Terror from Above
The admirably synchronized Blue Angels circled our fine city once again this weekend, during Fleet Week, and I thought I would whittle my mix of cultural curiosity and anxious disgruntlement down to two points. For whatever reason, I found this year’s display of might less abrasive than in the past. Perhaps the flights were more muted, and perhaps I’m somewhat inured. Somewhat. My nerves were still on edge.
Types of Noise: I am fascinated each year that there is even any debate or discussion about these planes flying overhead and making enormous amounts of house-shaking, nerve-rattling noise. I truly mean that, when I say I’m fascinated. I personally can’t imagine anything other than wanting the whole thing to be brought down a few notches, and yet it’s quite clear there are a lot of people who revel in the ferocity of it all. I can’t access that enthusiasm, myself, and I’d like to better understand what pleasure people take in it. I mean, I listen to some really harsh music. I’ve seen Slayer and Godflesh in concert, just to name a few bands. I listen to intense industrial music. So, I’m not opposed to noise, per se. But if there’s a line, then to me the Fleet Week planes passed over it.
The Negative Impact: I really don’t think people fully appreciate how horrible all that noise is for animals, for the elderly, and for infants. There are also several major hospitals in San Francisco, as well as the VA Medical Center, which among other things deals with PTSD and mental health issues for veterans. The VA is at the top of Lands End, and it has incredible views of the San Francisco Bay. Most of the year that location is pretty blissful. However, during Fleet Week I imagine — and I could be entirely wrong — that for some the experience serves up a host of troubling memories. I’d be interested in the VA’s perspective on this. Maybe the walls are thick enough that it just doesn’t matter.
In any case, the skies ironically were no longer clear the day after Fleet Week ended. It even rained a bit, but they were quieter, welcomingly so. Local journalist George Kelly has a good piece in sfstandard.com on the annual event that mentions two websites I didn’t know about previously: flyquietoak.com, a service of the Oakland airport that is focused on noise issues, and webtrak.emsbk.com/oak3, which maps noise matters in this handy live data visualization:
