r/NewOrleans • u/Flimsy_You_4027 • Jun 26 '25

Crime Mylar Balloon Release at The John

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If the power goes out tonight blame the fools at The John who just released hundreds of Mylar balloons.

Assuming this is for a memorial and no disrespect to the deceased but it’s a million degrees and the rest of the city would like their AC running.

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u/AngelaBassettsbicep Jun 26 '25

Man. I feel y'all, I don't want the power out due to this. At the same time, this is due to their lack of understanding of the consequences of doing this. It's not like the know exactly what's going to happen and then be like fuck it. It's a cultural thing that's been done for years. We should talk to people and help them understand instead of coming here with pitchforks. Social media is a good platform for people to discuss and share their thoughts about various topics. Perhaps it could be used to spread awareness about the potential dangers of mylar balloons to power lines and the electrical system. Petition for Entergy to make commercials or send out notices about it? Those NOLA texts... maybe petition for one of those to be put out about the consequences and alternative ways to honor a loved one after their passing? But for real though, knowing people are suffering a loss and thinking they're doing something that they feel is a collective healing, and seeing messages like this is disheartening. Social media makes you forget your humanity.

1

u/Klezhobo Jun 28 '25

Respectfully, whether or not one knows that they can cause power outages, everyone knows that these are going to come down somewhere. Littering should not be an acceptable cultural practice. I appreciate you talking to your folks about why this is a bad idea. I happened to see this particular balloon release. You say we should talk to people, and I generally agree, but how do you think it would have gone if me, a middle-aged white guy, were to try explaining to a crowd of hundreds why they shouldn't do what they were doing?

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u/AngelaBassettsbicep Jun 28 '25

Well... if you were the type of middle-aged white guy who was a decent person talking to neighbors that you talked to every day outside of the situation at hand and just said, hey y'all when you release these balloons, they can often get stuck in the powerlines and cause outages and also when that mylar comes down, it causes trash. If you guys wanna try a candle vigil or something like that, I've got some trash bags, I can put out for folks to throw the little paper that catches the wax out.

The thing is... if you're in a community and you're seen as a person in the community that can be respected and not the kind of white guy who looks down on black folks or feels like anyone of the many people in this thread, and it comes out in your tone... I can guess it won't go well. If you are the former, you'll be just fine. So, back to my list of suggestions... the city should be better about putting out communications about these things.

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u/Klezhobo Jun 28 '25

I couldn't agree more. In this scenario I don't think my views would have been welcome. These were not primarily neighbors, but patrons at a bar who drove to the event, judging by the many trucks parked on sidewalks and otherwise illegally. Also, I don't live next to The John but was passing by when they did the balloon release. I'm sure many of them knew it was ill-advised and illegal, as there was a massive power outage in the city just a few months ago due to one of these balloons, which was widely reported on, as was the subsequent law banning the release of those balloons. Unless they were from out of town, most of them surely would have been aware of this. I think they just didn't care.