Squamish editorial: Reflecting on Halloween mayhem

Parents, put on your full metal jackets. You may not want to hear this, but you do need to hear it.

Too many Squamish kids—our kids—were little brats on Halloween night, and it can’t happen again.

This doesn’t mean the teens being rowdy on Oct. 31 are inherently bad or their parents are horrible.

(There likely isn’t a parent alive who at one point doesn’t look at their kid and wonder, “What the heck were they thinking?”)

But the 100 kids setting off fireworks toward people, homes, and vehicles, lighting fires, and causing mischief on Halloween were way out of line.

“This is not a case of kids being kids; the group or mob mentality took over, and the lack of regard for any direction or guidance to leave the area [was] largely ignored,” said Squamish RCMP Staff Sgt. Gareth Bradley, in a news release.

When a society or community becomes so tolerant of bad behaviour—by kids or adults—that can lead to those who are indulged becoming increasingly intolerable. The youth involved were intolerant of other residents’ rights for peace and safety.

Some parents of the kids involved certainly took this seriously and will make sure their children know why this was offside. Thank you to them.

Concerningly, at least online, though, there was pushback from some adults to the RCMP’s warnings about the mayhem.

The cops should be out fighting real crime, not going after children over fireworks, was the gist posted by some.

This is nothing new; we did the same in the 80s, was the argument from others.

Definitely, there has been rowdy teen behaviour in Squamish in the past, sometimes with tragic consequences. Is that the bar we want to set in 2024?

There is a big difference between some kids setting off the odd fireworks and 100 taking to the streets, some with improvised explosive devices.

We can’t have youth disobeying police when officers try to keep them and everyone else safe.

They need to understand the fear and inconvenience they caused their fellow citizens. Not to mention frightening animals and the environmental damage that others had to clean up.

This can’t happen again.

The good news is, they are young; the consequences of their behaviour will be short-lived, while, hopefully, the lessons learned will last a lifetime.

Most of the youth of Squamish had a good time on Halloween and didn’t cause trouble.

Kudos to them. They, and those coming up after them, need to see that there are consequences for their peers who act in lawless ways.

Collectively, adults have to step up, too. Next Halloween, let’s have more adults—parents and non-parents—out keeping a better eye on things. We can dress up and be friendly. It can be fun. But we need to support first responders and demonstrate what it means to care for our town and each other.