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.

  • chunes@lemmy.world
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    1 hour ago

    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.

  • rumba@lemmy.zip
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    2 hours ago

    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

    • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
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      50 minutes ago

      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.

    • starman2112@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      2 hours ago

      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

  • Lenggo@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    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.

  • the16bitgamer@programming.dev
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    6 hours ago

    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.

      • the16bitgamer@programming.dev
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        4 hours ago

        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.

  • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    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?

    • lohky@lemmy.world
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      53 minutes ago

      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.

    • starman2112@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      2 hours ago

      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_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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        49 minutes ago

        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?

    • FancyLad @lemmy.world
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      1 hour ago

      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

  • FreddiesLantern@leminal.space
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    7 hours ago

    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.

    • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      “I hate when people have fun but I love when they get seriously injured trying to have fun” - Psychos

      • Absurdly Stupid @lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        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

  • アイス@lemmy.zip
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    19 hours ago

    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)

    • Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works
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      4 hours ago

      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.

    • Zarobi@aussie.zone
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      13 hours ago

      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.

      • starman2112@sh.itjust.worksOP
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        2 hours ago

        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

        • Zarobi@aussie.zone
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          10 hours ago

          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

          • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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            2 hours ago

            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.

      • InputZero@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        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.

    • blargh513@sh.itjust.works
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      16 hours ago

      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.

    • modus@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      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.

    • starman2112@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      17 hours ago

      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

        • djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          16 hours ago

          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.

      • hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works
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        17 hours ago

        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.

      • アイス@lemmy.zip
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        17 hours ago

        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.

  • WolfLink@sh.itjust.works
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    16 hours ago

    This sounds like a grumpy old man ranting about “kids these days” lol let people have their fun.

        • Waraugh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          2 hours ago

          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.

        • TheSporkBomber@lemmy.world
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          5 hours ago

          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.

        • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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          7 hours ago

          it’s the 4th of July weekend my dude.

          also, it was just Juneteenth

          and in the UK they have the 5th of November

      • WolfLink@sh.itjust.works
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        16 hours ago

        If you want that deeply to be away from people, go live deep in the woods for something.

        • starman2112@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          15 hours ago

          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

          • Crankley@lemmy.world
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            7 hours ago

            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.

            • Nalivai@lemmy.world
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              4 hours ago

              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_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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                2 hours ago

                I’m sorry, but are you trying to compare the sound of fireworks to getting punched in the face?

                • solarvector@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  1 hour ago

                  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.

          • WolfLink@sh.itjust.works
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            14 hours ago

            Living around other people involves them doing things you don’t want them to sometimes.

            • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              2 hours ago

              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)