Well, it wasn't about the game at all. Win or lose, there would have been a riot; a game like this was just an excuse to turn things over, set them on fire, and loot. These sports riots are the worst. This one was more costly than the one in 1994, the last time the Canucks took a run at the cup and failed, there was a lot more property damage and was more spread out.
Vancouver is close to where I live, as you know, and I sat up late watching the video until it started to repeat itself (the riot was pretty much over after 3 or 4 hours, as opposed to the 1994 riot that went about twice as long). It's weird to see a bookstore where you've shopped have its windows smashed in and looted on TV (though I think they probably only had use for the chocolate and Kindles).
What got me was that, like all riots, there was only a small core of really active troublemakers who whip the others up - but what was different were the crowds of people standing around looking not at the riot, but at their cellphones and cameras that were making video of the riot for them to watch later. Meanwhile it was as if they felt they weren't even there - that as such spectators nothing would happen to them.
I see this happening more and more: crimes, looting, rapes etc. happening while no one intervenes, they just stand around and film it for their private jollies later. That's the sick and scary part. This isn't the normal stupidity or sheeplike apathy that we've had dogging us for as long as we've had society; this is a serious lack of empathy and an act of resignation from being a human being.
I'd also note that where I saw an actual fight, it was always 7 or 8 guys beating up on one guy, not the one-on-one matches that our fathers told us they fought... and every one of them, including the victim, wearing Canucks jerseys.
There was some irresponsible talk yesterday by Vancouver's police chief about how the "Black Block" of anarchists was responsible, but I think that's just stupid journalists happening to notice that some of the rioters wore black hoodies. They also blamed the Block for the minor riot that disrupted the 2010 Olympics, but they didn't have much to do with that.
I saw footage of one bunch of people in a high-end store, they had found and taken out all the fire extinguishers - not because they wanted to put out the burning cars outside before they exploded, but because these are good to smash windows with. That's not anarchy, that's just making and using tools. Any gang of teenage amateur criminals is better organized than the BB, at least they can agree on what they want to get out of the violence.
no subject
Vancouver is close to where I live, as you know, and I sat up late watching the video until it started to repeat itself (the riot was pretty much over after 3 or 4 hours, as opposed to the 1994 riot that went about twice as long). It's weird to see a bookstore where you've shopped have its windows smashed in and looted on TV (though I think they probably only had use for the chocolate and Kindles).
What got me was that, like all riots, there was only a small core of really active troublemakers who whip the others up - but what was different were the crowds of people standing around looking not at the riot, but at their cellphones and cameras that were making video of the riot for them to watch later. Meanwhile it was as if they felt they weren't even there - that as such spectators nothing would happen to them.
I see this happening more and more: crimes, looting, rapes etc. happening while no one intervenes, they just stand around and film it for their private jollies later. That's the sick and scary part. This isn't the normal stupidity or sheeplike apathy that we've had dogging us for as long as we've had society; this is a serious lack of empathy and an act of resignation from being a human being.
I'd also note that where I saw an actual fight, it was always 7 or 8 guys beating up on one guy, not the one-on-one matches that our fathers told us they fought... and every one of them, including the victim, wearing Canucks jerseys.
There was some irresponsible talk yesterday by Vancouver's police chief about how the "Black Block" of anarchists was responsible, but I think that's just stupid journalists happening to notice that some of the rioters wore black hoodies. They also blamed the Block for the minor riot that disrupted the 2010 Olympics, but they didn't have much to do with that.
I saw footage of one bunch of people in a high-end store, they had found and taken out all the fire extinguishers - not because they wanted to put out the burning cars outside before they exploded, but because these are good to smash windows with. That's not anarchy, that's just making and using tools. Any gang of teenage amateur criminals is better organized than the BB, at least they can agree on what they want to get out of the violence.