Dear Editor:
Your Aug. 12 Viewpoint, Core Problem, concerns me greatly. It stirs the anger and frustration I continue to feel over the Vancouver hockey riot.
Your editorial, beginning in the second paragraph and continuing in the fifth, seems to imply that we can excuse the actions and the kind of idiocy that took place here in Vancouver.
Simply said, we cannot. While I will agree with the fact that the "causes" for these two riots differ, the results were the same; unacceptable, criminal, idiotic behaviour.
Our behaviours have consequences, and behaviours of this kind need to be dealt with quickly and strictly. If we don't, it justifies and eventually makes acceptable the behaviour, twisted as it is. Simply said, we cannot afford to, nor should we let, such unacceptable, criminal idiotic behaviour slip by unpunished.
Our premier and the mayor of Vancouver vehemently expressed and clearly indicated that the fullest weight of the law would be brought to bear on those who broke the law during the riot.
I'm relying on that promise, and frankly don't understand, nor do I accept, the delay that we are experiencing in the process of that happening. I am now beginning to wonder if anything at all will in fact happen.
Could it be that politics are getting in the way?
This delay has "consequences" too: at the least, a growing disrespect for those who represent us in government and for the legal system, whether it's toward the police forces in our province or the justice system as a whole.
It affects how we view these bodies.
Corrective behavioural disciplines lose their effectiveness with delay in enforcement or application; the reason for them is lost and eventually they have little or no value.
What kind of a society do we then have to look forward to? Our riots will come to look more like others in this world if we don't take action, and anarchy is not far behind - really.
David Webb
North Vancouver
