I surely trust your perspective and observations. I didn't make the
connection that you were the witness, but must admit, still, to seeing
two sides to this. The masses collected round you would of course be
filming everything and seizing the opportunity for their 15 minutes of
fame. That's what they do all the time otherwise, and the intense
post-game atmosphere, alcohol/drug/meds assisted, would preclude the
need for any script, simply allow for improvisational anger fever,
however staged. A few instigators take the lead, and the crowds just
carry the vibes, as they might at a public storming. I suspect you
observed more benign behaviour than many shop keepers experienced.
Again, who was actually responsible for the latter is yet to be revealed.
A-political? Yes and no. They don't need any specific party to act out
against, given that once in power, parties invariably become homogenous.
Politics initially provided the disgruntled fans with the pulse, CBC had
hyped it to near Olympic proportions, everyone was there and everyone
knew all eyes were upon this scene. Not a bunch of poor kids--they could
afford the booze at bar prices, and many could afford tickets to the
game. They're mostly just drunken mimickers, Canadian or not,
uninhibited by alcohol, and feeling safer in numbers. But yes, kids from
the burbs are getting scarier. They're so cut off from real life it's
ridiculous.
There was a pretty good film made about a Calgary suburb--called Radiant
City. Kids have to be chauffeured everywhere to their planned, highly
organized extra-curricular activities. Bus systems just simply suck, and
the kids can't usually haul the heavy books and equipment they need
anyway. They don't know about grass or trees till the community matures
enough to grow some. There is no town square for them to gather, unless
they can get to what's known as a power center--the local strip mall
square that features stores all other power centers have, all pretty
boring. No one knows their neighbours, though they moved to the burbs
partly for better, safer community feeling. The other side to this is
that they couldn't afford a good city home, and their parents will
forever be work slaves who constantly think about money. Their homes are
invasively close to their neighbours, so the legendary country views are
most often blacked out by mini blinds or the next phase of building in
their district. The developer owns the common grounds, and police it
vigilantly with private security. The internet and school are their most
immediate connection to other life forms, and from these two they take
their cues. If they're schooled in the city, that's a bit of a benefit,
but otherwise characters on the internet are who they will emulate. They
have little real freedom, as do their hard working underpaid parents,
and we really have the economy to thank for all of it. Their lives
evolve around the car, their garage prominent homes and endless highways
are constructed for the convenience of traffic flow, and they're raised
in paranoid worlds. Kind of good, that movie.
Perhaps Pete could offer some direct observations of post-game antics?
Natalia
On 6/16/2011 4:53 PM, michael gurstein wrote:
What I saw in the 90 minutes or so I was walking around just before and just
after the game ended was a lot lot fewer police than there should have
been... I'm not sure why... Earlier in the evening I passed a contingent of
police leaving the downtown area!? There were plaincothes police around as
well (you could tell them because they were 35 and 40 yr. olds dressed like
20 year olds... They just stood around and watched at least where/when I was
including the trashing of the porto-potties which seemed to go first..
Most everyone had a camera of some sort... And most of the actions I saw
seemed to have something to do either with being photographed or videoed
including one fist fight that seemed less a fist fight than a photo-op for
some Ultimate Fight tv advert.
What was interesting to me was how completely a-political it was... It was a
bit of a mob and it could have been activated by anything/and likely
deactivated just easily with some smart policing... Also I would guess that
they were for the most part typical suburban kids/young adults... N, you may
be right in how you characterize them but if so, then things are a lot worse
in the burbs than I would have guessed.
I don't think it was just a small group of "anarchists" intent on
disruption... Rather it was a rather large group of young adults intent on
getting their faces widely seen on tv and recognized on FB--and that is
something well worth pondering I think.
M
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of D and N
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 4:06 PM
To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION
Subject: Re: [Futurework] FW: Riot as Performance Art
This kind of acting out has taken society by surprise every time it
occurs, yet it's really not uncommon. The extent of crowds and damage
were probably proportionate to the event. Perhaps some may recall a
similar police bashing on one little two block street in Kingston,
Ontario some years ago. It was a homecoming event for Queens University,
held on little Aberdeen Street-- where we had our family home in prior
decades. (House by house, university frat farms took over) Some 5000
turned on defenseless cops, and it made international news. Queens is
notorious for drunken craziness. Those Engineers are notorious! Once
when its football fans lost a game in Montreal, TVs were tossed out of
hotel room windows, and the usual antics of drunken mob behaviour
absolutely terrorized the downtown.
I don't think it matters to drunken rioters what the trigger is. They're
just looking for peer approval to get wild. They live in an increasingly
repressive system, they're angry at everything because they can't
control it and they have a grim future to face with their governments
piling up non repayable debt and destroying their home planet. Add
alcohol to enhance the disappointment and you can generate a lot of
real-life entertainment which rather mirrors video games they've enacted
at home. Let's not forget many of these are kids likely to be taking
anti-depressants, or are the children of parents who are taking same.
Mix those with booze and you get the real crazies flying round.
I don't know what video Michael refers to. We've been hearing rather
different stories here in Victoria about young angry men, may be16-20 of
them, doing most of the trashing. Many had bandannas covering their
faces. Reports from CBC said riot police were introduced too late, and
allowed much to happen for fear of appearing heavy handed. There may
have been police instigators, as well. It's certainly not past them.
This they have done before (G-8) in order to justify future heavy handed
crowd control tactics. Did it help that bars had line-ups to get in
starting at 11:00 a.m., and the cops didn't take the hint?
I agree with Arthur about media hype being partly to blame, and the
pathetic fact that this is entirely about corporate loss, successfully
sold to the public as team spirit and a reason for personal
identification. I find it so sad when in any sport the fans seem to have
no other reason for living, and many actually don't. Thank the
corporate/military educational system.
Just two days ago, a woman in Prince George was expressing bewilderment
over a "victory" for supporters of a multi-million dollar arena, while
another pitch for a badly needed performing arts center was scrapped.
With just a turn of events like the post-Canuks 7th game, $22 million
worth of arena could go up in smoke, so out of touch with the wonders of
the mind and sensorium, as Ray always says, are the people of our times.
Natalia
On 6/16/2011 1:56 PM, michael gurstein wrote:
Arthur,
I think that that is precisely what we can look forward to... The 21st
century equivalent of "thrill killings"... Someone almost died making
a foolish jump from one heighted perch to another, presumably while
being cameraed and egged on by his friends.
M
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Arthur
Cordell
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 12:26 PM
To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION';
[email protected]
Subject: Re: [Futurework] FW: Riot as Performance Art
So could we call this a Facebook age event. Where it doesn't matter
what is done, almost, as long as everyone can see it. And can we look
forward to more? Smash this, burn that, loot this. Kind of a
graffiti riot where everyone can play and be playful in their
destruction of their playpen.
Arthur
Ps. I think the city fathers (and mothers) hyping the game along with
the CBC that earned revenues from the telecast are part of the
problem. Building up expectations to some sort of outcome.
Also, there is something sad about people cheering for corporations,
which these teams are. Yup businesses. (but as my wife says better
cheering for corporations than throwing bombs)
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of michael
gurstein
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 2:59 PM
To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION';
[email protected]
Subject: [Futurework] FW: Riot as Performance Art
Datapoints re: the Hockey Riot in Vancouver observed after the game
finished for about an hour.
1. The gender ratio was roughly 50-50.
2. Women seemed as aggressive as men.
3. At least half the folks had cameras of one sort or another and were
constantly taking pictures. 4. The crowd overall was cheerful. 5. Lots
of alcohol and marijuana but not a lot of falling down drunk people.
6. Almost no one was covering their faces.
What does that sound like. To me it seems rather more like a concert
audience than the makeup of a serious riot.
I think the key things though was the gender equality, the cameras,
the general good cheer and the uncovered faces.
What made this different from a rock concert was the presence of the
police. They were costumed differently from normal rock concert
security-kitted up in riot gear complete with black uniforms, shields,
weapons etc.etc.
But nor was this Seattle, the G20 Toronto or Tahir Square. These
folks weren't afraid of being seen and recognized, they were going out
of their way to be recognized and they wanted that recognition,
captured and presumably re-presented to the world via SMS, Facebook or
Youtube and the tv news.
This wasn't a riot. It was a performance with much of the violence as
far as I could see it being done for photo capture and transmission
rather than out of deviltry, rage or simple youthful destructiveness.
On one of the news shows a reporter passed along a story that the
original truck which was burned near the hockey rink had been
deliberately brought to the site and left exposed there so that it
could be torched should the Canucks lose.
What is televised will not be the revolution.
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