Reassuring news: Canadians would rather make love than riot

We were really unnerved by the riots in Vancouver Wednesday night after the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the deciding game of the Stanley Cup series. We'd expect such behavior in Detroit or LA, but it seemed so out of character in Canada, which is known for having the most polite citizens in the world.

So we're happy to report a couple of incidents which prove that, despite such out-of-character behavior, Canadians haven't totally lost their reputation for being nice.

On Thursday, hundreds of Vancouver residents covered a police car with Post-It notes of apology. The tributes appeared spontaneous, according to the website Jalopnik. A Facebook page details some of the notes, with sentiments like,  "V.P.D. Rocks!" and "You are the True Heroes."

That came on the heels of a photo showing a couple in a passionate embrace in the middle of the riots. At first the photo looks staged, but by all accounts it isn't.  The couple, Scott Jones and Alexandra Thomas, were caught in the middle of the mayhem when Thomas was knocked down by a riot police officer's shield and Jones knelt down to comfort her.

The moment was captured by Getty photographer Rich Lam, who happened to be in the right place at the right time. It has become the lasting image of an otherwise ugly night in Canada.