From the Op/Ed pages of the Calgary Herald

Vancouver rioters should hang heads in shame

Canadians are engaged in a collective cringe of horror today over the senseless, thuggish behaviour of fans who looted, smashed windows and burned vehicles for three hours in Vancouver after the Canucks lost to the Bruins in the Stanley Cup final Wednesday night.

More than 100 people have been arrested — with additional arrests expected — and 15 cars, two of them police cruisers, were set on fire. Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu blamed the carnage on “anarchists and criminals” who had outfitted themselves for the rioting with masks and goggles, and who he says had participated in violent protests in the past.

That sounds like a bit of public relations spin to deflect attention away from the more likely possibility that these were ordinary youthful Vancouverites, overdosing on testosterone and stupidity, ready to take out their anger at losing the Cup, albeit incomprehensibly targeting their own city. They were dressed for the most part in Canucks jerseys, for one thing, which is something “anarchists and criminals” wouldn’t do. They can certainly be categorized as criminals, given their lawlessness Wednesday night, but Chu makes it sound as if they specifically organized to trash the downtown, as part of their career criminality. Moreover, “anarchists” who frequent violent protests do so for political reasons, not because a hockey team lost a game.

No, these were most likely ordinary youthful Canadians showing a disgusting dearth of sportsmanship and an equally disgusting un-Canadian proclivity toward mindless violence, of the sort usually associated with the yobs and rowdies who riot after British soccer matches.

However, a truly Canadian attitude was at work Thursday morning in downtown Vancouver, as evidenced by the dozens of Vancouverites who, appalled at the wanton vandalism, arson and theft that left many storefronts boarded up, showed up with brooms in hand to help clean up the mess. Others took the opportunity to scribble messages of collective sorrow, sympathy and solidarity with those affected by the looting, on the boards covering the broken storefront windows.

Canadians are disappointed that the Cup slipped out of the Canucks’ hands and went home with the Bruins. It was especially hard to see a trophy representing Canada’s national sport head south for another year to rest with an American team. But the noble virtue of sportsmanship compels Canada to accept the loss with good grace; it’s not losing the Stanley Cup that has left a black mark on Canada, it’s the behaviour of the rioters in Vancouver.

In the end, it was just a game, and there’ll be more games. Hockey season starts anew in a few months, and next year, Lord Stanley may return to Canada — ideally, to the Red Mile.

Canadians have nothing to live down in losing to the Bruins. They can hold their heads high. It is only the rioters in Vancouver who should hang their heads in shame.

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