A. Well of course it has risks, but then what doesn't? "Dangerous" is a subjective term and can easily be applied to anything depending on the perceptions and values of the individual.
For example, you accessed this information on the Internet, something some people perceive as being "dangerous" because one can access and do all sorts of "bad" things on it. The Internet is not "dangerous" but it can be misused and abused with the result "bad" things can happen to people.
"But that is different, the Internet can't blow up like fireworks. There are news reports all the time about fireworks accidents where property is damaged and people are injured and even killed."
True. Fireworks are involved in numerous accidents in the US and around the world. Some of them do lead to property damage, injuries and sometimes even fatalities. Fireworks are energetic materials and their use entails some risk and there is no way around that.
We also routinely use many other energetic materials in our everyday lives, all of which pose risks too. Our homes and buildings have electricity, gas or other fuels and pressurized water. We put fuels in our vehicles and think nothing about going down the highways.
"Yeah, but we need those things! We don't need fireworks".
True, we don't "need" them but we could also survive quite nicely without all of them. We choose to "need" them and accept the risks associated with them because we value them.
Risk is determined not only what something is, but who is using it, what they know and don't know, what steps they take to reduce or manage risks, and a host of other variables. Fireworks are an energetic material and when used in a controlled, responsible manner the risks associated with them are quite low.
Most human endeavors include some control of energy, either kinetic, mechanical or chemical or combinations of all three. The difference is we don't think of these activities in the same way because fireworks are so much more spectacular as a normal part of their functioning.
As a vocation farming is probably the most dangerous job one could have and we should count our blessings everyday for the men and women who take those risks to feed the rest of us. Fire and police personnel, construction crews, truck and delivery drivers, factory workers, medical staff, and even people in offices, take risks of trips and falls, things falling on them, being hit by something, contracting a disease or being exposed to toxic substances, or simply being in places and situations where other people behave criminally or irrationally. Most often these incidents result in minor, short-term injuries or disease but there are some instances where the results are long-term or even fatal.
There are some differences between "regular" jobs where millions of people work on a daily basis in order to fulfill basic needs, and those of us who fulfill entertainment needs. As biological creatures we can survive without entertainment or art, but as social creatures with complex brains, we also "need" to play and be entertained too.
Sports athletes like race car drivers, football, baseball, basketball, and hockey players, also take risks working with the various forms of energy they control too, but for some reason it isn't viewed quite the same way.
The most "dangerous" pyrotechnicians do ….. is drive home after the show with the rest of you!
© July 1998, pyro-pages.com, inc. ™
, La Crosse, WI USA. All rights reserved worldwide.Revised July 17, 1998