The fireworks tonight

[annabel85]

AIBU or are you probably just an anarchist or an arsehole to be setting off fireworks and firecrackers during a lockdown, when official displays are banned?

There's no excuse to be frightening animals either tonight. Don't be a dickhead.

Regarding PTSD, it’s not like a car backfiring in the street suddenly catching you unawares. It’s a given that you’re going to hear fireworks at this time of year and steps should be taken to mitigate it. I suffer from PTSD and wouldn’t expect a still legal activity to be curtailed just to suit me.

If it is fireworks in back gardens, I would argue that it is very much like a a car backfiring and catching you unawares. If there's an organised display starting at say 7pm and scheduled to last 20 minutes you know when to expect the bangs to start and end, and you expect bangs for that whole period of time. If it is private individuals letting them off you have no idea what time the first neighbour will start setting them off, no idea how many they will have, no idea how many others will set them off, no idea what time it will finish, and when there is a brief lull in the noise you don't know if that's the end or if there will be a massive bang in 30 seconds.

And if you replace ‘people who let off fireworks’ with ‘Hindus’ in some of the posts on here, it’s not great reading.

Hindus are inconsiderate arseholes who are lacking in any taste, consideration and class, apparently!

@Anxiousannie32 not many farmers fields in South London! Not everyone lives in the country.

Why are people ok with huge organised displays. Is it because they don’t have one of those near their house? Because the organised display near my house goes on for hours and actually makes my house shake because the fireworks are so huge, a few little garden ones aren’t a problem

I can cope with an organised display if I know it is run safely, and if its away from built up residential areas (so no danger of a firework setting fire to anyone's house, shed or garden) and if I know the set times it starts and stops. I do actually quite like the look of fireworks and have been to organised displays in the past. It is them being set off in gardens which are surrounded by closely packed houses, and the dangers which accompany that which terrify me and cause me to spend every evening when there are fireworks in a complete distressed panic.

Yes I'm being totally racist to my White Scottish neighbours.

No, I don't believe that it's racist to think that no one should use fireworks in their gardens. There are other ways to celebrate and organised displays can be arranged. I wouldn't suggest banning those.

Luckily the displays here only last twenty minutes or so. I do think that there should be a time limit.

and I don’t care about it because it’s one night a year
But it isn't one night a year where I live. It's been every night since the middle of last week where I live, and if past years are to go by will continue tonight and tomorrow and Sunday.

Why are people ok with huge organised displays
Because it’s scheduled for a certain time and date. It’s time limited and at an appropriate time of day. People know about it and can prepare in advance with medication or loud music etc. Fireworks are handled by a licensed professional and not used to throw at cars, blow off cats tails, post through letterboxes or attack emergency services workers.

Fireworks are a pretty integral part of Diwali
Great. So they can hire a licensed professional to put on a display, the same as everyone else.

We've all woken up here with painful, ringing ears, because our neighbour's fireworks were so powerful. So thank you very much for that to my idiot neighbours. Tossers doesn't begin to cover them.

And as a pet owner (cat, dog and hamsters) I agree with the poster that said if you get a pet knowing bonfire night exists, you're the problem

Would you also say people with PTSD are the problem? Or people like me who have phobias are the problem?

And as a pet owner (cat, dog and hamsters) I agree with the poster that said if you get a pet knowing bonfire night exists, you're the problem

This is the stupidest comment so far. Probably easier to ban fireworks than it is all animals.

So fireworks are an integral part of Diwali, fine. You could also argue they're an integral part of NYE. And of course the week long period of bonfire night. So suddenly it's not the '20 minutes once a year' people are suggesting.

I just hope if you let them off last night and disturbed your neighbours you won't ever have the cheek to complain about them disturbing you. There are plenty of ways to minimise disruption and still enjoy bonfire night (sparklers, silent fireworks) but people seem insistent on doing what they like regardless of the consequences for others.

people seem insistent on doing what they like regardless of the consequences for others.

Pet owners included.

@SoupDragon what does that even mean?

"We're doing ours on Saturday can't wait"

You're literally the reason we are complaining. You're a selfish twat and don't even have the decency to let off your shitty sparkly explosives on the night they're supposed to be let off. Twat.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-54837040

Two homes set on fire by stray fireworks, almost 1200 emergency calls, and fire crews attacked but it's all worth it if people get to see something go bang.

I’m a volunteer litter picker for the council. I hope everyone who let off fireworks has the decency to collect the spent casings today.

Neither my dog or my cat take any notice of fireworks.

Yes there are some idiots around. But there are some people who shouldn't have dogs either as they cant control them & don't pick up their poo ALL YEAR round. This can cause kids to go blind.

Idiots are idiots.
Not a reason to ban fun. Or pets. IMO.

Would a compromise maybe be that these fireworks were sold only on the week of the event, only allowed a certain noise level, only be allowed to be set off on the week of the event and only within certain timeframes? I know there will still be thoughtless dickheads that cause some issues but it might reduce the amount of idiotic behaviour

I don’t really mind them on the 5th but where I live they’ve been doing it for at least a week/10 days and my daughter is really scared of them, last night was the worst as they went on quite late and seemed to be all around us so she was sobbing and shaking in bed until she finally fell asleep but at least I expected it last night so knew I could just stay in bed with her until she fell asleep. It’s all the nights before and after that’s harder.

@Merinocool I am so sorry. It would be so much easier if they were limited to certsin dates etc. It would mean it's easier to prepare for the event

@lovepickledlimes I know it really would, it’s strange as well as she’s been to fireworks before and hasn’t been as scared as she has been this year. Not sure if it’s because she’s usually out at a display so is expecting it. Whereas this time she’s been in bed and it’s more sudden bangs, she got a real fright last weekend with some and it seems to have started a fear, so some nights she’s not wanted to go to bed incase a bang wakes her. I get that it’s a crap year though and people are just trying to do nice things for themselves and their families.

There are definitely compromises to be made - dates, times, volume - that would help lessen the nuisance of fireworks. Just as there are compromises that pet owners are expected to make about where their pets are welcome and how they have to behave. Obviously there will be a large certain percentage of people who will choose not to follow the rules because they're too important/ignorant/special for them to apply.

only be allowed to be set off on the week of the event and only within certain timeframes?
There’s already an 11pm curfew. Twats ignore it. Restrictions are pointless because some people will still just do whatever they want. Fireworks need to be completely unavailable to anyone who hasn’t got a licence.

Fireworks need to be completely unavailable to anyone who hasn’t got a licence.

I agree

The police in Sheffield were called out to far too many incidents last night of gangs of youths throwing fireworks at cars.