Cityscape

Midnight Gunshots on New Year's Eve Are 'Exciting . . . Appealing' -- Metro Times

December 30, 2015, 9:36 AM

Metro Times managing editor Michael Jackman has mixed feelings about a tradition of blasting in the new year with bullets sent aloft.  

"It’s illegal. It’s foolish. And nowhere is it more foolish than in a crowded place like the city to fire into the air," he acknowledges Wednesday in a blog post.

 

Still, the local journalist says -- in a way that doesn't seem sarcastic -- that he enjoys the midnight madness:

It’s exciting. Even if I’m spending a quiet New Year’s Eve at home, I always remember to open the window at midnight and listen.

In these days of fear and loathing of guns, we might forget that these people aren’t just celebrating irresponsibly. They’re showing off their power, flexing their freedom a bit. Or maybe showing the criminal casing their house that they’re ready for them.

Yes, around midnight, I’ll give it a listen. It’s a pretty tough world out there, but some of my fellow citizens are ready for whatever comes their way. And there’s something appealing about that.

Got that now?

"Celebrating irresponsibly" in an "illegal" and "foolish" way is "exciting" and "appealing." Who knew? 

-- Alan Stamm


Read more:  Detroit Metro Times


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