We shouldn’t be letting off fireworks while innocent families and their homes are being blown up

[Banfire]

“When the F-16s come, it is really scary and traumatic. You hear them and then the hiss of the missile and then the big blast, and then you can smell the gunpowder.
“The children are there, terrified, saying exactly this: ‘Let them just kill us for this to end.’

The quote above is an excerpt from an article in the Guardian this morning.

Is it just me or does it seem insensitive that on the 5th November, and for many days either side, we will be lighting up our sky for fun while innocent people, a large proportion of whom are children, are being blown up as if their lives meant nothing.

There are also people in this country who may find the sound and noise of fireworks traumatic. They may have been victims of war, have lost loved ones in this way or are currently fearing for the lives of their families and friends.

Fireworks aren’t fun for everyone.

If you do chose to let off fireworks for entertainment then when you watch them I hope you remember how privileged you are and the impact this might have on the people around you.

If it were my decision, it would be organised displays only, and on only a small number of designated days. Consideration for anyone with PTSD, some types of neurodiversity, and pets.

This is not relevant to UK celebrations though?

Have you previously been worried about UK soldiers who may have PTSD from time served overseas?

Fireworks should be banned for general public purchase. They should be quieter.

If we'd been actively at war and on the receiving end of bombings then local sentiment would likely change, as it did in Israel.

I imagine the people of Palestine and Israel don't give a fuck if Barry from Preston sets fire to his fence with a Catherine wheel this evening.

My husband has African/Palestinian heritage and I told him about this thread. He said it’s just another example of the privileged telling victims in some way how they should think and he personally finds that most offensive of all. I thought it was interesting.

As a pet owner, I absolutely detest fireworks and dread this time of year. I would be happy if they were totally banned.

However, trying to link them into some kind of virtue signalling about Gaza is ridiculous.

What utter drivel

Please tell me how boycotting firework displays helps Gaza in any way? I'd love to know.

I immediately thought that this was a pet owner!

Your virtue signalling game is strong OP.....

Fireworks are terrible: air pollution, noise pollution, waste of money.

You do know that Bonfire night is an historic celebration.

I'm not a fan of little scrotes setting off fireworks from the start of October and would happily ban private sale of them but banning displays as a show of solidarity for Gaza? Um, no. That's barking.

If you'd just said we shouldn't be letting off fireworks because of trauma to people and animals, littering the countryside, risk of fires etc I'd have agreed with you.

I loathe fireworks OP, and when I am in charge banning them will be on the list of the first 50 things I do. But your post is bat shit, and hugely insulting to the people who are actually living under thread of explosion.

Fireworks in GB are ridiculous but this is scraping for reasons to ban them. It diminishes people's empathy for a cause or the plight of suffering people when you try and relate it to things it doesn't resemble.

I don't think any of us can comment on this unless we've been somewhere that is being bombed and we have heard fireworks.
That said, I put YANBU because fireworks are just so pointless and cause so much distress to wildlife (and pets).

My Nan went through the Blitz. That never stopped her from enjoying fireworks.

Forewirks are fun, unlike this unnecessary virtue signalling.

Yes it's the Protestants reminding the Catholics that we produced the original terrorist around 500 years ago. It's literally a celebration of burning effigies of a terrorist (who was never burned in the first place, he was dismembered and decapitated). And it's only really celebrated to such a ridiculous extent in GB.

YABU.

If I squint a bit I can see how you might feel that way. Yes, fireworks can cause problems for those who are traumatised by their own experiences, and fireworks displays need to be organised safely and with sympathy to everyone's feelings.

However, it does not seem logical to say that we cannot morally enjoy the pretty lights from a firework because explosives (often completely different explosives, but they go 'pop' or 'bang') are also used in war, is it? It makes no more sense than saying that, out of sympathy for victims of dog attacks, we should have all our pets put down. Or out of respect for the victims of knife crime, we shouldn't cut up our food.

You're assuming we haven't though.

"If you do chose to let off fireworks for entertainment then when you watch them I hope you remember how privileged you are and the impact this might have on the people around you."

You really need to get that stick out of your arse before it does some serious damage!

Does it take up a lot of your time, polishing that halo and thinking up new ways of Puritan-ing as hard as you seem to?

I think you could direct this energy to something useful. Organise a protest. Organise a fundraiser. Write letters to your MP.

I think the OP is getting a bit of a hard time, although the thread is very silly and fireworks in the uk and wars in other countries are not related. I understand the feeling that it is very jarring to enjoy normal life with such a major conflict being reported in very graphic detail on the news and on social media, though.

This conflict feels slightly different in the information being shared (and I don’t know if that is just what I have been exposed to - I have palenstinian friends who have shared lots of news updates and content about the war - more so than they would have shared about Russia-Ukraine for example). I have seen videos of this war that will haunt me for a very very long time. It feels very hopeless.

6 million people have been killed in Congo in the last 20 years. Where is your outrage for them?

Nobody in Britain who sees a 5 November display will associate it with anything except the Gunpowder Plot and it has nothing to do with anything except the Gunpowder Plot.

Am I?
Didn't I just write the word 'unless'?
That clearly allows for those who have, but the reality is that many have never been in that situation, thankfully.