The Stanley Cup riot and the Jersey Shore effect

[Newsjock]

Source: Vancouver Sun

... Has sanctioned violence become an increasingly intrinsic part of hockey and thus of our culture, especially the culture of young men, so much so that violence has become something to be celebrated, the new entertainment of a generation?

... But it’s found beyond that, too, in the new cultural etiquette, which dictates that misbehaviour has become the mantra of the masses, that social mores and personal moral codes are so far removed from the borders of civility that we have lost our grip on what today constitutes appropriate behaviour.

Less than a week earlier, in the same arena of our hockey hopes, 15,000 fans along with millions more watching in their living rooms, cheered lustily as mixed martial arts fighters pounded each other to proverbial bloody pulps in UFC 131, a phenomenon that has become so popular that it’s considered the fast-growing spectator sport in North America.

It’s found, too, in Jersey Shore, a reality show among many now on tap in which young people wilfully destroy property and get arrested for public drunkenness, only to become more famous and much wealthier.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Column+Stanley+riot+Jersey+Shore+effect/4967400/story.html

[MineralMan]

1. I no longer attend sports events in person.

I don't like the atmosphere in the stands any longer. It's a real pity.

[uponit7771]

2. as long as they're white skinned the answer is yes

[Springer9]

3. Oh for the cripes sakes

When hasn't sanctioned violence been an intrinsic part of our culture, any culture?

Does this pearl clutcher think that some magic switch was thrown at some point that was supposed to make it all go away?

A little history and perspective might be in order.

[MattSh]

4. Hey, we have bankers destroying whole nations...

Is it too much to expect that others might want to join in the "fun"?

:sarcasm:

[Initech]

5. This says it better than I could:

[B-Stupid]

6. Right..........

No one ever associated hockey with violence.......