As Ye sow so shall Ye reap.

There are those who point to the size of the crowd as the reason for the riots in Vancouver following game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

I suspect that even if you only had 50,000 (or just 25,000) people downtown you would have had a riot.

The problem did (does) not lie in the size of the crowd but in the people who make up the crowd.

The images that have allowed, and are continuing to allow, the identification of the rioters, arsonists and looters have made it clear that the common factor the participants share is youth.

Among the first people identified turned out to be: a member of the Canadian junior water polo team with a scholarship to the U of Calgary, a UBC student athlete, someone employed with a good work record….. They were not Anarchists as first claimed by authorities they were……. just youth, many of whom would have been labelled ‘good kids’ or even ‘accomplished kids’.

Which raises the question – what is going on with youth today that ‘good kids’ are rioting, setting cars on fire and looting?

I could talk about how my parents instilled a sense of honour, integrity and ethics where that kind of behaviour was and remains unacceptable. I could talk about how manners and responsible behaviour were drilled into me by actions such as having to sit down and hand write thank you notes for Christmas gifts or the requirement to use please and thank you when asking for something. Or how….

Some would argue that it is the pace of life, the fact both parents often are working, how stressful life is today……

And there is some validity in those points.

Still…….consider the following….

People complain about the failure to respect others property demonstrated by the rioters. But how can we expect young Canadians to have any respect for anything when Canada has a prime minister who, on the very day of the riot, refused to ban the export of slow painful death to developing nations.

You cannot sell or use asbestos in Canada and if you disturb asbestos you must call in removal specialists to remove the asbestos and it has to be disposed of in special disposal sites. That is how hazardous and deadly asbestos is considered in Canada.

Yet the prime minister not only refused to ban the sale of asbestos – which causes asbestosis, cancer and death – to the developing world, the prime minister was having Canada oppose a UN motion that would require the export of asbestos to be accompanied by a warning on the deadly health affect of asbestos.

When it was revealed that prime minister Harper sees nothing wrong with the export of asbestos for profit because it can perhaps win his party a seat in parliament, what were Canadian’s reactions to the news Canada was in the business of exporting death?

Yawn.

When the Chinese where found to have been shipping goods made with lead paint to Canada there were demands the government stop the import of items from China with lead paint – and indignation that China would ship dangerous materials to Canada.

Yet apparently the Canadian public and their elected officials see nothing wrong in exporting asbestos, a far more hazardous material that causes asbestosis, cancer and death.

It is not acceptable for other countries to export hazardous materials to Canada, yet it acceptable for Canada to export hazardous, cancerous and death causing materials to other countries.

How can we expect young people to have respect for people, their possessions or anything when our country and society accepts the export of asbestos and death as business as usual?

Some complain that in their angry frenzy the mob of youth running riot in downtown Vancouver gave no thought to the costs and consequences of their actions, inflicting millions of dollars of damage.

I wonder where they could have learned that behaviour?

Perhaps from the anti-HST leadership? Who in a fit of pique and/or making public mischief have set out to extinguish the HST without giving any thought to the costs and consequences. Or extinguish the HST while in wilful denial of the costs and consequences. Or worst of all extinguish the HST while ignoring the negative, multi-billion dollar consequences and costs to BC’s budget, healthcare and education of extinguishing the HST.

How many have said that those young people had failed to consider the far reaching, long term negative consequences would have on the brightness of their futures?

What bright futures?

I know that most of those among the ‘older or preceding generations’ are in strong, wilful denial but the reality is that we, those older and preceding generations, have – in self centered thoughtlessness – consumed the future of the youth of today.

Most politicians and Canadians are in a state of wilful and strong denial of this reality but, from the Tao of James: reality does not care what you believe is, reality does not care what you want to be, reality simply IS.

While we may not want to face the unpalatable reality that not only are we the first generation that is handing the next generation less than we were handed by preceding generations, but in our insatiable thirst for more, more, more….. we have consumed the future and stuck the kids with the bill for our excesses.

So before we go pointing fingers or shaking our heads or lamenting the actions of the mob and wondering ‘how could or why would they do that?” we had better consider the lessons we have taught and the society we have built with our choices and behaviours.

A society where profit and political advantage are more valuable/important that human life (exporting asbestosis, cancer and death); where childish temper tantrums where the consequences are ignored – or worse, to H*ll with the consequences is raging (HST) and the older generations have sold the future of youth to pay for their own life style and excesses

All our posturing, denial, excuse making and high sounding words really are meaningless, other than to highlight the hypocrisy of our society, when you look at the actions of our society.

It is not simply a matter of ” Actions speak louder than words” but also of “Every society should be considered as having a right to the character which it deserves; that is, to be spoken of according to its actions.”.

Perhaps, in light of our own actions, behaviours and the society that has resulted from those actions and behaviours, we should not be surprised that it happened, but that it does not happen more often.

Perhaps the question we should be asking is not “how could they” but rather what changes in our behaviours do we need to make to set a good example for young Canadians.