Eric Poulin ON THE RIOT IN VANCOUVER: Last summer, I lucked out and made an epic pilgrimage, leaving Vancouver after an educational 7 years and really making my dream come true of landing a decent job in Whistler. All those years of school I was a weekend warrior, loving the city of Vancouver but also savoring every moment I had in the mountains. After leaving Vancouver, and becoming a permanent resident in Whistler, I really (I mean, really) came to appreciate the small town vibe… the minimal work commute, the friendly people, finding out it is actually no more expensive than Vancouver, and obviously, the mind blowing alpine terrain at my doorstep. I made some bold claims that I would likely never live in Vancouver again, and mountain towns were it for me from here on out. Tonight, I back that claim up with hard evidence.
Today I saw some outrageous things. I saw some disgraceful things. Stanley Cup Finals, Game 7… obviously a ton on the line… tensions were high… it was estimated there were 100,000+ people in the streets of Vancouver watching the game. The Canucks didn’t deliver, so unfortunately a large amount of people became possessed and started pulling Linda Blair shit, flipping cars, setting them on fire, fighting, stabbing people, GNARLY SHIT.
All over a hockey game. A ridiculously important and exciting hockey game, but a hockey game nonetheless. After escaping the riot and walking back to kits, I met up with my friends who documented some raw footage of the rioters letting loose.
After seeing all this, I realized something… I realized why I was never connecting with most of the people I worked with or studied with all these years… City people just don’t get it. I would come to work at the hospital on Monday after an epic weekend with detailed accounts of the powder I rode, the good friends I rode it with, the good hits, the good bails, the extreme satisfaction. They would smile and nod, but I usually knew the just didn’t understand. Eventually I just gave up trying to communicate it to them.
Living in Whistler, you can chat to just about any stranger about the epic Khyber laps you had last week, and they would probably counter with tales of some memorable laps on CBC they had the same day, and you would both walk away with the same content smile, knowing you both achieved something awesome that rocked your world. Knowing you could tap into something like that, how could you ever find yourself lighting a car on fire(as I write this, Jake is editing a shot of some retards jumping on a burning BMW) over a f$%&ing hockey game?!
The people out in the streets rioting, looting stores, lighting shit on fire, What the F*… I would like to bet that they don’t shred. Anybody who shreds doesn’t need to exorcise their demons by shedding blood in the streets, because they achieve it dropping cliffs or shredding deep turns. I hope they get held responsible. They can stay in the city.
I’m going to stay in the mountains.