This morning I am wondering about all the senseless rioting and destruction of private and public property that occurred in Vancouver last night, but not wondering why it happened, I know the answer to that, but what can be done to prevent it or at least lessen it.

Looking at some photos on cbc.ca, one thing that is forefront in almost every picture are people standing around with their digital cameras, taking pictures, filming short movies, making sure they capture all the insanity. I can just see hear their thoughts now, “this is cool, or epic, let’s get all this on video and then we can post it on YouTube”. Oh ya, you have to get it on YouTube, absolutely, it’s the cool thing to do now, to hell with talking to people, asking them to stop what their doing and act their age, cripes no, let’s get in on the camera and run home and upload it to the internet and then say “that’s my video, I shot that with my camera, I was there, saw it all”, all the while proudly pounding a puffed out chest.

Just as insane as the people creating all the violence are the people standing around watching it, digitizing it… condoning it with their inaction. There are always far more people watching the violence than are creating it, why can’t they put their cameras in their pockets and help the police, even if it was just to turn away and walk quietly home, allowing the authorities to gain access to the hooligans at the centre of the anarchy.

And then there are the main stream media, in there, shirts as dirty as the person stomping on a police car, reporting it live, describing every detail their eyes can capture. What would the World be like if the camera crews never showed up, but instead covered a story somewhere else showing people doing good things? Was the violence on the west coast last night worsened by the fact that the people who started it knew the cameras were rolling? Knowing they could go home at the end of it all, if they weren’t arrested, to see the replays of themselves on CBC and CTV, face half-concealed, looting stores, torching cars, trashing the city they live in.

I’m not putting all the blame on the digital age, because at the end of the day people are responsible for their actions or in-action and should be held accountable. In many ways the technology of today is a wonderful, useful thing that has made all our lives better and safer, however, in many ways it has not.

~ Keon