DownLow Chicken Shack in East Vancouver recently dealt with some vandalism to its front window, and we caught up with one of the co-owners, who had some interesting thoughts on the incident.
We’ve covered lots of stories about random vandalism and theft at businesses around Vancouver, and we usually hear anger or frustration from those who are impacted by these senseless acts, and rightfully so.
Vandalism has cost some local businesses thousands of dollars in glass repairs, and sometimes they are targeted multiple times.
While Doug Stephen, the co-owner of DownLow Chicken Shack, wasn’t condoning what happened and the crime that took place, he had an enlightening outlook on this vandalism and the situation in Vancouver.
The incident occurred Thursday before 8 am. It was just a smash and no grab, as nothing was taken from the property, nor was anyone hurt. Stephen shared an image of the incident on Instagram.
@DLChicken/Instagram
Stephen didn’t sound upset when we caught up with him.
“It’s… you know, I think that there’s a lot of emotions in the world right now.”
We asked him if he’s experienced vandalism before, and he said yes, but not to the point where it has been detrimental.
“It’s bound to happen. Maybe somebody got broken up with, and they got angry,” Stephen said.
“I have no idea what it is; I don’t even care.”
Stephen said that he’d get angry about stuff like this when he was younger.
When we see an incident like this in Vancouver, the public discourse tends to gravitate towards conversations about the Downtown Eastside or people dealing with substance abuse issues. So we asked Stephen his thoughts about that reality.
“It leads me to believe that there’s trauma, and to try to meet that with my own anger is not going to serve a purpose for anybody, not the people I work beside, not the people who are helping you deal with the problem, nor the person who did it,” Stephen added.
That’s not to say Stephen is celebrating the fact that this happened.
“I don’t like it. I think it’s a horrible thing that people choose to do or to take out their anger in that manner,” he said.
“Maybe standardized mental healthcare would be a nice thing for Canadians.”
Stephen estimates the damage may cost him between $1,500 and $2,000.
“Just enough to be a little bit annoying.”
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