Random Thursday – Fireworks

So are these nightly fireworks just people celebrating (whatever) or a conspiracy?

As some people may have seen and heard (emphasis on heard), folks in NYC and other major cities throughout the U.S. have been shooting fireworks every night for the past few weeks. Often the fireworks start around 8 pm and go on until 2, 3, 4 am. I think I heard the last one go off around 4:12 am this morning. Quite frankly, this has been pissing me the hell off. 

The Gothamist reported, using data from NYC 311 (our hotline to complain about crap in the city), that the number of fireworks complaints significantly increased this year compared to others. 

With 6,000+ complaints so far, over 60 times more than the total number of complaints for the past five years, something definitely is going on in 2020. 

A few possible explanations about the increased number of fireworks. 

Ain’t sh*t to do theory

People have been quarantined for the past few months, and folks are just blowing off steam. Since clubs, bars, lounges, and other forms of public entertainment are defunct for the foreseeable future, shooting fireworks is an easy form of entertainment outside of the house. Can’t folks watch Netflix? You can drink, smoke, and carry on with friends while launching them. Since many 4th of July and other summer celebrations have been canceled due to this pandemic, firework retailers have been selling fireworks at dirt cheap prices. Some retailers even have buy one, get two (or three) free deals for certain large types of fireworks. 

Protest theory

The last few weeks have marked the rise of many protests and movements against police brutality and racism in the U.S. (as well as in other countries). I guess the fireworks are supposed to be another form of protest. 

Since many of these protests have called for initiatives to defund police departments, this is a way for local police departments to show citizens that they are in fact needed. I guess this could be considered a protesting the protesters theory? Kind of like the Blue Flu (a type of strike by law enforcement when a large number use sick leave at the same time). Social media outlets have shown fireworks going off right in front of police precincts with law enforcement pretty much doing nothing to stop it. In my neck of the woods, I know for a fact that some have been going off right in front of a firehouse and near a police precinct. Here’s a video of fireworks being set off right in front of a Brooklyn firehouse (link: ***)

Government Psychological Warfare

There have been some murmurings that the light and noise from the fireworks are being used to desensitize us to the future increase of police and/or military force. Basically, if we hear fireworks on a nightly (and early morning basis) over a month or two, we will not notice when the police (or other entities) start firing military-grade weapons. I’m not sure about this one for this case, but I do know that the U.S. military often uses this technique. However, there have been several nights where I was like are those fireworks or gunshots. Proponents of this theory feel that the nightly fireworks are way too elaborate (and numerous) for random folks to shoot them for sh*ts and giggles. A couple of folks on Twitter had mentioned there were unattended trucks containing firework randomly left in their neighborhoods. Kind of how drugs and guns were left on cargo trains that mysteriously broke down near poor neighborhoods during the early 80s. Unfortunately, these folks did not show any pictures of the firework containing trucks in the post, so who knows. 

Perhaps, there is a combination of these factors contributing to this massive increase in fireworks. I guess we’ll see what the next few weeks will bring. However, I really hope this crap ends soon because I would like a full night of sleep. Then again . . . Since I’m waking up earlier, I am starting work at 5 am, which means I finish the majority of my work by 1/2 pm. 

What do you think? The increase in the number of fireworks is a conspiracy or Nah?

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