Quote:
Originally Posted by flar
I don't really think this was a "major" civil disturbance. A bunch of drunken idiots, more like it. Reminds me of the Queen's homecoming a few years ago. These things happen occasionally, it actually surprises me that we don't have more of this. A lot of pre-modern cultures had culturally sanctioned festivities where most of their moral codes were temporarily lifted, engaging in orgies of sex and violence, and even cannibalism in some cases. Our culture is quite dysfunctional and sometimes we lack the proper safety valves.
And, no, I'm not suggesting we need violent cannabalistic orgies. Or do we?
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Excellent point. Not the human-eating, but the need for a chance to blow off steam. Everybody but us puritan North Americans seems to understand this. When was the last time the niceties of the day-to-day were suspended so that you could enjoy an intoxicant or two with a bunch of friendly people on your street or on the main drag of your town or city?
Actually, you have to admit, habfanman's got a point about Montreal and open alcohol in public. You don't really see recklessly drunken riots so much in Montreal. It seems like the rioting in Montreal is usually political.
Which gets one to thinking about stereotypical contrasts between the two solitudes: Quebeckers don't get into fights when they drink, but they do get passionate and wreak havoc for political causes; Ontarians, by contrast, don't really get all that worked up about politics, but get too many of us liquored up in one place and fights and mayhem are guaranteed.
What conclusions can one draw from this? Do Quebeckers have it the right way, in that they only come to loggerheads about things that really matter? Or, are Ontarians so complacent about politics because we've got it pretty good here, so the only occasion for blowing off steam is when we get pissed?
I think I like the southern European attitude to alcohol, where you begin to have a bit of wine with your dinner at age 10. The English-speaking world has a problem with puritan denial leading to binge drinking on the weekends. Areas with bars become war zones on Saturday nights, even in a sedate little town like Stratford. It's not pretty.