A scene in Episode 7 of the Icelandic crime drama Trapped might throw some light on the reason why dog owners hate July 4th fireworks so much.
In the scene, police agents led by Trausti Einarssson (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson), the chief of the Reykjavik Bureau of Investigation, finally arrive at a remote Icelandic town to solve the murder of a man whose head, arms, and legs are missing. His torso was dragged out of the cold sea by local fishermen. The whole snowy town is on edge. Who could have done such a thing? So brutal. So evil. So un-Icelandic. The people want answers now. The professionals are on the case.
They soon have a suspect: Sigurður Gudmundsson (Þorsteinn Bachmann), the harbormaster. They rush to his house, knock on his door, and his wife, Aldís Grímsdóttir (Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir), answers it. Next to her is a dog. The chief immediately notices the puzzled animal, an Icelandic Sheepdog, drops to his knees, and pets it with great affection. Upon reaching satisfaction, the police chief stands, abruptly changes his expression from affection to coldness (even hostility), and explains the purpose of his visit. The team must search the house for potential evidence. Why? Because Þorsteinn’s husband stole the victim’s stabbed stump from the refrigerated section of a fish factory. That’s the scene. As for the crime drama as a whole, it deserves a B+.
In the moment just described (the way the cop has nothing but love for the dog and nothing but contempt for its human), might we not surmise a root for the common complaint that the infernal racket of illegal July 4th fireworks distresses dogs? What accounts for the popularity of this appeal?
Everyone already knows that climate change has increased the danger of fireworks. Indeed, even here in liberal Columbia City—we didn’t fall into the conservative trap like the rest of our supposedly liberal city—the brazenness of exploding the damn things can only be heard as a loud “Fuck You!” to the fact of global warming. Americans on Independence Day: “The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! We don’t need no water, let the motherfucker burn! Burn motherfucker, burn!” But what do you often find in chat groups? Little about the environment; a lot about freaked-out dogs.
Think of the chief of police, the Icelandic Sheepdog, and the human. The furry animal is clearly innocent of everything; the big-brained, bipedal animal is clearly guilty of everything. But the innocence of the former has to do with its unfallenness. This animal is still a member of paradise. It has no knowledge, in the biblical sense. The latter, not so. She, like the rest of her kind, is forever cursed for eating the fruit of knowledge.
It is here, in the animal’s ignorance, that we find the power of the dog owner’s condemnation of fireworks. The noise is fine for humans—we are all fallen; but for dogs, it is a living nightmare. Why all of this banging and flashing all of a sudden? What’s going on out there? Where can I hide from it? Under the bed? Behind the couch? In a closet? In the basement? There’s nowhere to hide, poor animal. And we can explain none of this manmade madness to you. And it goes on all night. Goes on as if it’s the end of the world. Always on the fourth of July. The curse of the cursed animal.
When I had dogs, I had to sedate them on the 4th. Now, I sedate myself. Cheers!
The noise actually isn’t fine for humans. Human beings that have been in combat or war zones and have PTSD do not care for fireworks. And it’s not just dogs and humans fireworks distress – all wildlife is distressed. I live on the Oregon coast and the screams of the birds when the fireworks are happening is horrifying.
Only in the United States, a country founded on genocide and the enslavement of other human beings, land on which there has been no war since one part of the country fought the other part of the country because they disagreed about owning other people and exploiting them for labor, profit, sexual gratification, and sadism, are things exploding in the sky considered fun and used to celebrate “freedom” from one colonizer country (while being a much more vicious and evil colonizer country).
Last night the official fireworks display was THREE HOURS LONG. Fucking insanity. Living here for nearly a decade now – the illegal fireworks start July 1st and go every night until after Labor Day weekend. The environmental destruction done by fireworks is extreme. The psychological distress caused is extreme. So many idiots putting the DUMB in freeDUMB.
Some European countries have learned how to utilize fireworks that have the light show but not the constant sounds of explosions (still an environmental disaster) and other places, including some cities here in Oregon have either banned fireworks outright (and they enforce it, so people don’t violate it) or they have switched to light shows that don’t involved fireworks at all.
Last night as I listened to three hours fireworks exploding in the sky all I could think about was Palestine and how for 9 months now Palestinians have lived with this constant bombing (paid for by American taxpayer dollars and bombed by bombs made in the USA with American taxpayer dollars), death, destruction, and ruin – and on top of all of endless slaughter, they are being starved to death.
All while fat ass dumb fuck Americans celebrate 4th of July wearing American flag outfits and stuffing themselves full of meat and junk food and alcohol because they believe we’re the greatest country in the world. ‘Murica, FUCK YAH!!!!
Now tell us a Blue Angels story.
And I reckon you need to sedate yourself. Also.
Where is this hell hole that you call home, on the Oregon coast, so i can avoid it? You make the bucolic life of the Oregon coast sound like the conflicts in: Myanmar, Maghreb, Sudan, Palestine, Ukraine, Serbia, Kosovo, Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, Iraq, Congo, Brazil, Sudan, Niger, Chad, Syria, Yemen, Saudis Arabia, Haiti ( and I’m only talking about countries with 10k deaths in the last 12 months).
Maybe the Oregon Coast of Murica is not such a bad place to be. At least you are free to bitch about the birds screaming. Now go vote!
Having owned seven dogs, I have learned that the secret to keeping your dog calm during fireworks is to be calm yourself. Dogs pick up on the emotions of the humans around them. If you don’t react, it’s likely that your dog won’t react. If you go to pieces, the dog will surely go to pieces.
We had a (rescue) Pomerainian named Crackers who was the sweetest dog you will ever meet. That dog loved both the Blue Angels and fireworks. He’d bark and spin and run up and down the sidewalk at Chez Vel-DuRay. I think the other dogs were distracted by him, so they didn’t notice what else was going on. Even when he was a very old dog, deaf and almost blind, he’d sit on our laps and look up at the fireworks.
celebrating War
exploiting WMDs
denying Genocide
our Complicity in it
guns for EVERYONE
the “right” wing Ascendent
our Constitution shredded
our President olde
addled & in Denial
a Fascist waiting in
the Wings Capitalism
having bought the USA
perhaps by
Next Year we’ll
be Required to spend
10% on things that go BOOM
and 60% on ‘keeping the Planet
SAFE for Democracy!” our Capitalists
could not Be more Elated. happy belated
Birthday America. it was Nice whilst it Lasted.
Vote if you are able. Might solve a few of your complaints.
Will not vote for either deranged, war mongering, genocidal parties. Will most likely vote for Jill Stein. We need to abandon our far right parties that are for genocide and planet destruction for profit and turn to humanitarian alternatives or we are heading for humanity’s extinction.
The youth are already turning away from main stream death cults.
Fireworks are frightening to animals, birds and those with PTSD. To those that have experienced war zones it means living the trauma again. Light shows would be pleasant alternatives.
We have to put the brakes on the corrupt, war mongering uniparty and join up with those that honor mother earth and stand against genocide and ongoing wars usually led by the USA.
NO. Voting will not help if we dance to the same broken record think out of the box because this system is killing us.
Ivy. Fuck you and your screed. Hopefully this will be my last post, you degenerate POS.FU and out.