On the morning of June 16th, 2011 the plywood sheets covering
the smashed windows of the Bay were covered with quotes from
ordinary citizens of Vancouver. Among numerous references to
'drunken idiots' and 'drunken losers' was this observation:
"The most dangerous thing in the world
is young men with alcohol. Why?"
In the words of the immortal Frank Zappa:
"Maybe there's a chemical in beer that stimulates the [male]
brain to do violence while moving in the same direction as
other guys who smell like them [marching] "
Another quote from off the plywood:
"100,000 stoners would never have done this".
Frank again, on marijuana: "It gave me a sore throat and made me
sleepy. I couldn't understand why people liked it so much."
Though the rioters, most of them fueled by Molson Canadian and Labatt
Blue, have to some degree tarnished the reputation of the city, there is
some consolation in knowing Vancouver remains the most enlightened
city in North America with regard to the use of marijuana. I'm sure
that in future years we'll be acknowledged as being ahead of our time
in realizing that people being given criminal records for the possession
of pot is idiotic.
In the meantime Marc Emery continues to be imprisoned in Mississippi
state, our government continues to do nothing about it, and beer
company executives here continue giving themselves exorbitant salaries
and fat bonuses with no feeling of regret over the damage done in the
Stanley Cup Riot of 2011.
One last comment from Zappa:
"Beer seems to produce behavioral results which are psycho-chemically
different from those produced by other alcoholic beverages.
Go ahead and laugh. One day you're going to read about some scientist
discovering that hops, in conjunction with certain strains of 'yeast
creatures,' has a mysterious effect on some newly discovered region of
the brain, making people want to kill - but only in groups ."
In contrast to Mr. Beer Guy , picture a guy who is religiously devoted
to Chateau Latour . Is he marching? He ain't marching."
