Cartoon originally posted to ReadWriteWeb

Last week’s post-Stanley-Cup riot in downtown Vancouver was devastating to the city’s spirit, but there’ve been some bright spots – not the least of which was the number of people who came forward the next morning to help with the cleanup.

But there was also some online cheer to be found, some of it from the people closest to me. Here are a few examples:

• Alex has helped spur a badly-needed debate over whether online naming-and-shaming campaigns cross a line between civic responsibility and citizen surveillance. Check out her post on the Harvard Business Review site and follow-up on her own blog – and please join the conversation.
• Morgan wrote a superb, passionate essay on why the riots matter to people who work hard to make this a rich, culturally vibrant city. Not to mention her fabulous tweets over the course of the night that helped to keep me sane.
• The fantastic Kimli kept her sense of humour intact as well, and found the time to create a Lego version of the riot.

As someone who tweeted my share of smart-ass comments over the course of the night, I’m acutely aware that some very serious stuff was unfolding. But all of this reminded me of the role that humour can play in keeping emotions from boiling over, and helping us cope with the ugliness the world sometimes throws at us.