🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <47220@mindlink.bc.ca>, Doug_Oke@mindlink.bc.ca (Doug Oke)
wrote:

> In article <5794@map.mdavcr.mda.ca>, troy@mdavcr.mda.ca (Troy Spetz)
> writes:

> > The bottom line is: How do you prevent this from happening again?  Line
> > the
> > streets with police to stop any looting or damage?  I doubt it.
> > The looters with cel tels will just find better ways to steal under the
> > cover
> > of a sports celebration. And the ones who want to wreak damage will do so
> > anyway.
 
> If you believe, as I do, that the damage and looting was done by a few
> toads who decided the crowd was a convenient cover, then the only
> garranteed way to prevent the same exact thing from happening is to prevent
> a crowd that size from forming.  If the streets are barricaded and a heavy
> police presence is in place =before= people show up then it could even be
> done without using tear gas.

> Having seen exactly what can happen if a crowd that size is allowed to
> form, Mr. Owen will be guilty of inciting a riot if he allows it to happen
> again.

There is a completey different solution possible: Personal responsibility.

alternate Definition: 
Responsibility the ability to cause a response in a given situation.

Just as the rioting was the creation of a hardened few, it is equally
possible for a commited few to quell such situations without necessitating
the actions of the police.  There are stories of a few of the "rioters" who
took personal responsibility for what was going on around them, and caused
some of the holligans to ceace and desist their actions with the use of
simple words. There were thousands of people active on Robson, and only a
couple of hundred hooligans. If HALF of the people there had simply said to
the vandals "We will not stand by and let you do this", then the riot would
have been nipped in the bud.

I have been in many situations (most notably: Science Fiction Conventions,
and Clayoquot Sound) where the people have taken responsibility for for
what has been going on around them. If somebody started to get out of hand,
the people nearest would turn and act to defuse the situation. The result
was a special freedom. Police were only called in to handle the most
hardcore cases. Even with the most hardcore problems, by the time the
police showed up, the problem was often reduced to taking the
trouble-makers into custody.

The Code of conduct at Clayoquot was a very simple one: 
1) Our attitude is one of openness, friendliness and respect towards all
2) We will not use violence, verbal or physical
3) We will not damage any property.
4) We will strive for an atmosphere of calm and dignity
5) We will carry no weapons.
6) We will not bring or use alcohol or drugs
7) We will encourage all others to abide by this code.
   
The key was that it was repeated often, and people made a general effort to
abide by it MOST NOTABLY RULE 7.
With thousands of people going thru the camp, often with some serious
incitement on the part of SHARE members, things at the camp were incredibly
peaceful.  The incidents that occured were generally handled quickly and
peacefully BY PEOPLE NEARBY. 

Police were generally called in only for incidents like the SHARE
"invasions". Even then, although it often took police over an hour to
respond, things were generally contained by the people at the camp until
then.

If we ACTIVELY SUPPORT the peacekeeping needs of our society, then violence
becomes rare. Although it is easy to rely on the police to maintain order
in our society, it is OUR OWN comitment to a peaceful and just society that
keeps things peaceful.

For an example of the terminal result when that comitment is allowed to be
subverted, take a look at what is happening in Yugoslavia.

This Tuesday, I was at a meeting where somebody who has spent the last 20
years traveling almost nonstop said the following (paraphrase):
   Vancouver is the most beautiful city in the world -- and I've seen
   most of them. It's truely heaven on earth. AND IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU
   WHO WORK TO KEEP IT THAT WAY - whether you recognize it or not.

(emphasis both his and mine).
-- 
Stephen Samuel          (604)876-0426           samuel@cs.ubc.ca
Only when the last fish is caught, the last river poisoned, the last tree
cut-Only then will you realize that money cannot be eaten. (Cree prophesy)