Illegal Fireworks Shows (Rant)

[Sparx]

I live in an apartment complex and in our lease it states that fireworks are a violation of the terms. Yet, people still set them off and violate their lease in doing so.

I hate, really really hate amateur fireworks.

 

[Sparx]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/04/new.york.fireworks.arm.loss/

This happened to a freshman when I was a senior in high school. They had some kind of fireworks balanced on a fence post and it fell off. He ran up to replace it before it exploded and I guess he wasn't fast enough. He lost his right hand. He was 13 at the time.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/04/new.york.fireworks.arm.loss/

They were not firecrackers so the title is misleading. It should have been "Man blows arm off with fireworks."

 

[clarabelle]

Nice! Do you always go around wishing harm on people who like sparkly lights and colors? Its one thing not to like them, its another to hope someone gets harmed. What's next: "she posted something I didn't like on the Dis, I hope her fingers fall off?"

I think a lot of you are being whiny mcwhinersons. I definitely see the point of the poster that lost the solar cover and for people who are worried about the dangers of off-the-ground fireworks, but those who are all hyped up about their dogs being upset? That is absurd, expecting people to tiptoe around your dog's nervous sensibilities.

Our neighbor went ape on some kids down the street last 4th over their fireworks. They were setting off fire crackers and fountains, all legal. She was screaming about her dog getting upset and I was thinking really? you expect people to stop what they are doing because of your snowflake dog's feelings? Seriously? Anyway, now she's know as crazy neighbor.

I think there are snowflakes on both sides of the fence here.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

This happened to a freshman when I was a senior in high school. They had some kind of fireworks balanced on a fence post and it fell off. He ran up to replace it before it exploded and I guess he wasn't fast enough. He lost his right hand. He was 13 at the time.

That is awful.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Nice! Do you always go around wishing harm on people who like sparkly lights and colors? Its one thing not to like them, its another to hope someone gets harmed. What's next: "she posted something I didn't like on the Dis, I hope her fingers fall off?"

I think a lot of you are being whiny mcwhinersons. I definitely see the point of the poster that lost the solar cover and for people who are worried about the dangers of off-the-ground fireworks, but those who are all hyped up about their dogs being upset? That is absurd, expecting people to tiptoe around your dog's nervous sensibilities.

Our neighbor went ape on some kids down the street last 4th over their fireworks. They were setting off fire crackers and fountains, all legal. She was screaming about her dog getting upset and I was thinking really? you expect people to stop what they are doing because of your snowflake dog's feelings? Seriously? Anyway, now she's know as crazy neighbor.

Actually, by 1:00 last night I was wishing harm on the people next door who were setting off the starbursts that go 100's of feet in the air with a loud *BOOM*(VERY ILLEGAL here in Michigan). At least if they injured themselves while committing the illegal activity, then the noise would stop and the neighborhood finally could get some sleep.

They were shooting off those starbursts fairly frequently until midnight, then started spacing them out every 1/2 an hour or so. After being awoken several times, I finally called the station at 2:30am and asked them to please patrol our neighborhood for the next hour or so.

Look...I know these kinds of fireworks are illegal here, and I know many people shoot them off anyway. The fire hazard bothers me, the noise bothers me, but I typically keep my mouth shut because I also know the PD is very busy during these weeks.

However, when the people doing the illegal activity lose all consideration for anyone in the immediate vicinity and they impact the public's lives to the point where ALL normal daily activity in hindered for the public, then it's time for those people to either be fined, go to jail....

...or lose a freakin' limb.

 

[aprilgail2]

They were not firecrackers so the title is misleading. It should have been "Man blows arm off with fireworks."

It was with a mortar - he's a friend of mine.

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

I was going to post on this thread yesterday that I didn't see the big deal...but now that I couldn't sleep until 2:00 am b/c firecrackers were STILL going off (yes...2:00 am). I, in my hard to sleep pg state anyway, was wishing bodily harm. No not really...but I was very annoyed, and hoping my 3 yr old wouldn't wake (thank goodness he didn't).

If you want to be an idiot and light them illegally, I can deal with it if it is before 10pm. After that, I do hope the police come and confiscate your fireworks .

Oh...and they are illegal in my county...even sparklers.

 

[disneyfans95]

Man dies fishing in a boat
Man dies driving a car
Man dies crossing the street

It is one day a year. Let people have fun. If they blow themselves up because they are being stupid about how to handle them, it is just thinning the gene pool.

 

[Carly_Roach]

It is one day a year. Let people have fun. If they blow themselves up because they are being stupid about how to handle them, it is just thinning the gene pool.

Umm....no, it's not just one day a year. It's two weeks (or more) before the 4th of July and at least two weeks after. By midnight last night it stopped being about patriotism (if it was EVER about that) and the truth became obvious to all: It's guys (I rarely see girls behave this way) who like to blow crap up and didn't really give a rat's bottom as to who they were impacting while they did it.

People's "right to have fun" ends where my right to a peaceful evening begins and their "right to have fun" sure as heck ends when their pyrotechnic "fun" endangers my house. Even NYE parties know to keep it quiet after the midnight hour has struck and police will come shut down the party that is still blasting it's music and disturbing the neighbors at 1:00 on January 1.

What really burns me, and probably others, is the total lack of consideration on the part of those who are "having fun".

I wonder why it is that target practice in the backyard with a handgun at 1:00 in the morning is denounced as illegal, immoral and a symptom of a bad neighbor, but target practice with a shooting firework that could burn down your house is forgiven and written off as allowing your neighbors to "have fun"?

 

[plutotek]

Man dies fishing in a boat
Man dies driving a car
Man dies crossing the street

It is one day a year. Let people have fun. If they blow themselves up because they are being stupid about how to handle them, it is just thinning the gene pool.

Unfortunately, it's NOT one day a year, as people have decided they need 1-2 weeks to set off the stupid things. However, I do agree that there is a certain Darwinian culling of the herd that goes on.

 

[disneyfans95]

I wonder why it is that target practice in the backyard with a handgun at 1:00 in the morning is denounced as illegal, immoral and a symptom of a bad neighbor, but target practice with a shooting firework that could burn down your house is forgiven and written off as allowing your neighbors to "have fun"?

Because that is how it works. I am not being mean, but that is the reality of it. It is not 2 weeks, it is a day or two. Clearly if it was unsafe as shooting a gun off, it would be a top priority of the cops and local law to stop. Instead it is treated like a nusance call.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Because that is how it works. I am not being mean, but that is the reality of it. It is not 2 weeks, it is a day or two. Clearly if it was unsafe as shooting a gun off, it would be a top priority of the cops and local law to stop. Instead it is treated like a nusance call.

Firing a gun: every single time you pull the trigger, the bullet will come out and hopefully hit the target you're aiming at. Fireworks: the margin for error goes up 50% or more.

You don't know when you light the fuse of that pyrotechnic that it will actually perform the way it's supposed to perform. Fireworks can go off in the tube (as some unfortunate Darwin candidates have discovered), in the air, or blow up on their way down. There is absolutely no quality control during the manufacturing of the majority of these fireworks.

As for why fireworks calls are treated like niusance calls, if 150 people in a neighborhood routinely shot off guns at the same time every single year for years on ends, shooting off guns would be considered niusance calls, too.

My solution to this whole predicament would be to outlaw the SALE of fireworks to our citizenry since they have proven that they cannot handle the responsibility of pyrotechnics; similar to how we handle stores that sell liquor to people who haven't reached the age of 21. Any operation that tries to sell fireworks to anyone who is not part of a permitted, professional show should be shut down, arrested and made to pay a fine, go to jail, or both. That would make the jokers who are stupid enough to be shooting off pyrotechnics at 2:00 in the morning easier to catch, confiscate and prosecute.

But that's just me. And I'm probably being way harsh because I'm a little crabby this morning. You see, I kept getting woken up every 30 minutes last night because of idiots and their fireworks.

 

[ZeitgeistDuck]

I live in MI where off-the-ground fireworks are illegal, but tolerated by the police. Our town has a noise ordinance that goes into effect at 11pm so that people can't mow lawns, run power saws, etc., after 11. Fireworks fit in that category.

In my life I've never head fireworks going off till 2am or every night for two weeks.

Sheesh. Quit whining and call the cops once it violates your noise ordinance.

 

[Colleen27]

I live in MI where off-the-ground fireworks are illegal, but tolerated by the police. Our town has a noise ordinance that goes into effect at 11pm so that people can't mow lawns, run power saws, etc., after 11. Fireworks fit in that category.

In my life I've never head fireworks going off till 2am or every night for two weeks.

Same here. We had people setting off fireworks in our neighborhood on Friday night, including the neighbor who puts on a show for all the kids. Not last night, but that's probably because the big show in our area was last night in the town just to the south of us and everyone was there. There may or may not be people setting them off tonight, because most folks around here don't have jobs that give them tomorrow off - that's why the neighbor had his BBQ and show on Friday, he has to be at work at 7am tomorrow. And that's the end of it. Two or three nights, usually wrapping up around 11ish, hardly something worth the outrage it seems to generate in some folks.

 

[sunnyday123]

Sweetie, I'm married to a cop and know all about how "tolerated" illegal fireworks actually are. If he'd have been home last night, the fireworks would have stopped by 11:00 because he'd have been out there saying something to neighbors. If the activity had continued, the fireworks would have been confiscated by the officer(s) on duty.

You strike me as probably male, in your late teens or perhaps early 20's, who likely was participating in the "fun" of illegal fireworks and is now trying to defend your view on how it's only once a year and everyone needs to chill out because you're going to do it anyway, the hell with the rest of us and you just don't want to hear us complain about it.

Welcome to adulthood, ZeitgeistDuck.

Unlike when you were growing up and everyone around you was trying to instill a 'healthy self-esteem' in everything you did, things have changed. Now when you do something selfish, inconsiderate and totally disrespectful of those around you, you're likely going to be hearing from the rest of the adults about how selfish, inconsiderate and totally disrespectful that act truly is.

Get used to it.

Carly Roach: 1 ZeitgeistDuck:0

 

[Colleen27]

Unlike when you were growing up and everyone around you was trying to instill a 'healthy self-esteem' in everything you did, things have changed. Now when you do something selfish, inconsiderate and totally disrespectful of those around you, you're likely going to be hearing from the rest of the adults about how selfish, inconsiderate and totally disrespectful that act truly is.

I think it is far more selfish, inconsiderate, and totally disrespectful to declare that because you don't like something, it should be illegal. We have far too much of that in our society already, thankyouverymuch.

 

[kinntj]

They don't bother me as long as they are done by midnight. Most of our neighbors are considerate enough to stop at that time. Most are done by 11:30. There were some last night and they will probably be some tonight.

We do sparklers, pop its and small legal fireworks. We are usually done by 10:30. Dh and I put the kids to bed and watch a movie.

We watched the big show at the mall last night.

 

[bballmom56]

I think it is far more selfish, inconsiderate, and totally disrespectful to declare that because you don't like something, it should be illegal.

No, it IS illegal where I live - I didn't propose or pass the law. And my neighbor sets them off many nights during the summer - Memorial Day, Father's Day, just because he feels like it, 4th of July, Labor Day and other nights in between. I have horses on my property LEGALLY. He is participating in an ILLEGAL activity. Why can I not voice my objection? As I said earlier, we have had issues before with him and don't choose to stir up trouble if it can be avoided. Therefore, I worry about the barn and the animals until he stops.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Actually, by 1:00 last night I was wishing harm on the people next door who were setting off the starbursts that go 100's of feet in the air with a loud *BOOM*(VERY ILLEGAL here in Michigan). At least if they injured themselves while committing the illegal activity, then the noise would stop and the neighborhood finally could get some sleep.

They were shooting off those starbursts fairly frequently until midnight, then started spacing them out every 1/2 an hour or so. After being awoken several times, I finally called the station at 2:30am and asked them to please patrol our neighborhood for the next hour or so.

I think as soon as the sun came up, about 5:30 - 6:00 am I'd be out mowing my lawn as close to the neighbors house as possible. But then I'm evil like that...