Wrongs and Rights of Social Media

I have always maintained that I am more of a fan of the game and of players than I am of a particular team. In the wake of the Vancouver Canucks failed bid to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in their franchise history, I feel genuinely sorry for the team, its players and its true fans. Unfortunately I think that which suffered the most is the game and the city's reputation because of actions that had absolutely nothing to do with the game at all.

Everybody has heard and seen the riots in the street of Vancouver that transpired shortly after the game ended and the Boston Bruins were crowned champions. The sad thing is that what happened on the streets was not a direct result of the game being played on the ice as much as it was an opportunity to exploit the game for the willful damage and destruction.

The true fans and indeed the true game was inside Rogers Arena and was felt and heard in the standing ovation for the visiting Boston Bruins for the final minute of the game and well into the post game celebration. Vancouver Canuck fans cheered loudly for their team, the visitors and for specific players on both sides. Most notably would be the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, Tim Thomas, captain of the Bruins, Zdeno Chara and the player that had played his junior career in Vancouver and hoisted a Memorial Cup, Milan Lucic.

Outside Rogers Arena there were hundreds of thousands people gathered in various areas to watch the game on large screens. In the aftermath of the destruction it was learned that some people had come down to these areas with the sole purpose of starting something. In one account, the owner of pickup truck that was later set on fire had claimed they his intention all along was to bring his vehicle downtown and torch it after the game.

Unfortunately mob mentality did consume some otherwise unassuming people that would never have been characterized as troublemakers. That's what mob mentality does. On the other side of the situation were the large numbers of onlookers that used their camera phones to document the whole thing. This in itself caused some of the problems and perhaps led to the situation lasting as long as it did on the streets of Vancouver.

With an audience, the "entertainers" were seen busting shop windows, throwing mail boxes and newspaper containers, smashing cars and ultimately setting some on fire. Some participants wanted their pictures taken in amongst all the mayhem and many others were more than willing to oblige. As the crowds wandered from one spot to another the destruction followed. The police and riot squads worked at trying to disperse the crowds and many times would be seen closing the gap on a troublemaker only to see that person disappear into a sea of camera phones.

Social media was all of sudden being seen as the immediate tool that it is as images, video and detailed accounts of the rioting went viral. At some point people started realizing that the troublemakers could be identified and websites immediately sprang up looking to hold people accountable for their actions. It was then that I noticed things started changing with the true troublemakers masking themselves and trying to hide from the ever prying eyes shining brightly as the light of day turned into darkness.

Could social media now all of sudden become the saviour of the world by becoming the ultimate witness to a crime and its criminal? The short answer is yes, but is the case with most good things, the bad side always comes out to play too. In a mob it is said that people lose their inhibitions as they start to feel untouchable with the notion of being lost in the numbers. This to is readily apparent with social media where many people use aliases and pseudo identities to protect their own.

In the 12 to 24 hours following the riots, the images, video and accounts were being gathered up fast and furious to start the process of identification. The original intent was to make this information available for the proper authorities so that they may bring those responsible to justice. Somewhere in the process the bad surfaced in this too and another wrong started to show itself as social media vigilantes started harassing and threatening those that were being identified.

This is no different than being on the streets after the game and hurling the barricade at the window and getting into a fist fight. It brings to light the age old cliche that "two wrongs don't make a right." It certainly wasn't right what happened on the street of Vancouver in the evening hours of June 15, 2011 but to follow that up with vigilant justice is not the answer. Holding people accountable is important but to terrorize them now is just as cruel and malicious as any of the acts that were committed on that fateful night.

There were riots in 1994 after the Vancouver Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in seven games and now with the riots after the 2011 Stanley Cup series with the Boston Bruins it leaves me wondering what will happen if there is another trip to the finals in Vancouver's future. Another cliche goes fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. The essence here is that Vancouver will not allow itself to be embarrassed again.

What that ultimately means, I'm not sure except that I can't see people being invited into the downtown to be a part of history and to cheer on their team. Does it mean that there would be a curfew and nobody would be allowed to gather ... maybe. Either way, what happened is a shame that will change the way "fans" are allowed to attend large sporting events everywhere.

As for social media, I think we have witnessed an evolutionary step forward in the use and distribution of social media. If it means that some people are more likely to document and report questionable behaviour then perhaps it also means that others will question their actions before they make them and maybe, just maybe this is a good thing.