No fun and games

Pow! Pow! Pow-pa-pow!

The late-afternoon atmosphere, blanketed by a thick haze of smoke, is filled with the sounds of shouting, screaming and explosions.

Bombs? Gunshots? The average ear, overwhelmed by the sonic onslaught, perceives them as both...and more.

Flashing, fiery bolts shoot vertically past low-hanging power lines into the peach-tinted early sunset sky...and horizontally, at ground level, aimed at people, residential buildings and one or two vehicles that dare to make their way forward with trepidation.

Who could blame those moving targets for their hesitation? Should one of the missiles make contact with a gas tank, an explosion (possibly fatal to many) could result.

People run like ants amidst loud, relentless bangs and bursts of colour exploding on the ground. Three men run nimbly across rooftops, from one house to another, while a few youths gather at the base of one building, seemingly plotting where next to direct their missiles.

The loud bangs and bursts of fire are incessant. More passing vehicles narrowly miss becoming incendiary targets in what appears to be heated community combat.

This is not Gaza...nor a video game...nor a movie. It is cellphone video footage of 2023 post-Christmas and Old Year’s afternoon activity in Trinidad, showing regular citizens using fireworks to play a very dangerous, potentially tragic game.

In the preface to a list of 7 Video Games That Have The Most Explosions, a gaming site states: “Action-heavy video games with high-octane combat and amazing set-pieces have become the norm in the industry. Most of the biggest and best-selling games around manage to become so popular mainly because of their loud and in-your-face gameplay, which has become the norm with the evolution of the gaming industry.” (The Gamer)

This can double as a description for what has become known in TT as "fireworks season." Re-read the above excerpt and, wherever you see the words "video games" and "games," replace them with "fireworks." The action gaming industry...the fireworks industry... can feel like one and the same.

Some of the other descriptions in that particular gaming article are suggestive of what the citizens in the above-mentioned video footage (and perhaps various other fireworks users) may feel as they detonate their explosive devices:

"Adrenaline-pumping gameplay that will see them trigger a bunch of explosions over and over again to great effect."

"Options outside of combat might be limiting, but most people who only want an excuse to shoot and blow enemies up won't really mind."

"Destroying environments with an array of explosive weapons."

"Wreaking havoc in and around...makes for a great time indeed."

Those who enjoy fireworks and see them as a fun source of family entertainment may consider the above comparisons as "over the top."

To the multitudes who perceive fireworks as a source of terror, disturbance/annoyance and danger to humans, animals and property, the comparisons are accurate.

Meanwhile, the self-professed local "pioneer of the fireworks industry" states on its website: “Our work goes beyond visual appeal and takes you into the realm of the emotional.”

The emotions experienced by far too many citizens during these explosive onslaughts are far from boast-worthy.

In a society where those in pow-pow-power seem to care little to nothing about the physical, emotional and mental well-being of people, far less animals, nothing seems to be achieved by writing letters to the editors of newspapers, lobbying for enforcement of legislation, appealing to the AG, showing annually-expected graphic images of post-firework roadkill, or regurgitating the usual lines of reasoning about how fireworks can severely traumatise animals, the elderly, babies, people with PTSD, auditory/sensory processing disorders and mental health problems.

Those with the arsenal of counteracting clichés are always quick to fire: “Whose fault is it if you all don’t secure or sedate your pets?”

Are affected citizens expected to keep pets, stray and wild animals locked up and sedated all day and night, every day of December and for most of January while explosives are lawlessly detonated at any time of any day or any night without warning?

In an increasingly trigger-happy nation, where our leaders and law enforcement officers struggle to deal with the proliferation of illegal firearms and resulting rampant violence and killings throughout TT, it is incomprehensible that any citizen would be allowed to purchase an explosive device casually deemed as "fun for the family."

In the wrong hands, "fun" and "gun" can be equally deadly.