Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

Um… what?

I don’t understand what the big deal is. (Unless you outright dislike fireworks. But, it appears that your objection is the proximity of the fireworks to the baby. That was about as far away as she could put them without carrying them in a second cart behind her.)

Chances are, that woman has a husband, and maybe also older children all of whom are capable of safely playing with fireworks.

Like anything, from guns to hammers to hard candy, fireworks are not inherently dangerous. Used improperly, they can all cause destruction or death. Safety first doesn’t always mean doing without.
%lt;/rant>

Sorry, it just bothers me that nobody is allowed to play anything even a little dangerous any more. Yard darts, cap guns, fireworks… all relics of my childhood that my children might never be allowed to experience because of over-cautiousness

What took me by surprise was 1) seeing fireworks for sale at Costco (I didn’t realize Costco sold them) and 2) the odd juxtaposition of baby and fireworks in the same shopping cart.

I’m not objecting to folks being able to buy fireworks for personal use, so long as they’re used safely. But there’s a difference between teaching a kid the right way to light a firecracker and putting a box of fireworks under a baby carrier.

Rationally, it probably wasn’t a problem so long as the fireworks were handled safely between the store and home, when the baby was in close proximity. The fireworks were probably packaged safely, or else they wouldn’t be available for sale at Costco. And barring an open flame somewhere in the store, the baby probably wasn’t in immediate danger.

But it still made me nervous, and my gut reaction was to cringe.

I’d feel the same way about baby + propane tank or something similarly explosive: It’s not necessarily an immediate danger, but my gut reaction would be that it’s a situation best avoided.