I found this letter today, from a girl who took place in the now infamous Vancouver Riots, and I feel the need to address a few things after reading the comments.

First, kudos to her for admitting her involvement and allowing comments on her post. That takes a lot of guts.

Second, I kind of hate to say it, but she’s right. True, she stole. True, she was seen laughing on that (awful) video. True, I am just as angry about the riots as everyone else. However, the way people have turned and become revenge seekers is pretty disgusting. I mean, someone has to see the irony in this “witch hunt”, right??

Third, I adore Vancouver from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I adore Canada just as much, and if it were easy to become a Canadian citizen, I would do it right this second. I hated knowing that people were rioting, and I hated knowing it was over a hockey game. The Stanley Cup Final, but a hockey game still, and a sport that I happen to love. It made me mad at Canucks fans, mad at Vancouver, and I still don’t think I have a desire to go back anytime soon. However, this girl stole some pants, pants she can’t even wear. She didn’t stab anyone, set fire to anything, or even break the glass door she ran out of. She stole some pants, and I’m sorry, but that doesn’t deserve a public hanging.

Fourth, even though this point has been said over and over, I’ll say it again. We have a lot going on in the world right now, a lot of terrible and sad situations happening right this second, and we are concerning ourselves with this girl? Concerning ourselves with vigilante justice that we are not even remotely qualified to carry out?

Allow the Vancouver PD to do their job, aid with photos and information when possible, but leave the hate for people who truly deserve it.

“Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always.”