Stanley Cup Riot: Vancouver 2011
I am completely ashamed to say I live among some individuals that made the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup finals look like trash.
I was with a group of friends watching the Canucks game last night on TV and we had such high hopes that Canucks would win.
We watched with sadness but still with the hope and faith that we would win next year. I went to the skytrain stadium to go home about 20 minutes after the game was over.
My friend and I stopped off at McDonald's and then we both went our separate ways. When I got home i watched in complete sadness for what had already occurred in the 30 minutes that it took me to arrive home. I was utterly in complete shock for what I was seeing on CBC and Global News. How could Vancouverites act like animals and trash cars, buildings, merchandise and other humans.
Other than the LA riots and oversees I have never seen anything worse and to think that it was all happening live on TV and there was nothing I could do about it. I took the above picture from my living room window about an hour after the game had finished.
I watched the news for so long that I had to go to bed. i think it was about 1:30 am by the time I turned off the tv.
All night I dreamt that I was in that riot trying to save myself and others. I woke up sick to my stomach and felt that need to talk to everyone about it today.
I went to work with the feeling of disappointment and it was mostly because of the riots and not because the Canucks lost. I want to make that clear because I am very proud of the Canucks as they played a wicked game. I can tell they poured their hearts and souls into the play offs. You win some you lose some and there's always 2012.
This is the first year I have ever been in to hockey. I really connected with each one of the players and I think most of the people not only in Vancouver but the world cheered for them.
I thought that the Bruins did a fantastic job and I was happy as well to see that their dreams had come true and they got to hold up that Stanley Cup and feel the applause from the audience *after they booed for a while which I thought was rude..
At lunch time I took a walk to see if there was anything I could do to help but there were already so many volunteers and the city almost looked like it never happened besides the broken windows with boards up on the department store windows.
Everyone including me wrote positive messages on what occurred the terrible night of June 15th 2011 hoping to give some inspiration to people that walked by.
I was so sad to think that people would purposely put the lives of others in their hands and blow up cars and stab people.
Hundreds of mostly young men and women polluted the minds of the rest of the world today. That is not what Vancouver stands for.
I walked up Granville Street and Seymour and was completely broken hearted in what I saw..
I took these pics below..
After I left work today I walked around the city a little more and realized that there was much more damage that I had initially realized.
It's all very sad and I feel for the people that lost their cars, possessions and hope.
How are we as Vancouver going to win back the trust of outside looking in?
What did the tourists think that were staying here?
What was the opinion of the world as they watched it unfold on the news programs?
I am so disappointed in the morons that wouldn't go home after the game was over. How is it fun to set cars on fire and jump on them and break windshields? Where are your parents?
I hope each of them get caught and reprimanded with jail time and not just a slap on the wrist.
If you would like to help please send your pictures to the VPD and watch the random YouTube videos and see if you can spot someone you may know.
Also check out the many Facebook pages that post pictures of the thieves.
Long live Vancouver Canucks! We will resolve in 2012!
Congratulations to the Boston Bruins.