2y ago

Because PTSD isn’t a thing ?

96 comments

Pets and PTSD aside, I just get sick of hearing the goddamned things go off every 5 minutes until 3 am every fucking day from June thru August.
Be a good fucking neighbor for fuck's fucking sake. Put on a good show on the 4th, clap for the boom booms, and then stop. Some people have jobs and need sleep. Otherwise we might get cranky.
- That is how we do it. One big night, see you back in a year.
- This! I have PTSD and have a difficult time with the 4th. But, I would be fine if it was just on the 4th but that's never the case. The last complex I lived in had kids that would set them off in the middle of the day to purposefully scare people.

Everyone commenting seems to be missing your point. Regardless how people feel about pets and fireworks, people should be aware that the 4th of July revelry can be extremely difficult for some veterans suffering from PTSD. There's one I know personally who was in combat in Iraq and saw really terrible things. You can tell talking to him it deeply effects him to this day. I think of it a lot when I hear illegal fireworks. At least with the official fireworks shows they know when to expect it. The illegal fireworks are just random out of the blue and could easily trigger a PTSD episode. Maybe the guy in the screenshot talking about patriotism should consider that.
- Plenty of legal fireworks can do this too.
- I think it just comes down to being a basic considerate human being. Shoot all the fireworks you like if you're not at risk of bugging anyone. I live on the edge of town in a mostly commercial district so around the 4th I'll fire off whatever but if I lived in a neighborhood I'd either leave town or not buy fireworks. Pretty easy stuff.

As a Veteran who has PTSD and does not do well on 4th of July. I fought for people's freedom. Let them enjoy their fireworks and I'll stay on my farm fat away taking care of my turkeys who also hate fireworks.
- I never really thought about farm animals and fireworks. How about chickens/horses/etc?
  
  I heard about horses dying from the stress caused by fireworks. It can also be hurtful to wildlife.
- Not everyone can do that. A form of entrainment doesn't override the right for someone now to experience ptsd episodes in their own home.
  
  There is being considerate of other's life experiences and then there is being unreasonable. There's so many things that can trigger PTSD in people, are you suggesting we stop doing anything that may trigger someone's trauma? Some people get triggers from benign things (my mother used to suffer traumatic flashbacks from certain smells such as wet mud, I get panic attacks if someone comes up behind me and touches me, I've met someone who gets triggered by cars backfiring or balloons popping). The point is that fireworks, mud, people touching you, and backfiring cars are a part of normal life. There are a TONNE of possible triggers, we couldn't possibly avoid every one of them for every sufferer out there. It isn't up to the rest of the world to change their lives to revolve around us and our issues. It's our own responsibility to try to cope and deal with our problems as best we can. It sucks. I say this as someone who suffers from severe PTSD/agoraphobia among a number of other mental health issues that I have been working on for many years. It's really unfair that this has happened to us but it's also not fair to expect everyone else in the neighbourhood to stop having fun because we are sadly conditioned to have a traumatic response to something.
- Who had their freedom threatened?
  
  Iraqis. Look up Saddam. Then look up AQ. There's a reason the local militias ended up working with us instead of against us.
- So you're basically saying "Yes, it's a problem, but it doesn't affect me personally so let it be"?
  🙄
  
  I make sure I’m not around for anything I am personally unusually sensitive to. Can’t expect society not to do any thing which anyone anywhere might not like.
  
  Wow is this guy missing the point. Most of us who have PTSD are very happy that people have the freedom to do their foreworks
  
  No actually, he's directly admitting he is personally affected by it, do you read English?
  He's saying that his PTSD isn't everyone else's responsibility, and that they should be able to do what they want without having to be concerned if it's going to bother someone who has unique circumstances.
  As opposed to all the nanny state bullshit in this thread.
  Ban fireworks in cities and places where it's too dry to light them, otherwise who gives a shit.

It should be said, if you have a puppy or are getting a puppy. Socialize and habituate them to the sounds. Start with recordings of fireworks playing in another room, treat them when they react to the sounds. When they start wagging their tails and come to you when they hear it, make it more intense by increasing the volume or bringing then into the room. Keep practicing and proofing multiple days per week for months until your puppy happily comes to you when they hear loud bangs.
My puppy now wags his tail and joyfully comes to me when lightning strikes because he thinks it's a fun treat game. Absolutely way better than the alternative. It takes a few weeks with puppies, could take years for traumatized rescues and adults.
- This is why I haven't invited a dog into my life yet... I still have sooo much to learn about how to help a pup live a happy and healthy life, can't wait though!!!
  
  We take our puppy to a group training class that socialises our pup to other puppies and drip feeds/reminds us of how to raise him, as well as training. I did a tonne of reading before hand but realised I could have winged it with all the great info at puppy class.
  But I waited a decade for me to be in the right place to raise him right. I have prioritised his raising above all else these first 2 months and get to slow down next month as his foundation is quite strong now. It's all been so worth it!
- This is good advice. Sadly it doesn't work for every cat or dog but In most cases this is great.

Over here in Central Europe, the fourth of July is obviously not a thing. Our fireworks day is the night between the last and the first day of the year.
Over the last few years it got restriceted more and more and now many cities prohibit private fireworks completely and instead put on a professional show in a few places. It's so much better now in basically every aspect.
I mean, who thought that giving drunk people explosives on a massive scale would be a good idea?
- I mean, who thought that giving drunk people explosives on a massive scale would be a good idea?
  Same ones that handed them guns as a right, speaking as a US Citizen I really hate that right.
  
  It's not so much the right itself, just the batshit crazy interpretation of it and our collective gun fetish culture. The nutjobs zero in on the "shall not be infringed" part completely ignoring the "well regulated" part that comes before that. sigh
- Firework use is prohibited where I live, but the sale is allowed. I hate it so damn much. Maybe I just getting old, but any kind of noise pollution drives me up the wall these day. I get pissed at my neighbour's Corvette that he insists of revving at 5am almost daily.
  
  Oh I get that. I'm living in the city centre in one of Poland's major cities and assholes with motorbikes and sportscars are literally revving the engine ALL. THE. TIME.
  And it's such a useless stuff, too. Like, yesterday at 2AM some asshat on a bike just kept burning the tires and revving the engine for 3 minutes straight.
  And I had to wake up at 4AM for work, so obviously I'm pissed.
- In italy we had fireworks constantly hit the house it was so dangerous.
- I mean, who thought that giving drunk people explosives on a massive scale would be a good idea?
  Here in Poland there's always at least 10 big news on New Year's Eve of some drunk asshole blowing his hands off or permanently damaging the baby, or killing the dog, or some other shit.

I mean valid point about ptsd but also that's not what they're talking about.

yeah, last year some chucklehead was firing off big fireworks and set my neighbor's roof on fire. it was around midnight and very scary. one's desire to see pretty bang bangs does not override other's desire to not lose all their shit to a fire.
- Did they put out the fire? What was the damage?
  
  they had to cut into the roof with chainsaws to get the fire out. there was big damage to the roof and from the water damage from the hoses down from the second and first stories. it really sucked for them. they never found out who the person was so they were responsible for the deductable.

Fireworks are basically banned all over Ontario (Canada), because of the risk of forest fires. That goes for official and unofficial ones.
- One more reason to love Canada.
- They are banned in many places in the states, too. Like all of Seattle. Doesn't stop people from doing them though because there are zero repercussions.
  
  Same here. Which is odd because you’d think it would be easy for cops to find people who are setting off fireworks. They’re very similar to flares, which are literally used to tell everyone “I’m over here.”

Fireworks are illegal in my area (wildfire risk is too high) but people still set them off anyway. I’d love to see one of my neighbors try to cop this attitude with me. I mean I understand if people want to go play with them but this guy went out of his way to say “fuck all dogs” and what kind of a person says that?

Can someone explain what's wrong with the original post? He's not wrong.

The people round here love their fireworks. There was a whole ass fireworks show in the fire clearing right down the street. It's almost every night in summer, pretty large aerial fireworks going off, particularly bad the weeks leading up to and after the 4th.
It's annoying af. But I'm used to it, and I don't really have a say in what those people do with their summer nights, nor do I want to.
Taking care of a dog is tough. It's like a child, especially a puppy. I have cats. But always had dogs growing up. I'm still unsure if I want to take the plunge, cause my cat is super needy and will probably hate me lol

Imagine having so much money you can buy a bunch of explosives and set em off for fun. Might as well just set the money on fire.
- Yeah this 20 bucks worth of bottle rockets and Roman candles was really putting me into the next tax bracket over here.
  
  You're downvoted, but I laughed. Imagine not being okay with someone else enjoying something you don't.

Was driving down a road in a subdivision near my house one firecracker-shooting day and a damn firecracker got shot directly at my car. I swerved on instinct to miss the damn thing; fortunately no one was near.
Firecrackers are dangerous and loud and irritating and really, really terrible and should be outlawed to be used by regular people. Have your little pretty shows in a known area on Firework Celebration Night Of Whatever, but keep them out of the hands of Joe Public.
- This person poops at parties.
- This person poops at parties.

I don't really like lighting fireworks myself but even i am SO tired of the anual "PeOpLe WhO dO FiReWoRkS aRe AwFuLl bEcAuSe PeTs ArE ScArEd"

I mean, if you know your dog is scared of fireworks, then you should just get your dog some ear muffs and some treats and chill with em until the fireworks are over, give em love so that they learn that it's nothing bad.
If you complain about something that doesn't directly affect your dog, but your not willing to train your dog or put in the effort and love to help it, then you are a bad dog owner.
Don't blame the doggos, and don't blame the people minding their own business not hurting anyone, life isn't supposed to be super easy no problems 24/7.
- Nah, can't scroll past this one without commenting - because so many things that have been said matter of factly are just plain wrong.
  Dogs just like people have their own personalities, just because SOME dogs can be trained to ignore fireworks, it does not mean ALL dogs can be - some dogs - just like people, suffer from various anxieties, it can't be helped.
  The main point you seem to be missing - yes you can stay in and chill with your pooch on the ACTUAL day that fireworks are expected to be going off, but what you cannot do - is stay in and chill with your pooch for weeks before and weeks after the actual day, because people randomly decide to let them off.
  The fact that you brand everyone a bad dog owner if their dog cannot tolerate fireworks though, is the thing that made me need to comment, what a stupid thing to say. That's like saying that if your child suffers from anxiety then you are a bad parent.
  
  Exactly. Letting off fireworks days early is awful. It’s even worse when the city bans them, yet people don’t care.
  
  Most of the people I've known with anxiety did have bad parents.
- Tried all of that. Only thing that works is basically drugging my dog up with tramadol until they pass out.
  Many animals just don’t do well with fireworks and no amount of positive reinforcement will ever remedy it. It is what it is.

Exactly. I hope you don't mind me firing my gun in the air wildly while you set off those fireworks. After all, I'm just celebrating the Fourth like you! Why should I be blamed just because the bullets are coming down onto people and killing them? It's not like I meant to kill anyone!
- Wat
  It's all well and good to be firing blanks if you want. The two are just not comparable and I have no clue what you were trying to say.
  
  It is definitely a thing, and not blanks. At least in St Louis (the city, not so much in the 'burbs/metro area).
  The city sounded like a warzone every NYE and Fourth, there are plenty of videos of it. People find bullets lodged in cars and house roofs etc. And there injuries from it too.
  They held campaigns and mailed out flyers to try to stop it every year, but as far as I know it's still just as bad if not worse.
  Having said that, I'm not sure either what their point was.

Fireworks are illegal in my city but people light them off constantly for NYE, sports, 4th etc. I wish people respected the law, but it is also annoying to hear all the whining about scared fur babies.
- Personal fireworks are illegal in my city as well. I personally love that everyone collectively says nahhhh we are going to do it anyways.
  I don't set any off but I enjoy watching people have fun and it tends to be a pretty good show.

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