AIBU to beg for no more balloon releases

[Newspeaker]

Why is it that at the times of the worst tragedy so many people still think it is OK to release dangerous litter into the sky? Surely in every group who plan these events there will be at least one person who understands the implications and can push for an alternative?
That's it really. Don't tell me people need to grieve - there are plenty of other ways to signal your grief, if you feel the need to do that. Does anyone want the memorial to their loved one be tainted by - just one real life example - a dead donkey foal with a balloon and the string in her gut? It seems particularly ironic that our young people can be so vocal about environmental issues, and yet they still flock to buy the balloons and take part in these releases.
It just breaks my heart to see this, knowing that the odds are some animals will suffer or die from our thoughtlessness, and yet again the land will be littered.

Any time someone posts about this they get accused of bad timing and insensitivity. Caring about our environment and feeling deep sadness for tragic losses aren't mutually exclusive. We have to find some time to speak up, because however much we do, it still happens.

I also do not understand with regard to the roadside tributes why people want to remember people at such a tragic time in their life ie at an accident site.

I don't get it either. The place where my Uncle died is the last place we would want to remember him. The cemetery, his home or his favourite place, yes but not where he was killed. Each to their own though. Just remove the plastic wrapping from the flowers please.

I think you miss the point, it is the plastic tat left around the flowers that wont biodegrade, not the flowers themselves. If flowers are left there without plastic or other tat then it would not be causing damage to the environment would it.

That's quite unpleasant. Do you generally struggle with empathy issues?

Pathetic. What a sad life you must have.

I hate balloon releases, i always blow bubbles instead

I think you (and others) are misunderstanding why people are given to do this. They’re not ‘remembering’ as such, it’s a public display of grief, a token to the rest of the world that someone important to them lost their life at this spot and they’re hurting. It’s not performative it’s an expression of that very deep grief when you can’t comprehend how on earth the world is carrying on as normal when your individual world has collapsed. It’s a cry of ‘something awful happened here and it mattered’.

That said, whilst I ‘get’ it I wouldn’t do it and think we’d all be better served by talking about not leaving behind non-biodegradable litter than scrutinising the behaviour itself.

It’s this odd fetishisation of Public Grief that has been growing over the last 20 years or so. “Look at me” no “look at me I’m sadder” “I’m so sad I’ve put a teddy the road” “I’m sadder I put a teddy and some flowers”. It’s some bizzare one-upmanship of grief.

I can’t remember it happening pre-Princess Diana.

Those 1000 people last night did not know the children, they were grief tourists… come to have a goggle .

What the actual fuck? When someone's lost their child in a car accident or something, you think it's a one upmanship of grief? People have put markers like this at crash sites for lost loved ones for years and years. What a callous horrible thing to say.

A lot of things we do is bad for wildlife and the environment. I’m just wondering why you would focus on the one thing people do when they are grieving?
I wouldn’t personally do a balloon release for the reasons you listed but between a grieving family releasing balloons and someone in an idling car / someone littering (especially in the wild/sea) / someone driving purely for convenience / … I won’t start by pointing fingers at the former.

People have put markers like this at crash sites for lost loved ones for years and years. What a callous horrible thing to say

centuries in fact. People still make a point to go to sites of poignant loss - graves of unknown soldiers, memorials, auschwitz etc. even when they have no real personal connection.

Grief and public displays of it aren’t new and a part of the human condition. The knowledge of how often it’s done is one of the consequences of the internet.

A lot of things we do is bad for wildlife and the environment. I’m just wondering why you would focus on the one thing people do when they are grieving?

It's perfectly possible to worry about all of those things. Plus as much as I despise littering in general. This is hundreds of pieces of litter being spread over a huge area at once and it's more likely to find its way onto farmland or woodland where animals are likely to ingest them.

It's OK to target one thing at a time. This time it's balloon releases.
Why? Because of the fact that people either don't understand the damage they do, and the suffering they cause to animals, or they choose to ignore it.

No. This is criticising people's actions, not their emotions.

Agreed. Talking about it is part of the education that enables a societal change in behaviour. Ideally we reach a point where people just don’t consider it as an option any more.

Must admit that it was my first thought when I saw the pictures.

Because it's incredibly dangerous to wildlife and livestock.
Because it's littering
Because it's a waste of a finite resource

Use bubbles. Petals in a stream if you're rural.
Plant a tree/shrub/flowers which are long lasting
Buy something which will directly benefit someone

What's wrong with asking people to think, or to stop being so thoughtless and selfish?

It's OK to target one thing at a time. This time it's balloon releases
Fair enough.
I hope I am wrong but when reading threads like this I often wonder if all the posters agreeing are blameless themselves. Easy to criticize grieving people for releasing ballons and then taking your car for the school run and waiting there idling because you ‘need’ the heating or radio on.
Hopefully I’m wrong (genuinely, not being sarcastic!)

Mine too although as soon as I saw there was going to be a gathering I knew that would happen

And that's after cars had been torched and rioting.

I hope I am wrong but when reading threads like this I often wonder if all the posters agreeing are blameless themselves. Easy to criticize grieving people for releasing ballons and then taking your car for the school run and waiting there idling because you ‘need’ the heating or radio on.

Don't be ridiculous. No one would ever be able to criticise or object to anything if they're required to be perfect before they're allowed to raise awareness about any issues.

Yes. Like the eco warriors that disrupt people's lives, and then a quick search on their Instagram / social media unveils their far flung and very expensive round the world trips.

The world is full of hypocrites.

Helium is a finite resource here on Earth and so should be used in essential ways i.e. to work in an MRI scanner not frittered away on transient 'baubles' that serve no purpose what so ever, beyond the maudlin. Helium is running out - what then? No MRI scanner for diagnosing disease.................

No, but thanks for asking. Do you struggle with seeing that your point of view is not the only one?

I thought the same as you, Op, and it seems 93 per cent of MN agrees.
Bloody things ought to be banned.
Donate a few pounds to a charity instead and do some good instead of wasting money and killing animals. But that doesn't make good footage for the TV or social media, does it?