I'm deeply bothered by the riots after game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals last night. It wasn't hockey fans out causing trouble; it was the same lot that encite anarchy at international G8 conferences. The game was just an excuse that provided an easy disguise for these criminals. In the stadium itself Canuck fans cheered the Bruins after the win.
Crowds during the 2010 Winter Olympics
We, as a city, had been lulled into complacency by the success of last year's winter Olympics and the crowds during the run-up to last night's embarrassment. When there are a hundred thousand packed into a few square blocks, it only takes a few hundred to ignite trouble. Society stays civil by such a fine thread. Media, of course, covered the mayhem but does not seem so interested in covering the thousands of volunteers who turned out to help clean up the mess today.
