Personally I kind of dislike how they’re used in the west. Peak individualism. Everyone goes out and wastes a bunch of money so they can compare economical dick sized with their neighbours in a pointless competition. The novelty is gone after the third boom, and it looks like shit, because nothing is coordinated.
I wish fireworks were only allowed to be used by professionals, and there was a tradition that each neighbourhood pooled its’ money together in order to hire someone to come and do a cool show instead. And then give the kids some tiny bombs so they can run off and have fun with that. But none of the rockets or anything.
How about you?
Inside me there are two wolves.
One of them thinks fireworks is stupid and dangerous consumerism and would prefer each community to have professional fireworks shows instead.
The other one thinks people should be allowed to have their fun and enjoys when things go boom. It also sees a beneficial social function in the concept of dispensing with usual norms and allowing people to do something reckless and dangerous once a year.
Either way, there should be high safety standards on the manufacturing of fireworks and sale to and use by consumers should be heavily restricted.
What threshold of suffering would make the fun not worth it when there are a million other ways to have fun, including going to an organized show in a safer and less disruptive location to still see fireworks?