Written By Gail S Else
So it’s that day again..the anniversary of when a group of extreme religious nutters failed to blow up a parliament full of Protestants in order to replace the regime with Catholic rule. The amount of gunpowder found there was believed to have been capable of taking the entire area and its people out, not just a building full of royals and politicians. They weren’t anarchists, they weren’t ‘men of the people’ aiming to destroy hierarchical society, and the way it’s been romanticised is utterly absurd.
Initially, it became law to mark the date, and compulsory to go to church. Bonfires and fireworks were added in the years that followed, and it has since evolved into what it is today, and continues to evolve..
I’ve seen a few comments, largely on right wing content, banging on about ‘tradition’, and staunchly defending the widespread availability of fireworks and dismissing the harm they cause, whether through injury, anxiety or indeed environmentally, while poo pooing the use of silent fireworks and drones in their place as part of ‘cancel culture’, a term widely favoured by right wing bigots which, as beautifully pointed out by Graham Norton recently, is just a silly phrase used to veil accountability. All I can say to them is that this day is already so far removed from what it was, we’re not in the 17th century, or even the 70s, thank fuck, and it’s really ok to move with the times. I’m guessing most of them aren’t still keeping their food in a larder or shitting in their back yards, and they’re definitely not avoiding the internet because it didn’t exist back then..sadly.
No-one’s trying to steal your Bonfire Night any more than they’re trying to steal your Christmas, mate.
To those partying this eve, have a wonderful time. To those making the effort to consider the environment around them, even more so..and may you all be safe 