Ashamed of my Hometown
I struggled to get to sleep last night, perhaps still trying to rework my body into a riding sleep schedule after the late nights at the Bonnaroo festival. Finally at 2am Central Time I pulled out the Amazon Kindle to see who won the Hockey Game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins. It was the final game in the series, winner taking the Stanley Cup. Vancouver has yet to win a cup in 40 years of playing hockey, yet has been to this stage 3 times before. I didn’t get to even know the score before I started reading the many reports of the rioting that was occurring in Vancouver. Yup – this photo I found on the internet pretty much explains it all.
Cars being flipped, people lighting jerseys on fire, Fights, and general hooliganism destroying public and private property was the picture painted to me, as I couldn’t see any of the photos. I’ve heard word that Boston Bruin’s fan was attacked and thrown off of the Georgia Viaduct by these classy individuals hell bent on destroying our city.
Vancouver’s got the the title as the most Liveable city in the world however I’m sure this is soon to change. I mean, who wants to risk their safety when going out for a nice night to cheer on a sports team where it is inevitable that someone is either going to win or lose. Stay classy folks – People all around the world have been rebelling and rioting to stand up to their government for oppression, yet our Country sits and watches as a majority government hell bent on destroying our uniqueness gets put into power yet work into a fury over a bunch of guys with greasy hair, bad teeth, and sore ankles skating around on ice for entertainment?
I’m disgusted to hail from Vancouver at this moment in time, already in the 5 hours since I have been riding on the road I’ve encountered random passer-by’s who have asked my place of residence. News has already hit into the small towns of Alabama, with their commentary being that they wouldn’t want to visit the area for fear of being hurt or robbed if that’s how we go about our business.
No matching videos
We’ve rioted before in 1994 when we lost similarly to the New York Rangers, and a huge media campaign started in an attempt to identify any of the troublemakers with most being caught, and charged. Guess what – We’re in a new era now. Nearly everyone has a camera, or cellular phone with video capabilities and there are tonnes of photos circulating. With the advent of social networking, these pictures can be spread quickly in an attempt to bring these criminals to justice. Even better, Facebook has been receiving flack lately for testing out new Facial Recognition features on their site eliminating humans to tag specific persons in photographs. I say let’s throw this technology at the pile of photos that are appearing and see if it really works after all.
I’m not stating that all of Vancouver is to blame for this mess, but you know the adage, it takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch, and unfortunately you’re been lumped in with them. I’m aware of clean-up efforts by fans to repair the destroyed streets which are still occurring as this is written but regardless, this will shape the way that the city handles public events from this point onwards. Never forget the quote – ‘Fool me once, shame on you, Fool me twice, Shame on Me’ as this will be very relevant from this point forward. Vancouver, you could have done better, and all of those who are taking photos, could have spent the time to stop the people from doing the deeds they did – you are no better.
Absolutely disgusted.
There is a website dedicated to showing additional pictures of the riots in an attempt to identify some of the criminals. Take a look and see if you can help!
Not all was bad however, Perhaps the rioters should have taken this approach instead of the fighting:
Jun 18, 2011 @ 13:12:19
Your home city is safe. Many citizens have covered a Vancouver City Police on a parked police car with post it notes expressing appreciation for the work of the Vancouver City Police, there are thousands of postings on the the many plywood sheets covering the windows of The Bay expressing their love of our city. At least 6 of the perps have turned themselves in as a result of a citizen driven campaign to identify those who initiated the riot and looting. The VPD website has been overwhelmed by the many pictures identifying the people responsible. Thousands of citizens turned out to help clean the street of glass the following morning
Enjoy your ride and then come home safely to your city
Jun 27, 2011 @ 09:16:42
Hey Dave…I’ve looked at quite a few of the sites dedicated to tracking down the Vancouver rioters. There may be slow progress, but it’s mostly due to the volume of crime. People are being nabbed, however, and the tidal wave of support, especially on Facebook groups, might hinder something like this in the future.
What’s happening? | Tired of I.T!
Feb 14, 2012 @ 10:27:05
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