Understanding Vancouver's "Hockey Riot"
Submitted on June 16, 2011
By Dave Zirin - June 16, 2011
"While I too wish people were motivated by social justice issues, the hockey game is NOT apolitical by any means. The riots were a fundamentalist defense of a type of nationalism, most evident in the beatings of Bruins fans in Vancouver last night. NHL hockey is not simply a game, it is representative of obedience to consumerism and is part of the state's attempt to forge a false identity — despite vast differences and inequalities across race, class, and gender, through the spectacle of sport."
- Vancouver Activist and Organizer Harsha Walia
