AIBU to keep our lights up despite neighbour complaining?

It Is unreasonable to put up lights as decorations. It’s light pollution and has an adverse effect on wildlife, especially insects.

You’ve misunderstood, The stupid prejudices would encompass attitudes to décor or garden design, for example.
Racism was dealt with in my early paragraphs, in which I think I’ve not trivialised it.

I think the unfolding of the racism involved in this brouhaha still doesn't make it ‘all systems go’ for the Blackpool Illuminations at home.
That’s still potentially an issue (other) neighbours may wish to see dealt with thoughtfully, and those antagonistic racist couple would be better answered with full legal heft, and exposure.
Their transgression shouldnt condemn the whole street/cul de sac to unwelcome bright light just to show them their racism cannot win.

They’ve been back and it went worse than expected. Some people really are nasty fucks.

They said before they talk about the lights, we need to start keeping our cat inside because it’s using their garden as a toilet. We don’t have a cat and told them that. We have never had a cat.

Next was that we need to not drive out of our driveway at night, but reverse due to the headlights. We are allowed to drive out in daytime. Obviously I said no and that they can’t control what we do.

Next it was unknown cars coming to our house when it’s dark. It needs to stop because they’re unable to sleep. The only ‘unknown’ cars that come here are our friends and family, mostly in the daytime. Obviously I said we can have who we like at our house at any time, day or night. We very rarely have any visitors coming and going late at night.

My husband joined us at this point. They have spoken to him before, in English. They heard him ask me if I was ok, in English, when he joined us. My husband is British, born here, but he isn’t white. They asked him if he spoke English. 🤔 He stayed polite and told them that his English was as good as theirs being as he had lived here his whole life.

They said the current lights need to be removed and we can’t have lights at Xmas. My husband asked what the issue was and they said the flashing. My husband said the current lights that are up do not flash and there is no flash option. The called him a liar. He invited them to come and look at them in the garage to prove it to them but they refused. My husband said that we will make sure the lights at Xmas (which are warm white for those asking) will be on the static setting. They said no, we need to not have them at all. My husband said we will have the lights on our house because it is our house. The man then called my husband a fucking <racial slur> and told him to ‘go home’. My husband said would you like the opportunity to apologise for your racist comments and they said no and walked off. This is all captured on camera.

Our son thinks we should go to the police but my husband said just leave it and unfortunately he has dealt with worse racism, which I know he has as I’ve been with him when he has received it. I’m really fucking angry. He’s quiet.

We have spoken to the couple next door as they text when they heard the neighbours shouting at us, to ask if we were ok. I’ve explained what has happened which was awkward as they are both British but from the same heritage as my husband. This couple have actually done a few jobs to help the racist couple out but said they won’t be doing that again. They are also going to tell the couple next to them about the racism as they are also non white although different heritage.

They are racist bastards and we won’t be talking to them again. So that’s us and at least 2, possibly 3 sets of neighbours who don’t like them because of their moaning and now racist comments.

I’ve asked my husband to please consider reporting this with the footage we have. Our children are also not white and I feel it’s important to show them that we will not accept this for them even if my husband can brush it aside.

We have joked that we’ll be having our lights on the fastest flashing setting we can find this Christmas. Our next door neighbours have said they’ll put lights up from now on. I don’t know if they will but it was nice of them to show their support.

They're serving the purpose of standing up to racists.

Sorry, are you calling racism “stupid prejudices” or have I misunderstood?! Wow.

Take them down - what possible purpose are they serving? Maybe put a few in your back garden if the compulsion to have lights is so strong (the solar ones) but my gripe is really about you deterring wildlife from roaming. We have light in the day so there’s no need to prolong it artificially in the night. External lights are unnecessary & thoughtless, imo.

Take them down - what possible purpose are they serving? Maybe put a few in your back garden if the compulsion to have lights is so strong (the solar ones) but my gripe is really about you deterring wildlife from roaming. We have light in the day so there’s no need to prolong it artificially in the night. External lights are unnecessary & thoughtless, imo.

If they are particularly bright, they would certainly trigger one for me. It is absolutely possible.

Surely you switch them off when you retire at night though. (Leaving them on overnight just to confuse foxes and mess around with birdlife is very poor behaviour)
Not the main point at this stage of course; I hope you whack those neighbours with the full force of any available anti-harassment legislation, and it’s good to know you've supportive neighbours.

All the same, light pollution is a scourge for human neighbours as well as for wildlife, so I’m sure you take all these things into consideration, no matter how far your legal right to displaying lights extends.

Out-of-season accoutrements of cultural festivals can upset people, who might feel the mid-Winter, Christmassy cheer of fairy lights adorning trees and houses loses all its particular joy when it’s spread across the whole year like aerosol cream.
Others might just be of the anti-showy sort, bristling against having these celebratory decorations forced on them for more than the generally agreed few weeks in December, feeling the atmosphere’s balance is tilted over into mild hysteria when it’s allowed out of its usual festive bounds.

Barring local statutes insisting on monochrome shop fronts or a ban on fake carriage lights on Georgian townhouses, etc, we’re all free to decorate our houses as we see fit.
I think our unstated contract with our neighbours still carries the hope that in practice, we will restrain our inner Zandra Rhodes/ Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen.

Conversely, we also understand that we will not insist on conformity when any extravagance in exterior appearance just happens to irritate us, based on stupid prejudices and bottled up frustration.
Unless we are physically or economically injured by the offending décor, we definitely ought to practice acceptance.

Why? because the neighbour is racist?

Do they flash? If so, you are being pretty unreasonable. If they give her a migraine it's pretty unkind to keep them up.

Do they really give her a migraine?? 🧐

I’ve got photophobia with migraines too. It seems like a made up fussy thing but it’s really. I can be sensitive for a whole week at a time. I genuinely think the flashing ones could be a problem. If they don’t flash then she hopefully can just look away if she gets close (though obviously I can’t imagine the set up). I guess it just depends how reasonable it all is or whether it’s insanely bright.

They’re a pair of racist bastards.

I'm lost here. What's this got to do with racism?? Is having a light racist?

Surely you switch them off when you retire at night though. (Leaving them on overnight just to confuse foxes and mess around with birdlife is very poor behaviour)
Not the main point at this stage of course; I hope you whack those neighbours with the full force of any available anti-harassment legislation, and it’s good to know you've supportive neighbours.

All the same, light pollution is a scourge for human neighbours as well as for wildlife, so I’m sure you take all these things into consideration, no matter how far your legal right to displaying lights extends.

Out-of-season accoutrements of cultural festivals can upset people, who might feel the mid-Winter, Christmassy cheer of fairy lights adorning trees and houses loses all its particular joy when it’s spread across the whole year like aerosol cream.
Others might just be of the anti-showy sort, bristling against having these celebratory decorations forced on them for more than the generally agreed few weeks in December, feeling the atmosphere’s balance is tilted over into mild hysteria when it’s allowed out of its usual festive bounds.

Barring local statutes insisting on monochrome shop fronts or a ban on fake carriage lights on Georgian townhouses, etc, we’re all free to decorate our houses as we see fit.
I think our unstated contract with our neighbours still carries the hope that in practice, we will restrain our inner Zandra Rhodes/ Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen.

Conversely, we also understand that we will not insist on conformity when any extravagance in exterior appearance just happens to irritate us, based on stupid prejudices and bottled up frustration.
Unless we are physically or economically injured by the offending décor, we definitely ought to practice acceptance.