Chinese lanterns a problem

[James]

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) has appealed to the public to not set off Chinese lanterns along the coastline as they are often mistaken as red distress flares, the NSRI said on Sunday.

This follows the NSRI responding on Saturday, around 8.30pm, to reports of what was believed to be a red distress flare between Shelly Beach and Port Shepstone on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, spokesman Craig Lambinon said in a statement.

During a preliminary investigation,...read more here: Chinese lanterns a problem

 

[HavocXphere]

Sorry NSRI...you'll have to deal with it. The people launch these things are not of the considerate variety...much like the Chinese don't care about dogs suffering from fireworks.

 

[Lycanthrope]

There's a reason these things have been made illegal across the world... (Crop/forest/veld fires, aircraft hazard, etc)

 

[Ichigo]

Some people use them for religious reasons so why should they stop?

 

[Lycanthrope]

Some people use them for religious reasons so why should they stop?

Religious reasons? I've never heard of them being used for religious reasons. Celebratory reasons sure, religion? That's new to me.

Which religions?

Also... "religion" as an excuse for anything is a poor excuse.

 

[HavocXphere]

Some people use them for religious reasons so why should they stop?

No you are wrong. The rights of a person are not absolute. A persons rights are only enforceable in so far as they don't encroach on another persons right.

e.g. By law I'm entitled to freedom of movement. If however I decide to break down you front door because I decided that I want to be in your house then obviously thats not going to fly. The judge will not see it as freedom of movement, he'll see it as breaking & entering.

The people with their lanterns are endangering lives by hampering rescue efforts. You can be the Pope himself...once lives are at stake judges don't care about religion.

 

[Ichigo]

No you are wrong. The rights of a person are not absolute. A persons rights are only enforceable in so far as they don't encroach on another persons right.

e.g. By law I'm entitled to freedom of movement. If however I decide to break down you front door because I decided that I want to be in your house then obviously thats not going to fly. The judge will not see it as freedom of movement, he'll see it as breaking & entering.

The people with their lanterns are endangering lives by hampering rescue efforts. You can be the Pope himself...once lives are at stake judges don't care about religion.

Well they still got to get permission to let them go, we did when we let chinese lanterns go for our family members who passed away in Durban by the beach.

Religious reasons? I've never heard of them being used for religious reasons. Celebratory reasons sure, religion? That's new to me.

Which religions?

Also... "religion" as an excuse for anything is a poor excuse.

Chinese people use it for religious purposes and other ones like hindu people etc or just for people dealing with grief.

It is a beautiful sight when letting off the lanterns

Anyway they look totally different to flares in the sky with their movement pattern and light so not sure how they can get confused

 

[Lycanthrope]

Well they still got to get permission to let them go, we did when we let chinese lanterns go for our family members who passed away in Durban by the beach.

Chinese people use it for religious purposes and other ones like hindu people etc or just for people dealing with grief.

It is a beautiful sight when letting off the lanterns

Anyway they look totally different to flares in the sky with their movement pattern and light so not sure how they can get confused

The Chinese lantern festival marks the last day of the lunar new year festival and the lanterns are lit on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Wikipedia has a wonderful entry on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantern_Festival

I don't know where you get the idea that it has anything to do with religion.

People might, as individuals, attach whatever symbolic meaning they like to it--as the Wikipedia entry says, many people use it as a symbolism of letting go of their "old selves" or personal attachments or even, as we do in Western Culture, commit to a new year's resolution.

I agree with you, it's a beautiful sight to behold.

The ceremony to say goodbye to the dead, in Japanese culture, is called Tōrō nagashi--that's the one where they place lanterns adrift upon water.

I can only assume you're confusing the two.

Either way, many countries have banned Chinese sky lanterns, including: Germany, Austria, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil precisely because of their dangers.

Just because it's beautiful, doesn't make it "okay"

 

[Ichigo]

The Chinese lantern festival marks the last day of the lunar new year festival and the lanterns are lit on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Wikipedia has a wonderful entry on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantern_Festival

I don't know where you get the idea that it has anything to do with religion.

People might, as individuals, attach whatever symbolic meaning they like to it--as the Wikipedia entry says, many people use it as a symbolism of letting go of their "old selves" or personal attachments or even, as we do in Western Culture, commit to a new year's resolution.

I agree with you, it's a beautiful sight to behold.

The ceremony to say goodbye to the dead, in Japanese culture, is called Tōrō nagashi--that's the one where they place lanterns adrift upon water.

I can only assume you're confusing the two.

Either way, many countries have banned Chinese sky lanterns, including: Germany, Austria, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil precisely because of their dangers.

Just because it's beautiful, doesn't make it "okay"

I did seem to confuse it with the wrong culture I meant the Japanese culture.

Well its cause we used it for religious reasons same with all the others who lost someone who also did it with us around the country long ago.