Are there a lot of jerks at 4th of July gatherings…

We haven't gone to any kind of event on the 4th for years. I don't think big crowds and lots of booze mix very well. Then you add in the nationalist element and it's just not a good time.

We definitely have a large crop in this country who think that freedom means not needing to care about anyone else.

Yep!  I live in a resort area with several Airbnb houses near me.  One next door.  They proceeded to start firing off firecrackers and bottle rockets around 4:00 p.m. Then they started with actual firework around 8:00 and went on until after midnight.  #1.  Fireworks are illegal in my state unless fired by a professtional who has obtained a license.  #2 We are under a burn ban because we have not had rain for over 3 weeks.  No use going over there and telling them that as they were all drunk and would not have cared. 

I hate people. Seriously, that was so incredibly rude. As for the boat of drunks I would have called the coast guard/harbor patrol on them, but I am like that.

Sorry that your night was ruined.

That part of the bible is "woke" now. 

My old neighborhood had a ton of jerks, year round. I was furious one year, because the illegal fireworks were going off right in front of my house and my poor dogs were going nuts. The next day, I found all kinds of debris in my yard, including one shell that landed a foot away from my garage window.

I posted in our neighborhood FB page about people picking up their trash and not setting off illegal fireworks in the future. I had one obnoxious neighbor about 6 houses down from me come over and yell at me, saying I was trying to control everyone. Also, we have a lot of veterans/military members in our neighborhood, and apparently that allows them to do whatever they want on the 4th. 🙄 She didn't seem to grasp when I replied a lot of servicemembers have PTSD that can be triggered by fireworks.

The next year, the neighbor catty corner to me had a baby, and they asked for the fireworks to not be in the street so the baby wouldn't get upset. Fortunately, the jerks liked those neighbors, so they kept the fireworks away.

So glad I sold that house and moved!!

All of that. I didn’t drink anything on the 4th because I flew in the AM and was tired, and I think if you are stone cold sober, you notice even more acutely how alcohol, particularly consumed by people who don’t ordinarily or legally drink, leads to some really bad decisionmaking!

Agree, so much. I do not even go out to eat anymore due to the rude and inconsiderate people. No fun sitting in a nice restaurant with people talking loudly on speaker phone or screeching at each other like they are at sporting event. One time a young child in the booth behind me was standing on the seat and kept hanging over into my space coughing and snotty. I politely asked the adult if she would have the child sit down and she started yelling at me stating "he is just a baby and does not know better and asked me if I knew what it was like to have children". Jeez, she went on and on, telling me what her child was just having fun and they can do as they please and I should leave them alone. Okay.

Same with shopping, such rudeness and gross behavior. Was in the grocery store the other day and a women was walking around eating a container of yogurt with her hands, dripping it all over the floor. What is with people?

DD and I were in Chicago last week for a concert. the merch line and concession lines were somewhat blurred and people were inadvertently cutting. the people in front of me were NOT having it and were yelling loudly at those who were cutting. The way the flow of traffic was moving it was an honest mistake and once the would be line cutters realized it they moved to the right place, but I was somewhat taken aback by the people in front of me doing the yelling.

At DD's graduation my MIL and I were trying to find the elevator so my FIL who is on a cane could get to us more easily. I said something to a woman who was obviously on a walker that I was going to follow her as she was heading to the elevator. She turned around and informed me that under no circumstances was I allowed to follow her I was not handicapped and was not allowed in the handicapped section. She kept going on and on until my mil touched her arm while talking to her and the lady SCREAMED at my MIL that she had assaulted her and to back the F up. We both stopped at that point, and MIL immediately apologized but the whole evening was just brought down by that one person. I was embarrassed and quite honestly shocked. FIL had to climb the very steep stairs and of course they were late getting in due to traffic. I've never seen someone so outlandishly rude for no reason.

I'm sorry the boat on the lake ruined your night, I would have called the cops or some other authority in the area.

There are a lot of jerks on boats in general.