Unless you were out of the country, you probably heard about the riots following game 7 of the Stanley Cup in Vancouver. A handfull of asshats did a lot of damage and inflicted injuries while a few SkyTrain cars worth of onlookers captured every moment from every angle on camera.
Within an hour, multiple sites sprang up for people to post photos and identify the asshats. Several were immediately identified (including a few who were stupid enough to boast about their exploits on Facebook and elsewhere). Within 24 hours, the Vancouver Police had received over a million submissions.
I’m torn about this, but maybe not in the way you’d expect. See, I’m kind of a hard-ass when it comes to stupid criminals; I’m content with the public vigilante aspect if this is what it takes to stop future brainless testosterone-fests such as this. What bugs me is that most of the people who submitted the million images and videos, did not need to be in the area where the riots took place.
I’m reminded of the Simpsons Halloween episode where giant advertising icons come to life and the only way to stop them is to “just don’t look.” I wonder if the crowds had left instead of staying to document the destruction, would the asshats have gotten bored sooner without an audience? There was at least one report of someone who was seen to be encouraging drunk and overwound people to do stupid/dangerous/illegal things for the camera — I doubt he was the only “director” out there that night.
In the days that followed, some of those identified stepped forward voluntarily — some were pushed. Some have issued tearful apologies. Some have lost jobs, sponsorships, opportunities and more. Many have now received threats of violence. One police officer has issued their own plea, asking that the rioters stop apologizing.
Dear 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup Rioters,
Please stop saying you’re sorry. Stop posting YouTube videos begging for forgiveness. Stop writing letters asking that society cut you some slack and leave you alone.
The letter continues, explaining just what was really at risk while the rioters were flipping cars, destroying property and inflicting injuries. It reminds them that “You can’t fix life altering injuries with an “I’m Sorry”. You can’t repay someone’s car loan with a YouTube video”
I know that among my readers there are those who feel that justice is not being served, that these “kids” (most of the rioters were between 15-25) will never be able to get past their “indiscretions” and undo the damage to their reputations but I cannot offer any sympathy on this issue. These acts were not simply stupid mistakes and yet I will be surprised if any of these guys do any kind of time or even have to pay financial damages unless maybe the Blenz lawsuit is successful, then all bets are off.
As far as I’m concerned, the onlookers were enabling the continued rioting. I actually find that to be the most disturbing part of the riots. If you’re at a street party and someone starts breaking stuff, you try to stop them, or you leave and let the police deal with it. At least, that’s what a person who actually feels responsible for what happens to his or her city will do. But how many of the lookers on and photo-takers actually felt responsible for what was happening? After all, it was those other guys doing it, not them! Why should they have to do anything? And why should they have to leave?
So, I agree with you about the spectators. People rarely perform without an audience. But now that we’ve all decided that it was just a few bad eggs, we can be satisfied with vilifying them and move on. To the next party, where as long as you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re responsibility-free!
The spectators were not innocent, but in my opinion the blame is proportionally related to the to the intent of malice, not just the stupidity, of the riot spectators. I don’t doubt there was a small percentage of thrill-seeking “film directors” goading the rioters on, living vicariously through the fire starters, car flippers and brick throwers. Most spectators risked making themselves Darwin Award winners when they chose to remain at the lighting of the first fire just minutes after the end of the game, like drivers risk injury to themselves and others by rubbernecking as they pass accident scenes – and you just know they would park and stare if they could get away with it. Stupid, yes, but not malicious.
No pity here for this variety of Looky Lous, but I don’t vilify them for not jumping in and trying to stop the rioters either; the few who did paid the price, and those I pity, because they DID feel responsible; the mob dragged one guy to the ground and kicked and punched him after he disarmed a kid who had just finished smashing a window with a metal pole. Two other Good Samaritans rescued him before he ended up with worse than a severely bleeding head.
Would the rioters have been less bold without an audience, though? Hell no. Police confirmed they came prepared with incendiary tools, kerchiefs to use as masks, and several were identified as some of the very same criminals who were involved in incidents of violence during the Olympics. The spectators’ presence had no more impact on the occurrence of the riots than did the outcome of Game 7 itself; the rioters would have flipped cars and smashed windows according to plan, and an empty street or a Stanley Cup would have made no difference to the behaviour of the rioters.
It have made a world of difference to the behaviour of police and fire departments, however. Police hesitated in advancing on the rioters in the hopes that more bystanders would clear the area, freeing them to use tear gas, flash bombs, and necessary force. Fire trucks can’t be used amid crowds for safety reasons, so fire-fighters had to park blocks away and couldn’t extinguish the burning vehicles.