It’s that time of year, a time of colonial, drunk explosions, whee! I’m not a fan of Independence Day, but I could deal with it much better if I didn’t have to cope with window-shaking explosions going off for months. I have a difficult time coping with it for a day or two. I have PTSD and hyper-vigilance. A lot of people have those problems. I have pets. A lot of people have pets. Pets who are absolutely terrified by all the explosions. If you’re one of those explosion loving people, it would be truly great if you could consider other people before getting settled into your revelry. Would it be that terrible to pack up your gunpowder toys and take them a bit away from residences, so all the boom is at least muted? That would make for many less terrified pets, and much less ragged people hanging on by their fingernails. It would also be considerate of those who might want to get some sleep before 2 a.m., because some people still have to work. Or maybe they are just serious tired and want to sleep. If you are, or decide to be a considerate exploder, be sure to choose a place that won’t set half your state on fire, because that’s not fun for anyone.
On the lighter side of Colonial Day, Vincent Schilling has a fun column up at ICTMN: Native Humor: 7 Ways Natives Can Celebrate the Fourth of July.
Set off the fireworks display early in the day.
KA-BOOM! Oh, it’s only 2pm? (iStock)
Use the bullhorn after. Then tell everyone, “This isn’t what you expected was it?” Well for Native people, you aren’t what we expected either! Happy Independence Day!
Gonna need some cream for that burn.
:D
We have neighbors who light off a cannon to celebrate their colonial dominance.
A. Fucking. Cannon.
There’s no peace and quiet in rural living when people can get away with artillery attacks on our ears.
TMM:
A. Fucking. Men.
Come to think of it, there’s a couple of cannons here in my teeny town. One asshole has his front property lined with cannon balls.
Much sympathy. Hope you and the pets weather it. The noise does not personally bother me that much, but. That kind of stuff bothers livestock, too.
I suppose it’s evil of me to be happy about this but The Partner is the local fire chief and more than once has shut these things down due to fire restrictions. Makes me smile when I think about that. Alas, no fire restrictions this year because the rain has been pretty good. Ah well.
Kestrel:
No. No, it isn’t evil at all. If I could, I’d call down the mother of all storms, but that’s not within my power.
Oddly enough, it’s a national day of sorrow for us -- it’s actually the nationally recognized Victims of the Holocaust Genocide Remembrance Day on July 4. So yeah, we have to put out the flags, but with the black sorrow ribbon. I figure it fits either way; I will do this tomorrow with a special thought for you.
rq:
Thank you, I appreciate that. It’s all the more poignant in light of Elie Wiesel’s death.
It is. :(
Rumbula. That’s a wealth of sorrow.
Oh yes.
The fourth of July is for this specific event, though all victims are remembered.
I lived next to the Biķernieki forest previously -- that one contains the Bikernieki Memorial, but there’s trails all over the forest (it’s quite large, esp. considering it’s within city limits) that have mass grave markers along the way. So. Many.
There’s also an impressive memorial set up on the site of the Salaspils concentration camp, where one of the installations is the sound of a beating heart resonating through the earth. The official slogan of the place is “The earth weeps behind these gates”.
Anyway, this isn’t about me, this is about you. :)
rq:
Oh, that must be absolutely heart breaking. Thank you for the links, I have learning to do.
I think it’s about all of us, really. In most cases, one people’s declaration of independence / greatness / whatever means the genocide of another people, and I think it’s a damn good thing to remember. Perhaps if there was more remembrance of that, we’d all be better people.
Sadly, too many people are willing to focus on the patriotic!huzzah!we’re-so-great! parts. I have a friend according to whom no Latvian ever did a bad thing voluntarily, which is the purest bullshit (it’s not like the current spread of ‘phobias came out of nowhere). I mean, it’s our history, too, own it (granted, my ancestors were out in the boonies teaching school in the 1940s, but still!). I’m not proud of it, but I’m certainly going to teach the kids about it: “This is what happens, kids, when you forget about the humanity in others. And in yourself.”
So in essence I agree.
rq:
Oh yes, that’s uStates on the fourth in a nutshell.
That ^ is what makes all the difference. All peoples, no matter where they are in the world, have done bad things. The main reaction to that is knee jerk defensiveness, when it should be owned, as you said, and taught to children, so that there is a hope that generations to come will actually learn from history. You can’t learn from history when there’s an insistence on a “oh, nope, we’re the pure ones, the good guys, always!” slant going on.
An asshole showed up in the Shameful Camps thread, thinking they were all clever for pointing out that various indigenous people did bad things too, so leave those poor white kids alone, let them play Indian or Cavalry because white guilt is bad. There wouldn’t be so much white guilt if asses like that would acknowledge and own the truth.
Nothing more ‘Murican than blowing random shit up without regard for others. It’s the basis of our foreign and domestic policies.
What I hate is the smell. Hours and hours of gunpowder smell. And it gets in everything in the house for weeks.
Kengi:
True. And people always get hurt, maimed, and even dead. Still, blowing shit up remains oh so important.
Yeah, the smell is bad. It doesn’t get me insanely twitched out like the sound, but it’s bad, and normally, I don’t mind the smell of gunpowder -- in the right concentrations, it can smell fabulous in scents or soaps. (My fave scent is ‘Mary Read’, ocean spray, a whiff of gunpowder and other pirate-y smells.)
Me @ 6:
The Gods of Storm were listening, there’s one hell of a storm brewing. I’m afraid we might have even more tree down tomorrow.
That’s the beauty of storms, if you predict one there’s guaranteed to be one show up somewhere nearby and fulfill your prophecy.
Pickpackpeekpockpack
“Smite him!”
(busy signal)
redial
“Hello?”
“All operators are busy right now but your storm will be dispatched by the next available deity. Have a nice day!”