Fireworks jerks?

Last Thursday was Canada Day, and Sunday (yesterday) was Fourth of July/Independence Day in the U.S.  Fireworks are a big part of the traditional celebrations in both countries -- but I've noticed more than a few people in my social media feeds and on blogs (Sue's "Unleashed in Oregon," for one) complaining about them, in recent years and over the past few days specifically.  

There are a lot of reasons why people might not appreciate fireworks. They can be highly traumatic for veterans and people who have lived in war zones (and there are lots of them in major urban areas like the one where I live).  They're also traumatic for pets and other animals. They can set off wildfires, especially in places where drought is a factor (and there are lots of those this year). 

This year, my country's Indigenous peoples/First Nations requested that Canada Day celebrations be cancelled or scaled back, out of respect for the very recent discovery of hundreds of unmarked children’s graves found near former residential schools (with many sure more to come), and the grief their communities were dealing with. (Would you like it if someone set off celebratory fireworks while you were mourning your dead child(ren)?)  Many official celebrations already were cancelled or scaled back because of the pandemic anyway (although there were several provinces that chose to lift some, most or all pandemic restrictions on July 1st).  

But judging by the steady barrage of fireworks set off in my neighbourhood alone over the weekend -- and reports of many others across the country -- not too many people seemed to have received the message. 

I loved fireworks when I was a kid -- but they only happened once or twice a year -- Victoria Day (May 24th) and (more commonly) Dominion Day/Canada Day (July 1st) -- and Fourth of July, if we happened to be at my grandmother's in Minnesota.  And there would be ONE community display, put on by the town or a local service organization, and everyone would come out to watch. Personal fireworks were mostly illegal, most places that I lived when I was growing up -- although I'm pretty sure that has gone by the wayside even in those places now. You could maybe buy some firecrackers and sparklers to light up in the back yard, and that was about it. 

These days (and especially in recent years), fireworks displays are EVERYWHERE.  They're easily purchased in the weeks leading up to the holiday from pop-up shops and trucks set up on street corners and in parking lots. We used to be able to see & hear fireworks from our suburban backyard when we had our house;  in the early years we lived there, the neighbours would take up a collection, buy some fireworks and set them off in the street. Dh used to fret about one landing on our roof & burning down the house.)  Here at our condo, we can see all kinds of fireworks from our windows and balcony -- some of them pretty spectacular -- and we sure can hear them. The barrage of noise went on steadily for hours on Thursday night. 

I still appreciate a good fireworks display these days, and I don't mind a little noise, for an hour or two after sunset, ON HOLIDAYS.  What I do mind is when the noise goes on ALL WEEKEND LONG, and for hours into the night -- and that's what's been happening more and more often lately. (Not to mention we've also been dealing with hours of honking car horns and cheering fans over the past few weeks every time Italy wins a game in the EuroCup soccer tournament...!)  Many people on social media said they thought this past holiday weekend, the noise was the worst they'd ever seen/heard.  I heard explosions going off well after midnight on Saturday night (when I was already in bed);  someone in my Facebook feed reported hearing fireworks going off at 2:30 a.m. last night/early this morning, when she had to get up for work.  People don't always stick to holiday weekends now either -- in recent summers, weekend fireworks have become a regular feature, even into the fall. I can remember asking dh on Labour Day last year when "back to school fireworks" became a thing...! 

I'm not sure why this is happening. I don't know whether people feel like they have to let off steam after being cooped up inside, not only during a long winter but a long year & a half of pandemic?  I've noticed that celebrations of all kinds just keep getting bigger and flashier these days -- more, more more.  Compare the simple kids' birthday parties my sister & I used to have and attend to today's extravaganzas.  Nowadays, you don't just go a wedding -- there's an engagement party, sometimes multiple bridal showers, a "Jack and Jill" or "Stag & Doe,"  multiple showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties (and not just parties but entire weekends, and not just weekends but "destination" weekends...!).  Come to think of it, I know fireworks get used at some weddings and gender reveals parties hereabouts.  

Personally, I think a lot of people have simply forgotten how to behave around others. I've heard so many reports of bad behaviour in so many different settings recently, not just related to fireworks displays.  Manners, common courtesy and common sense seem to have gone out the window.  The "I'm going to do what I want and if you don't like it, too bad" mindset certainly existed before the pandemic (and I think a certain U.S. president -- *cough* -- had a lot to do with modelling/encouraging this sort of behaviour recently), but the pandemic certainly hasn't helped. 

Late today, I heard that an errant firework was responsible, at least in part, for the death of the Columbus Blue Jackets (hockey team)'s 24-year-old goalie in a bizarre incident in a hot tub (!) in Novi, Michigan, last night. 

What do you think?