The sad, painful truth about the Vancouver rioters’ true identities

[Newsjock]

Source: The Globe and Mail

While police and politicians continue to lay the blame for this week’s Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver on professional anarchists and hardened thugs with deep-seated criminal tendencies, the blogosphere and social networks such as Facebook have been revealing a much more uncomfortable truth.

Many of those who participated in the riot were not these types of people at all. They were, in many instances, the sons and daughters of good, upstanding citizens who today must still be in shock over what they’ve learned.

... The picture of a young man attempting to set a police cruiser on fire by lighting a rag stuffed in its gas tank has received widespread Internet attention. He’s been identified as an academic all-star who was supposed to be heading to the U.S. in fall on a water polo scholarship.

... Underlying this dynamic, however, is the more pressing reality that we all must begin to grapple with soon. That is that hundreds of otherwise normal, seemingly well-adjusted kids looked at the riot as an opportunity for a type of social and cultural timeout where the normal rules of behaviour and social interaction did not apply.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/gary_mason/the-sad-painful-truth-about-the-vancouver-rioters-true-identities/article2066321/

[virgogal]

1. Booze plus testosterone plus a mob and there you go.

[pscot]

2. The behavioral sink

There's a lot of ambient rage just below the surface.

[RufusTFirefly]

3. A by-product of HarperWorld

Canadian young people are starting to feel, much like their neighbors to the south of them, that their government doesn't care about them. It's a relatively new feeling for Canadians -- at least the Anglophones. And yet it's a recipe for alienation and destruction.

[Springer9]

5. Does that explain 1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot too?

*SMH*

http://bit.ly/k6tII8

[kestrel91316]

4. Buncha drunks, IMHO.

[Taverner]

6. When I was in Vancouver, during the summer they had weekly firework festivals

The crowds after the show looked like normal people, but the sheer volume of people brought out an anti-social side that shocked me...

[girl gone mad]

7. Why would anyone think anarchists would riot over sports?

[devilgrrl]

9. I know!

:crazy:

If anything, the "anarchists" probably were the few people in Vancouver that couldn't give a rat's ass about the Stanley Cup or hockey in general and most likely were nowhere near the action.

[DBoon]

12. the Anarchists were busy handing out pamphlets

advocating smashing the state.

There were likely unaware of any hockey game at all

[JVS]

8. The sad and painful truth is that losing a stanley cup final really sucks.

Hence the rioting.

[devilgrrl]

10. At least Buffalo didn't riot after losing on cheesy goal in 1999

eom.

[Upton]

22. They should have..

Brett Hull was in the crease. That goal should have been disallowed.

[Raine]

14. Being out of a job or under paid in the one you have sucks too

those are the people who actually have a good reason to riot but never seem to. :-(

[JVS]

15. If unemployment among Canada's young is anything like here, a good portion of that...

crowd may have been unemployed college graduates forced back into their parent's home.

[Obamanaut]

21. Did the team members riot? They are the only ones who lost - everyone

else was just a spectator. What the spectators lost was self-control.

[Blue_Tires]

25. The sad and painful truth is some scumbags were planning on raising hell win or lose...

I have no doubt that this was planned from the very start, and once a match was lit, hundreds of others would join in, either in beer-fueled anger or jubilation...

[MadMaddie]

11. I don't care where they grew up or who their parents are

I don't care if they had good grades or were playing to go to Ivy league schools
They should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I know Canada may have different laws but this was destruction just to be doing it. I don't care where they came from or who their parents are they broke the law and should pay the price.

Note below they say they come form good solid surburban citizens, is it not possible for those in minority areas to come up in homes with good families. It's as if they are trying to justify why these young people did this.


These kids will get slaps on the hands but let's see how many end up in jail.


<snip>
seemingly well-adjusted kids looked at the riot as an opportunity for a type of social and cultural timeout where the normal rules of behaviour and social interaction did not apply.

are actually the sons of good solid suburban citizens,” said Prof. Gruneau. “Some of them are likely our students.”

<snip>

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NewEngland4Obama]

16. Looks like the Canadians are silly people..

[Mugu]

17. One gentleman has decided to give the rioters something to worry about.

http://publicshamingeternus.wordpress.com/

[JBoy]

23. Great link, thanks!

[seabeyond]

24. i love it. that is excellent. good for them. nt

[eilen]

18. whenever our local private uni's teams fans gets out of control

The official press always says it was either the townies (read minority population who never seem to be allowed in the campus bars) or "out of towners"-- Never the precious over indulged students!

[sufrommich]

19. Actually, the saddest thing about the Vancouver riots are

watching people try to come up with some acceptable reason why there were riots in tony Vancouver. In 1984 when the Tigers won the World Series the common theme was "It's Detroit, what do you expect".

[City of Mills]

20. Considering the ticket prices

I'm sure there quite a few of Canada's upper-class spoiled brats involved.

[Downtown Hound]

26. Anarchists? LOL

Yeah, anarchists care so much about the Stanley Cup.

:eyes: