Photo credit: Gustavo Fring
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
In 1989, Carmine Santa Maria and I published a paper in the John Jay College newspaper titled: “Noise annoys but it also masks crime and incites violence.” In this article, we note that fights erupt over noisy radios, stereos and parties. In earlier posts, I have discussed how noise has resulted in personal fights. Thus, I was not surprised to read this article which describes how a woman in Oak Bay, Vancouver assaulted someone who was disturbing her with noisy yard equipment.
The woman was sleeping in a parked vehicle when she was awakened by nearby noisy yard equipment. She then slapped the individual who awakened her and left the area. However, she soon returned and was greeted by a police officer who arrested her. She has been released and was given a date for a court appearance.
I believe that most people would say that the woman acted inappropriately. She could have expressed her discontent at being awakened by the noisy equipment and left it at that. However, she chose to slap the individual on the cheek. I speak to many people who have been disturbed by nearby resident noise and many say they feel like “hitting” the noise makers but refrain from doing so. Yet, as media has indicated lately, fights over noise do occur and some lead to violent behavior.
Oak Bay is a small, picturesque community located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. I will assume that its residents enjoy many periods of quiet. If that is true, we can better understand this “overreaction” to loud sounds.
