I saw local news coverage of yet another planned balloon release in honor of an innocent murder victim. Ironically, the same newscast ran a segment on a guy whose job it was to suck trash out of Buffalo Bayou. How is littering a respectful way to honor a life? Do something positive. Clean up a park, bayou, or a neglected cemetery. Don’t add to the trash already there. A week or two ago, family members held a butterfly release for their loved one. It wasn’t as dramatic as a balloon release, but it was much more respectful.
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balloon releases aren’t even that cool imo. I remember doing it in elementary with letters inside that a stranger was supposed to read when it came down. super dumb. I’ve never once thought to open a deflated balloon I found on the ground to check for letters.
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I always worry about a bunch being sucked into a jet engine causing it to shut down.
- Helium-filled toy balloons and sky lanterns have the potential of causing damage to engines through ingestion
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Big sigh here. Yes I found ballon releases really neat and beautiful and
fun for the kids in the past.
But yeah, on scale it is being done today, it is a real man made hazard and
needs to be relegated to the past. In addition to the warnings others have noted,
I find several of the large celebration balloons in my pastures thru out the year with
the colorful ribbons attached. These are a hazard to livestock that will chew on them.
Score one for “cancel culture”; time for this practice to become history.
Edit: Read the consequences section on the massive release by the United Way back in 1986.
So what we’ve learned here is that if something seemingly inconsequential turns out to have unintended consequences, you should stop doing it.
Nein… Neunundneunzig rot Luftballons 
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Agree with all above.
But while we’re at it, let’s stop gender reveal parties . . . And if we’re not willing to go that far, then at least let’s stop gender reveal parties that involve pyrotechnics.
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Only Cleveland would have a festival dedicated to polluting Canada. Cleveland Rocks!!!
Agreed. Didn’t a gender reveal start a big forest fire not long ago?
Gender reveal party couple face jail over deadly California wildfire - BBC News
Yep. And I think there were a few others. At the bottom of this story, it links to another story where a 28-year-old father-to-be killed himself up trying to create an explosion for a gender reveal party.
I just don’t get it.
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