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| At The Bay (click to enlarge) |
As I surveyed the damage on Robson and Granville this morning, walking past an ashen-faced premier and even more shell-shocked mayor answering the press as to why they weren’t better prepared last night (what if the Canucks had won?), and walking by TSN’s Michael Landsberg (even more piranha-like in person), I like so many Vancourites am devastated by the broken windows left by a group of out-of-control thugs.
If they wanted to take revenge for the loss last night, they should have addressed their ire at the woefully unprepared Vigneault, the underachieving Sedins and the rest of the Canucks, all of whom deserve no praise for their sterile effort last night.
This would be a good time for that tough on crime thing, but since this bit of holliganism did not involve marijuana or sex, they will get off with a wrist slap. No matter the punishment, nothing can take away this stain on a beautiful city that has taken so much abuse the last couple of years.
UPDATE: Just re-visited the same area downtown and was surprised to see how much of the garbage has been cleaned up (and I’m not just talking about the media, who’ve all but disappeared). There are still a few boarded up windows but not many. The Bay is still all boarded and good thing, too. Tens of thousands of messages of support adorn the boards. Even now, hundreds are leaving messages and dozens of young people are cleaning up and removing graffiti on fixed surfaces. It’s a reassuring site that I hope the media have taken note of. I’ve refrained from watching news last night and today but I hope some of the good that has come from the riots is also shared with Canadians.
