  Crumbled_pavement Member Username: Crumbled_pavement Post Number: 85 Registered: 08-2007 |
First of all, my apologies if this thread has already been created. I looked about and did not find one so I'm creating this one. Anyhoo, on to the topic of discussion... http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20071231/NEW S01/712310338 Bully-Cummings is running a campaign to get Detroiters to stop ringing in the New Year with gunfire and instead ring it in with a hug. I'm not so much interested in the merits of her campaign or whether or not she will be successful, what I have always wondered is this: Where did this tradition originate from and is it just practiced in Detroit? | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 1561 Registered: 02-2006 |
It's practiced basically anywhere people have guns, and no fear of attracting police attention by firing them illegally. | ||
Vetalalumni Member Username: Vetalalumni Post Number: 843 Registered: 05-2007 |
New Years Eve gun firing is practiced in many cities. | ||
Parkguy Member Username: Parkguy Post Number: 192 Registered: 04-2007 |
It is an old custom all over, including in Germany. I think it migrated here from the rural south and Appalachia. It is such a country thing to do. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 4253 Registered: 02-2005 |
Yes, indeed. Spare the gunfire tonight, and also, no drunk driving. Go to parties that you can walk to, or have a friend drive you--people on medications, and people morally opposed to drinking, can serve a purpose here. There will also be a snowstorm tonight, which makes the odds of a drunk getting themselves home in one piece next to nothing. | ||
Crumbled_pavement Member Username: Crumbled_pavement Post Number: 86 Registered: 08-2007 |
Mackinaw said: "Spare the gunfire tonight" Hell, they shooting in my neighborhood already. | ||
Blksoul_x Member Username: Blksoul_x Post Number: 110 Registered: 06-2007 |
I would associate the gun-fire as a symbolic expression of freedom...each new year represents a new start, and each new year is celebrated like a war victory...amerikkka's national anthem states,'the bombs bursting in air and rockets red glare', describing victory...sort of explains the country wide phenomenon of guns and a symbolic representation of victory and freedom(or so-called freedom) It's also a great time to test out your new weaponry(wink) blacksoul_atcha! | ||
Cheddar_bob Member Username: Cheddar_bob Post Number: 1644 Registered: 10-2003 |
Well fire it into the ground then. Bullets have to come down somewhere. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 1258 Registered: 09-2007 |
Bulletmagnet will protect us from the gunfire :-) | ||
Karl_jr Member Username: Karl_jr Post Number: 187 Registered: 06-2007 |
A celebration free of gunfire, yea right. Coleman Young's idea to curb it was to fly the helicopters! (better targets I guess). the gunshop I worked at sold at the least 10k on new years eve in the 1990's, no exaggeration! Then on the day after newyears we made a killing repairing all the firearms that didn't work. PS, what happened to the helicopters?? | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 4174 Registered: 12-2005 |
New Year's gunfire is an old problem in Phoenix. People have died from it. Tonight I'm assigned the task to ring an antique schoolbell at midnight here in Michigan.  | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 4176 Registered: 12-2005 |
Okay, I rang the damned bell. Where's my prize?  | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 1218 Registered: 08-2007 |
Well, I still heard plenty of guns in the north part of D. Automatics, too. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 1262 Registered: 09-2007 |
I do too. It's now snowing hard as heck though. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 1083 Registered: 11-2005 |
I live in SW, which I think I can call on of Detroit's safer, nicer neighborhoods. Apparently, though, people weren't paying attention to Bully-Cummings. There was a lot of shooting and not a lot of hugging last night. How were other neighborhoods? | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 1565 Registered: 02-2006 |
No shooting on the NW side of Chicago. | ||
Karl_jr Member Username: Karl_jr Post Number: 189 Registered: 06-2007 |
warrendale was lit up pretty good | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1505 Registered: 04-2006 |
I can second Warrendale. The redneck boys down the street did not stop till 12:30. Screw this crap. I got to move to he burbs. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 495 Registered: 10-2006 |
12:30? They stopped early. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 1268 Registered: 09-2007 |
"I live in SW, which I think I can call on of Detroit's safer, nicer neighborhoods." You're kidding, right? | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 4693 Registered: 10-2004 |
SW Detroit has got to be Detroit's safest neighborhood. By a long shot (not gunfire-related...). It's a 24/7 kind of safety. Maybe, the CBD might come close; maybe not. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 1271 Registered: 09-2007 |
SW Detroit has everything else on crime in the D(drugs, gangs, prostitution, you name it). However, it's definitely nowhere near safe. | ||
Wsugradguy Member Username: Wsugradguy Post Number: 47 Registered: 10-2003 |
Heard quite a few gunshots in Newark, NJ. Nothing like my New Year's Eves in Detroit, no automatics, but definitely heard gunfire. By no means is this just a Detroit thing. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 815 Registered: 02-2007 |
By no means is this just a Detroit thing. Or a hillbilly thing as someone implied. They do this all over the country and much of the world. Warrendale is especially bad for it I hear. | ||
Frumoasa Member Username: Frumoasa Post Number: 100 Registered: 03-2007 |
I heard it but it was nowhere near me...Most of the lights on my street were out by 11 pm. | ||
Russix Member Username: Russix Post Number: 59 Registered: 11-2006 |
I heard one come down. I actually heard a high pitch swoosh. I was going to check out the general area this morning for an interesting conversation piece, but snow & sleet came. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 4258 Registered: 02-2005 |
Dplanner, you think people don't do that shit in the burbs? Idiots are everywhere. | ||
Meaghansdad Member Username: Meaghansdad Post Number: 204 Registered: 07-2007 |
Seriously, I'm in Harper Woods on the far eastern end, closer to GP @ SCS,and it was like a damn gun show. Someone close to me had a damn shot gun that shook my windows. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 11207 Registered: 12-2003 |
My Livonia Friend waited until about 1:15 to leave, thinking that might be the best between those who dashed at midnight and those who would wait until the last call was made. We cleaned snow off his wife's Saab, the whole time STILL hearing fireworks and gunfire as if the year had JUST turned...so for northern Eastern Market, there was still 'celebration' enough to set off burglar alarms in businesses for blocks around. Some of 'em were still going off this morning, might've been Roma Cafe's...but I wasn't in any shape to investigate. Party WAS at my house...I'm amazed I made it up the stairs to my bed. Cheers, all, hopefully we don't hear of any bad reports from the leaded rain. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 523 Registered: 05-2004 |
Why should it be different than any other night in Detroit? | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 1330 Registered: 11-2003 |
I heard street sweepers and chinese typewriters from about 6PM until 11 when I walked out the door. | ||
Crumbled_pavement Member Username: Crumbled_pavement Post Number: 87 Registered: 08-2007 |
Paulmcall said: "Why should it be different than any other night in Detroit?" Why should you even be on this board? Seriously, I can't understand why people spend so much time on things they hate as opposed to spending time on things they love. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 4261 Registered: 02-2005 |
No joke. If that's sarcastic or hyperbolic it's lost on me. I'd say the way new years eve sounds is quite a bit of an anomoly. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 1084 Registered: 11-2005 |
SW Detroit has everything else on crime in the D(drugs, gangs, prostitution, you name it). However, it's definitely nowhere near safe. You live here, Detroitrise? Or are you one of those omniscient types? Yes, it's one of Detroit's safer neighborhoods. At least Hubbard Farms, where I live, is. | ||
Ptero Member Username: Ptero Post Number: 152 Registered: 12-2005 |
Well, moving to Shelby Twp won't get you away from it. PLENTY of gunfire around here til about 1230. | ||
65memories Member Username: 65memories Post Number: 498 Registered: 10-2003 |
Actually, the gunfire in Rosedale Park seemed the lowest it's been in the last fifteen years or so. While we heard some, it was nothing compared to past years. Didn't know whether to attribute the result to the anti-shooting at New Years campaign or the fact it was snowing pretty good and windy at 12 midnight. | ||
Mama_jackson Member Username: Mama_jackson Post Number: 256 Registered: 06-2006 |
We had the same thing up here in Flint from our "acting" police chief. He said to refrain from shooting real guns into the air, blah, blah, blah. My husband was awake at midnight this year and he said it sounded like there was automatic gun fire and regular shot guns. So much for listening to our leadership here. People are so stupid. We also have a huge problem with fireworks during May, June, July and August. Mostly, July. People get nice fireworks and shoot them off around the houses instead of driving or walking two blocks to the park to an area with some open space-and we get shapel all over our roofs. That worries me. Ah, life in the big city............... | ||
Parkguy Member Username: Parkguy Post Number: 194 Registered: 04-2007 |
Over in our section of Rosedale Park we heard a bit of fireworks starting at 10:30 or so, probably to get them shot off before the rain started. Pots and pans at midnight, and that was about it. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 328 Registered: 06-2007 |
"We had the same thing up here in Flint from our "acting" police chief. He said to refrain from shooting real guns into the air, blah, blah, blah." If I didn't have to work I was considering going up to Flint to see the action.I was going to get my video camera out and roll down Dupont and make a documentary of an urban new years. I want to make it up there next year. Thats gotta be one exciting place. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 4347 Registered: 10-2003 |
Remember, if you must shoot, shoot straight up. The terminal velocity of a bullet coming straight down is not likely to kill someone. However, a bullet on a parabolic trajectory can maintain enough velocity to penetrate the skull. Thanks Mythbusters! | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 1285 Registered: 09-2007 |
Guns are dangerous, no matter (the 5 W's) you use them. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 4348 Registered: 10-2003 |
Disclaimer: I don't condone shooting guns without a very good reason. My last post was meant for trivia purposes only. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1729 Registered: 07-2004 |
Guns were going off all night in my hood. From 11 p.m. on it sounded like Little Chechnya. | ||
Warriorfan Member Username: Warriorfan Post Number: 867 Registered: 08-2005 |
Looks like all that New Year's Eve celebratory gunfire took at least one life: http://www.clickondetroit.com/ news/14963801/detail.html?rss= det&psp=news A 17-year old Detroiter was killed by an accidental stray shotgun blast at a New Year's Eve party in which revelers were firing guns into the air. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 2263 Registered: 01-2004 |
A Celebration Of Free Gunfire | ||
Pamequus Member Username: Pamequus Post Number: 140 Registered: 07-2005 |
I spent hours shooting guns New Years Eve and into the New Year. I do mounted shooting and we had a fabulous match in a little town called Sneads, Florida. BTW, we shoot black powder blanks from our .45 revolvers.... | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 329 Registered: 06-2007 |
i just talked to a guy last night who said he was out there shooting. He says the reasons vary depending on who you ask, but in his circle, its about releasing all the pent-up frustration of the old year. The gunfire is symbolic of the stress and anger of the departing year being blown off. Sorry man, but thats weak. I really don't buy that line of thinking. | ||
Hornist9 Member Username: Hornist9 Post Number: 71 Registered: 05-2005 |
For the first time since I was in Hawaii in 2001, i didn't hear any gunfire. The reason: I was at my Brother's place in Big Rapids. It was very quiet. We gripe about New Year's Eve, but I have heard gunfire quite a bit in my South Warren neighborhood. Someone's got an itchy trigger finger. Usually this meatball shoots off a clip in a rapid fire mode, about once or twice a month. | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 231 Registered: 03-2005 |
Ah, the sounds of New Year's Eve. BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM! *pause* ping ping ping ping ping ping I was in Grosse Pointe Park, near Alter, and was ever so pleased that the church there rang their bells at midnight, drowning out a lot of the gunfire. Idiots. |
