Vancouver Riots
Trying to concentrate on the reactions of citizens that were appalled - many cried and said this is not what our city represents and yet is ruined by those who caused the anarchy. The landmark HBC building which is now surrounded by plywood to cover the broken glass has been signed by thousands of citizens who apologize and offer encouragement and positive messages to the business owners. Groups of young people showed up early in the morning with their own buckets/brooms and bags to clean up the mess. The young people i work with whom are considered high risk students were especially concerned over the children and expressed dismay that some young Boston fans may have been in the Arena and witnessed the mayhem. The behavior is so disgusting and my heart goes out to those that tried to stop the looting and distruction to have some turn on them. This whole incident shows the ugly side of human behavior. So on behalf of all Vancouverites..we apologize and say Congrats to the Bruins on their win. Marianne |
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I hadn't heard anything of this  That is very sad but, glad that so many pulled together to try to make it better  When I think of Vancouver, I think of you and your HUGE heart and selfless giving to others!!  Thank you!  |
| Thanks for those nice words! It was the night of the Stanley Cup finals our Canucks vs Boston Bruins..(you know how nutty Canadians are about Hockey). The city celebrated and even rented larger screens to be set up in the downtown area so that the public could join together and recapture the feelings of comaradie and joy. Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics and citizens had been appealing to the mayor to recapture those same feelings of goodwill from the previous year They made huge efforts and even had the large screens brought up from California. (Those screens had beer bottles thrown at them at the end of the game) On my way home from work - I saw thousands of people at the bus stops wearing their team jerseys to cheer their team. So many children, as this was supposed to be family fun. Instead it was a night of riots,cars over turned and burning police cars, as well as up to 36 other cars that were targeted for mayhem , millions of dollars of damages to stores and looting. Those responsible boasted on Facebook and other social media sites of their involvement. They came prepared to cause the mayhem as who carries Molotov cocktails to an event? The news showed numerous young men ( young women too) posing in front of broken store windows or burning cars so they could post photos of themselves on their profiles. Social media however works both ways, and even more captured those people and now the city is posting the wall of shame. Relatives, friends and bosses are now turning those people in. Police cars and fire trucks are being covered with post it notes offering apologies and support for what had been an extremely difficult night. The event truly showed ugly human behavior but an even greater number are fighting back by showing support/condolences and appreciation to responders/businesses and tourist who unfortunately got caught up in the riot. Marianne |
| I heard an interview with your Mayor and was so impressed by him and his reaction to this situation. The huge numbers of people who were mortified and rallied to clean up after the riots out-shined what the few hoodlums did, for sure. I think most of the rest of the world realizes those punks don't represent your city. Those idiots should be strung up by their toes, though! |
rdf wrote: I heard an interview with your Mayor and was so impressed by him and his reaction to this situation. The huge numbers of people who were mortified and rallied to clean up after the riots out-shined what the few hoodlums did, for sure. I think most of the rest of the world realizes those punks don't represent your city. Those idiots should be strung up by their toes, though! Ditto! I heard the interview too- And YES--those hoodlums should be strung up! |
| These things happen even tho they're wrong and I don't think anyone would associate all Canadians with this. It's good tho that the young people are so willing to make things right. |
I haven't seen the pictures, but I did hear that the destruction was very bad.  Some stupid and very destructive people....so sad. I hope they get prosecuted and punished. Maybe a work crew to clean damage would be appropriate!  |
| Interesting commentary on the riots. http://www.cknw.com/Channels/philip_til ... ID=1445239 |
| When Dallas won the Stanley Cup, there was rioting during the parade. Everyone was horrified. So when Dallas had the parade last week (entirely paid for by the team owner, Cuban), security the first thing discussed. TV an newpapers carried stories about the arrangements and no tolerance policy. The parade was a success. Helped out by having it on a week day, during 100+ degree weather and early morning (before they could get too drunk). |
| Thanks for the comments everyone. I think the general consensus in the city is that the Police did an outstanding job - given their restraint at the time. More police presence would have actually fueled the crowd and previous to the riot they were seen in a positive light as they too were celebrating their team. The mayor wanted to recapture the feeling of goodwill that Vancouver displayed during the Olympics. The city has overall been supportive of the Mayor and the Chief of Police. I think they were kinda in a damned if we do , damned if we don't situation. Despite that however, my only misgivings were that 100,000 bodies were crammed in a downtown area as they were given larger screens (compliments from the city) to watch and share the joy with other Vancouverites. Previous to that, there were smaller areas with smaller screens and thus the crowds were more manageable. The same people that were responsible are being held accountable as the same Facebook/Twitter pages they bragged about are being used as evidence. Not only that, but that literally thousands had their faces captured on peoples phones. People can now identify them and some knowing that will happen turned themselves in. News of the young man showing off/chest puffed out while lighting the police gas tank on fire made the news. He was a Polo Player with a Scholarship to a Major US university, father is a surgeon and mom is a registered nurse. He was an Olympic hopefull on the Polo Team. Not at all what you would have expected! He was on the news the following night apologizing for his behavior, Kicked off the team, scholarship on hold, and mom and dad had to temp move. Plus has 4 charges against him for his crimes. Others were identified and turned in by family members, bosses, friends ect...Reports of several losing their jobs. Another young man shown breaking windows and boasting was identified - he too was an upstanding member of the community. Their stupidness fueled by mob mentality and booze was no excuse. They say 2% were involved , 20% tried to step up and defend property, and the rest left not wanting to be part of it. Just like bullies, if there is no one watching and encouraging their antics they leave the target alone usually. I wasn't there but home with my furkids so while I'd like to say I'd step up and help, but the sheer frenzy of the crowd must have been truly frightening. Those that did were targeted by the thugs. Some were beat for their efforts by those causing the destruction. There was even a YouTube vid showing 3 young ladies bravely defending hundreds from further damaging a car. No one stepped in to help but thought it was humorous. |
| There is a sci-fi book by my favourite sci-fi author (Earth by David Brin), set only a few decades in the future, in it, everyone has personal video/audio recording devices running all the time, so crime has virtually been eliminated because there is always video/audio witnesses. Looking at the crowds of people, 80% of whom were holding their phones above their heads taking pictures and recording, that future is practically here now. But ironically, the youth that seem most permanently wired-in now don't seem to grasp how all this data becomes very easily and publicly available, to the police, employers, courts, schools, everyone. |
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