I find the behaviour demonstrated by so many of the people who came to the streets of Vancouver for game 7 of the Canucks/Bruins Stanley Cup finals absolutely disgusting. This display of civil belligerence blackens the reputation that Vancouver and all of British Columbia has spent so many years and untold resources creating. Vancouver is a beautiful city and BC a beautiful province. As in every corner of Canada, the people generally speaking are gentle, kind and considerate. This does not, however overcome the negative effect created by the lack of discipline that so many of our (mainly) young people continue to demonstrate. British Columbia and in particular, the Lower Mainland (Greater Vancouver) is treated more as a vacation destination rather than a place for its citizens to live, work and raise their families.
This ‘vacationland’ attitude is promulgated primarily by political and business interests, for obvious reasons and is taken advantage of by the simple-minded folk who turn out en-mass at events like Wednesday, June 15th 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
It’s common knowledge, and has been for millennia that when large numbers of human beings are called to a central point and fed high levels of excitement … those numbers will become uncontrollable. With this knowledge being readily available to Vancouver’s Mayor and Police Chief, why then was this atrocious demonstration of civil disobedience allowed to get started? Tens of thousands of British Columbians must be thinking that Police, and even Military forces should have been on hand nearby to be called in to quickly control the inevitable reaction by the undisciplined to the terrible performance of the Vancouver Canucks in the seven games of the Stanley Cup Finals. Was nothing learned by
See the official report that was promulgated following the 1994 Vancouver Riot. (Robert Whitelaw)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/06/16/bc-vancouver-riot-whitelaw-1994-report.html
I am ashamed for Vancouver, ashamed for British Columbia and for Canada. Mayor Gregor Robertson and the Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu should accept full responsibility for this disgrace, and perhaps even resign, for their role in this riot cannot be denied.
Bruce Harvey
Duncan, BC
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