But Heisenberg will never be called for cross-checking. The Vancouver Police have received literally millions of images from the innumerable cell phone cameras of those who witnessed the events. Images have circulated worldwide, showcasing people who seem to be, in the instantaneous snap of the shutter, proud to be setting a cop car alight, breaking a shop window, rummaging through a retail aisle for the best take. Heisenberg has a bad reaction to mushrooms: we now see a rapid, digital vigilante movement as facebook groups and email campaigns harass not only the looters recognized in these images, but their families and employers as well. An Acura dealership has received harrassing messages because one of their part-time employees, UBC student Camille Cacnia, appeared in a three-second segment of a clip showing her sauntering out of Black & Lee Tuxedos with a smile and a pair of stolen trousers. The effects of her extended apologies on her blog cannot yet be ascertained with any accuracy. What is clear is that the performative imaginative construction of urban images -- and of culpability and responsibility -- are accelerated to an almost real-time instantaneous market reaction. Vancouver's Chief Constable Jim Chu warns those involved in the riots, "If you come in voluntarily you can do so discretely and at a time that is convenient for you. If you wait until we find you -- and we will find you -- we will arrest you in a public manner suitable to the public crimes you have committed."
Chu's warning should make us think carefully about what the "public" really means in our twitterized, facebooked society.
But there is hope. In the days after the riots, literally thousands of people were moved to declare that all those images of the riots that sped across the globe were ... wrong, not representative of the city, or its people. The solid block of The Bay in downtown Vancouver became a shrine of sorts, with the plywood covering the broken windows serving as a canvas for the multitude of emotions, reactions, recommendations, and thanks to police, fire crews, and other citizens who cleaned up after the disaster.
These are a few images from the festive moments *before* the game began, our view of the smoke over downtown after the game, and a few shots of the messages written at The Bay in the week *after* the riot. Negotiations are apparently underway to preserve these plywood sheets for the City Archives.
Sources:
Kim Bolan and Jeff Lee (2011). "Plans for Inquiry Underway as First Charges Laid." Vancouver Sun, June 21, p. A4.
Matthew Robinson (2011). "Public Shame, Online Apologies." Vancouver Sun, June 21, A1, A8." />
Vancouver, Stanley Cup Riots (2011)
The Permanent Residency application required no solemn allegiance to hockey. But that doesn't mean I could resist the temptations of the power play or the poetry in motion of a short-handed goal. I have fond memories of struggling to keep up with games, listening to the radio with my childhood friend Jamie. His loyalty to the Washington Capitols was regularly challenged by the achievements of the Quebec Nordiques. More recently, of course, Jatinder has taught me everything I need to know.
Sadly, Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals provided a maximum-likelihood estimation of a troubling equation: p(chaos)=f(testosterone + alcohol + professional sports). Thomas was a brick wall, Luongo couldn't stop the pucks, and the Canucks lost quickly. Shortly after 8:00 pm a small cohort of the festive crowd downtown turned negative, aggressive, and irresponsible. Cars were burned. Shops were looted. We watched the smoke from the car fires rising over downtown. Vancouver's "Riot2011" moment made quick headlines worldwide. A radio host in Detroit proclaimed that "Vancouver is the Next Detroit."
But Heisenberg will never be called for cross-checking. The Vancouver Police have received literally millions of images from the innumerable cell phone cameras of those who witnessed the events. Images have circulated worldwide, showcasing people who seem to be, in the instantaneous snap of the shutter, proud to be setting a cop car alight, breaking a shop window, rummaging through a retail aisle for the best take. Heisenberg has a bad reaction to mushrooms: we now see a rapid, digital vigilante movement as facebook groups and email campaigns harass not only the looters recognized in these images, but their families and employers as well. An Acura dealership has received harrassing messages because one of their part-time employees, UBC student Camille Cacnia, appeared in a three-second segment of a clip showing her sauntering out of Black & Lee Tuxedos with a smile and a pair of stolen trousers. The effects of her extended apologies on her blog cannot yet be ascertained with any accuracy. What is clear is that the performative imaginative construction of urban images -- and of culpability and responsibility -- are accelerated to an almost real-time instantaneous market reaction. Vancouver's Chief Constable Jim Chu warns those involved in the riots, "If you come in voluntarily you can do so discretely and at a time that is convenient for you. If you wait until we find you -- and we will find you -- we will arrest you in a public manner suitable to the public crimes you have committed."
Chu's warning should make us think carefully about what the "public" really means in our twitterized, facebooked society.
But there is hope. In the days after the riots, literally thousands of people were moved to declare that all those images of the riots that sped across the globe were ... wrong, not representative of the city, or its people. The solid block of The Bay in downtown Vancouver became a shrine of sorts, with the plywood covering the broken windows serving as a canvas for the multitude of emotions, reactions, recommendations, and thanks to police, fire crews, and other citizens who cleaned up after the disaster.
These are a few images from the festive moments *before* the game began, our view of the smoke over downtown after the game, and a few shots of the messages written at The Bay in the week *after* the riot. Negotiations are apparently underway to preserve these plywood sheets for the City Archives.
Sources:
Kim Bolan and Jeff Lee (2011). "Plans for Inquiry Underway as First Charges Laid." Vancouver Sun, June 21, p. A4.
Matthew Robinson (2011). "Public Shame, Online Apologies." Vancouver Sun, June 21, A1, A8.