Living in a densely-populated city for part of our lives – we never worried about noise. It was par for the course. (Plus you really have no choice other than to get used to it – or leave!)
Police and Fire sirens, screaming drunks, honking cars, and thumping music from clubs and vehicles. You got used to them! Never had to worry about leaf blowers! They were almost like music to our ears, quite frankly!
Recollecting hearing those sounds during my childhood – brought back fond memories of fresh cut grass and hot, breezy days in the suburbs. Not once does the feeling of being “offended” or disturbed enter our thoughts.
In the past decade of living practically off-grid compared to the grind of city life – of course, we have our own full lineup of loud and noisy landscaping equipment. Including multiple blowing apparatuses! And so do most of our neighbors, even though some of them still employ professional landscapers.
The sound of motorized lawn equipment, to us at least, is the sound of LIFE living on properties in America.
Leaf Blower Bans all across the country? What epidemic is happening?
To be honest, we don’t have a TV or read mainstream news publications. Not for a very long time at least. Sure a quick glance online – but very limited (5 minutes a week if that?)
But one of our landscaping publications had a “webinar” recently regarding some leaf blower bans (at least over in the NYC suburbs). We were curious and did web search regarding this odd new topic (for us, at least.)
Apparently – many cities (mostly originating from that wonderful state of California) have enacted local ordinances either banning – or heavily restricting the use of “motorized” leaf blowers.
Primarily – their main “ammunition” for instituting these control measures over other people were: Noise (quality of life), Pollution (the “environment”), and other toxins and dust (allergies, asthma).
The weak people who were intolerant of the productive work of others – all joined the crusade supporting these draconian and unnecessary “laws.”
Some necessary work is noisy. Get over it.
What is wrong with people? Does the whole world have to cater to them?
For those who are sane – you typically “know what you’re getting into” when you pick a place to live.
- You live in a city? Get used to smaller spaces, busy travel, and overall congestion and noise. Plus many, MANY “neighbors” (wanted or not). But you might have convenient mass transit or easily “walkable” neighborhoods.
- How about the nearby suburbs? You still have neighbors, albeit a little further away – but most often they’re within earshot and you can see them as well. You have the backyard parties, landscapers, garbage trucks, and so on. Typically much quieter than a big city, but you most often need a car – and have more maintenance to perform.
- What about even further? An almost “rural” suburb? The noise factors are almost eliminated – but your distance from “civilization” tends to be much further. There goes the “convenience” (and why online ordering is huge). Even the landscaping is far enough away to barely notice. Your social life is next to nothing, however (depending on how far in the sticks you are).
See? Each locale you can live in has their pros and cons. As they should. Like in a city, to have everything at your fingertips requires a system around it. Or to have a tiny plot of grass in the suburbs requires maintenance. And to have your privacy out in the woods, requires other sacrifices.
To those people “complaining” about noise – probably should have picked an area with more space between neighbors. But no, they needed their other conveniences too. So now these people are expecting the world around them to cater to their hangups that come along with where THEY VOLUNTARILY CHOSE TO LIVE!
How about that.
It’s not as bad as they tell you. Just over-reacting!
See the writing on the wall, no?
Many of these horrible new ordinances popping up all across the country are basically because of two main factors:
- Political Power (in progressive cities) – Those who have positions of “power” (i.e., a council member or mayor) – when in certain more liberal areas – tend to react more to loud, squeaky wheels than to take a stance that is sensible. They cave to the pressure from their whining constituents because they know who the majority of voters are – and they want to keep their elected office. Social media amplifies this as well. This is why many of those laws come to be.
- Social Justice Warriors – This new trend of entitled people (who ironically say you need to be “tolerant” of all things out there), are the ones intolerant of manual labor and keeping properties looking nice. Because they’ve attached some “virtue signaling” aspects of these minor inconveniences (noise) and have created a platform that is hard to argue with, especially if you’re a politician. How can you fight back against “loud noises disturbing the peaceful neighborhood?” or “We can’t breathe please help us!” It’s political suicide to have a response that goes against the crybabies of the social media world.
This is why – depending on your desired living conditions (as well as personal freedoms) – it is important to find a place to live that hasn’t been overrun by raving lunatics expecting the entire world to take care of them and their every whim or complaint.
Luckily there are still a few spots left in New Jersey where people have a “live and let live” approach. But those too, are becoming rarer by the year. And this is at least one of the reasons why people relocate to other areas… the intolerant mobs of busybodies!
From drinking straws to lawn equipment, to what kind of personal transportation you have. How long can this nonsense continue?
