Jun
16
Mob Mentality.
Posted by: sammy | June 16, 2011 | 6 Comments
This is not my city.
This is not my city, this is not my Canada. I have never been more ashamed of a group of people than I am right now. Flipping cars, burning them, killing, ruining and destroying and why? Because another team won? To me, this is the lowest form of human existence, this being just to cause destruction and mayhem. We live and love in this city, I wake up in the morning and feel lucky that I get to call this place home. The Canucks lose the cup and this happens? I will not even grace the rioters with the name “fan” they are not fans, they are vile excuses of skin.
In Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria… pick your place where there are or were riots, they were fighting for something that mattered: they were fighting for their rights, their freedoms, they were fighting oppression and here, there is a riot because someone else won? Just look at that, we are destroying this beautiful city because someone else is happy tonight. Someone else won the cup, another team right now gets to hoist over their head and feel utter joy. As a fan, you can be sad, you can be angry… but you don’t hurt you, don’t destroy. Not only is it a shame to you, yourself and other fans… it’s an embarassment for the team. They get to look back at this and see all the destruction that was supposedly done because they lost.
Four goals, three periods, complete anarchy downtown. It’s just a game, when you live in a place you can actually set a HUMMER on fire, then you should not be rioting.
I as a fan, and a person that calls this city my home, am completely disgusted and sad. Walking through the riots today, even though I was there just when they were starting, it felt like a different city. It felt nearly post apocalyptic. I have never been in a situation where the city was both simultaneously hushed yet chaotic.
To the rioters,
Look at what you’ve done, look at the destruction. On these streets, lives were lived. People laughed, cried, and some call these streets home. There is no excuse for this, none. The destruction and the fear you caused makes you look like petty fools. You’re not fans, you’re barely even humans. You’re rioting someone else’s win, you should have let the Bruins celebrate and the Canucks live on. Now you have shamed the city, the fans, the team and yourselves.
I hope that all you have to riot for in your lives is a lost hockey game.
To the Bruins,
You win was deserved, if it wasn’t you wouldn’t be hoisting the cup now.
With all darkness, there is hope. As a city we should all remember the feels we had that united us across the series, to the cheers and chants that were shared, to the high fives and celebration. We should remember that those who are killing and destroying tonight are not doing this for the Canucks; they might be wearing jerseys, but they are not fans. The real fans would shake a Bruin’s fan’s hand not destroy the city they call home.
For those who care about this city, take part in this. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219286898091948
Comments
6 Comments so far
Love reading your posts, all I can say is that I hope the people who did this are proud of themselves in the morning, it was absolutely disgusting. Also, have there been any confirmed deaths at this time?
@Arielle I am pretty sure that there is one confirmed, but I haven’t got any outside sources.
Great post – as a Vancouverite, I am ashamed of this incident. I mourn for the potential loss of lives. I hope that in the coming days and weeks, the reputation of this great city can be restored.
I’d be embarrassed to call the rioters fans. They weren’t fans at all — hooligans looking for any excuse to start a riot and have their so-called thoughtless, callous ‘fun’ would be a better approximation of their ridiculous behaviour. I am so ashamed of having to make phone calls to people around the world to reassure them that I’m fine and no, this is not what Vancouver is supposed to be like.
I feel your pain. Unfortunately, aggression is very easy to settle in group behavior, especially in hyped up crowds. That’s why I always wonder why there isn’t more police control all over a city, not just a particular stadium or place of event.
I am not surprised. Where do you think those seventh graders go, the ones who smash school windows and leave their beer bottle shards in the grass? This is just a bigger playground for them.
And I agree with Lillienne–hockey is just an excuse for their “fun,” just as Friday nights are an excuse for those kids.