’m just surprised we haven’t collectively shifted to something less harmful.

    • illi@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      Not just dogs or other pets, but also farm and wild animals. And it may not only lead to suffering, but also lead to their deaths.

      • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
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        6 months ago

        A local icecream place that also had goats and ducks was fucking setting them off right over the goat pen. They were sprinting from shelter to shelter inbetween explosions.

        I don’t plan on going back there now. It’s a shame because it’s one of the better shops nearby.

    • A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      That’s what I’m saying. One day we’ll look back in amazement that we let the public buy fireworks willy-nilly. Even the “it was good enough for me!” crowd of angry old-timers will have to go “Well, yeah, people blowed they hands off. And it bothered my vet’ren son and the neighbor’s dogs somethin fierce. They’re alright. It’s prolly fer the best.”

      Now, I fully admit later today I will be running around in a country field with my friends shooting bottle rockets at each other. But we won’t be bothering SOMEONE ELSE, and that’s my thing.

      • ramble81@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        Except fireworks has literally been a part of civilization for 1,000 plus years, so I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        As someone who generally is in favor of regulating dangerous things, fireworks are fine as-is. They’re basically limited to one night a year, the damage is not very extreme, and the people getting hurt are by and large the people choosing to endanger themselves.

    • Xantar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 months ago

      You make a good point. Which can also be made about any form of freedom as soon as it encroaches on someone else’s comfort.

      Ignoring the obvious nuance, a loud concert or a horror movie are also not something law enforcement will do anything against but it could terrorize people as well.

      • Odigo2020@lemmy.zip
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        6 months ago

        If a loud concert or horror movie popped up next door and rattled the houses of an entire neighborhood from 10pm to 2am, I’m pretty sure law enforcement would do something about it.

        • Mac@mander.xyz
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          6 months ago

          it would bother you that much even only being once a year? really?

          that’s wild

          • Odigo2020@lemmy.zip
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            6 months ago

            If only it were once a year. This year, people started on the 28th of fucking June, and didn’t stop until the goddamn 6th.

            If it actually was contained to the 4th, I would be fine with it, but getting woken up by an explosion every night at 1:30am for a week straight, it gets real old, real fast.

            • Mac@mander.xyz
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              6 months ago

              Ah. In my area it was like 3 days but I also don’t get woken up by them so i can’t really understand.