Community weeklies have a reputation for preferring fluff over substance. But after this weekend's St. Patrick's parade, in which a young man died, a rare intersection of fluff and news gave them a great opportunity to discuss a serious issue.
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Haha, just kidding.
This week's West Island Chronicle has a big cover photo from the downtown parade, whose caption includes this rather insensitive part: "The persistent rain thinned the crowds a little this year, but they couldn't put a damper on the fun being had by many."
Inside, more photos, but no mention of there being a fatality.
Similarly, The Suburban has a parade photo on its front page, a story about the parade on Page 2, and a photo gallery. But the death was buried on (depending on your edition) Page 13 or 22.
Season 3 of Manhunt Montreal begins on Sunday with what is becoming a tradition: the St. Patrick's Day Manhunt.
Sunday, March 16th, 11:00 AM, at René Lévesque & Crescent.
For those of you new to the idea, I'll explain (by excerpting my first ever article for The Gazette, printed almost two years ago):
Manhunt is essentially hide-and-seek with a twist: once players are caught, they become hunters. As more and more are assimilated, it gets harder to tell if another player is predator or prey.
“We encourage deception,” said organizer Philip Paynter, a political science and economics student at Concordia University.
Paranoia is part of the fun. Hunters pretend to be prey to create a false sense of security, and the prey in turn try to fool hunters by pretending they’ve already been caught.
Players wear bright orange armbands to distinguish them from pedestrians, and are required to keep inside the eight-block boundary. Players must also stay outside and on public property.
After 30 minutes, anyone who hasn’t been caught is declared a winner, and invited to brag about it.
Sadly I won't be able to make it as I'll be helping out with the parade itself. But I'm looking forward to the fun running around outside that Manhunt brings on a biweekly basis during the summer.
