This Is Not Celebration. This Is Normalized Harm.
Fireworks in residential areas are not harmless fun.
They are not a “tradition without consequences.”
They are a source of real, predictable suffering — one that has been minimized for years under slogans like “it’s always been this way” or “it’s just one night.”
But it is not just one night.
And it is not just noise.
Who is affected — every single time?
Autistic and neurodivergent children, for whom sudden explosive sounds cause sensory overload, panic, neurological disorganization, and defensive reactions that cannot be “controlled” by will.
Children with anxiety disorders, for whom explosions signal danger, loss of safety, and a world that suddenly feels threatening and uncontrollable.
People living with PTSD, for whom the sound of explosions can trigger traumatic responses — regardless of whether the trauma comes from war, violence, accidents, or other life-threatening experiences.
Elderly people, whose nervous and cardiovascular systems are more vulnerable to sudden, intense noise, leading to disorientation, acute stress, and real health risks.
People with depression, for whom chaotic, uncontrollable noise can intensify feelings of helplessness and psychological overload.
Animals, who do not understand “tradition” and perceive fireworks as an immediate threat to life — panicking, fleeing, injuring themselves, or dying.
These are not exceptions.
These are well-known risk groups.
The problem is not sensitivity. The problem is ignorance.
Every time someone says
“you’re exaggerating,”
“people should just get used to it,”
“it’s only for fun,”
what is being revealed is a lack of basic understanding of how the nervous system works.
And this is where education becomes responsible.
Children are taught that fireworks mean joy, celebration, social norm.
They are not taught:
– what sensory overload is,
– how sound impacts mental and physical health,
– why empathy is not defined by what the majority enjoys,
– where tradition ends and harm begins.
This gap is not accidental.
It is systemic.
Schools have a duty — not an excuse.
Public education is not only about academic content.
It exists to shape social responsibility.
When schools do not explain, they normalize acoustic violence.
When they do not teach consequences, they legitimize indifference.
When they remain silent, they shift the cost onto the most vulnerable.
Saying “parents should know better” is not an answer.
It is an abdication of educational responsibility.
This is not anti-joy.
This is pro-reason, pro-empathy, and pro-boundaries.
Celebration does not require explosions.
Joy does not need to traumatize.
Tradition does not override mental health and safety.
Explosive noise is not neutral.
Pretending it is constitutes a social and educational failure.
Institutional silence is not neutrality.
It is consent.
And it has a cost.
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