Jared Crozier: This Is Our F&*^ing City! Thoughts on the attack in Ottawa at the National War Memorial and Parliament Hill.

Please refrain from making your comments political at this time, and in this forum, about the why or the who. Spreading hate or laying blame to a particular sect or race is no good for anyone. Keep your comments tasteful.

Great blog. Situations like this really put things in perspective.

That young man lost his life for no good reason....RIP.

This is a day for sadness.

Anger and resentment will come soon enough but, right now, the focus should be entirely on our loss.

I assume Corporal Cirillo will be returning to his family along the Highway of Heroes. Whatever the time I will be on an overpass to honor his service.

Stay Strong Canada!!! Thoughts and prayers are with you!!!

If it can happen in Moncton it can happen in Ottawa. My thoughts and prayers to the victim and his family.

great blog

RIP Nathan

Very Good Blog.

Stay safe Ottawa.

I am staying at the Novotel, and was at the Westin in meetings when this happened....I think the word Surreal best sums up the day....was in lock down at the Westin until 3.... Just a sad day....an innocent young family guy loses his life for what exactly ? I share you anger. This morning things just seem different.

Life will be back to normal if it isn't already - I'm looking forward to some goals and wins for Ottawa. The Sens are the biggest thing in the city and they'll go a long way to getting us back into the everyday - I love sports in times when cities or countries need a break from the outside world - every shot, every goal, every hit seems like it takes on a bigger meaning - why? who knows. but it's our boys versus your boys and the amount of emotion channeled into wanting your guys to win is palpable.

Also as weird as this sounds it would be nice to see Alfie in a luxury box having a beer in the NJ game - don't think anything goes as far as having your most beloved citizen back and saluting the city that gave him so much and we got so much from.

Thinking of Ottawa today. Another unnecessary act of violence...

Condolences from your southern friends.

Thinking of Ottawa today. Another unnecessary act of violence...

Condolences from your southern friends.
- 87_71_11_29

Classy move by your org and fans last night.

I think the pens fans sang the Canadian National Anthem louder than the fans in Edmonton did.

I genuinely don't intend to have this taken the wrong way whatsoever, but at the Sens next home game and the subsequent Remembrance Day game...enjoy it.

Enjoy the feeling of thousands and thousands of people crammed into a relatively small space all having the exact same swelling of national pride and love. You'll feel the energy whether watching at home or on TV, it doesn't matter. Everything gets pushed to the side for a short period of time and everyone focuses on healing and coming together. President Bush at Yankee Stadium after 9/11, Piazza crushing that HR at Shea in the first baseball game after 9/11, Oritz's speech in Boston after the bombings...all of those things took a sh!t situation and made positive memories out of it.

So when there is nearly 20,000 people beaming with Canadian pride on Saturday belting out Oh Canada, remember the entire situation for that. Not the actions of one heaping pile of human waste.

Ok, now I have to go post a gif of a chick riding a dirtbike into a fence or something like that, in another thread. Best to all of our Canadian brothers up north

"But we won't forget. The City was changed forever on Oct 21, 2014."

Great blog but it was the 22nd yesterday, sorry to be that guy lol

To our northern brothers and sisters, our prayers and thoughts are with you. Stay strong Canada. We stand with you always!

"But we won't forget. The City was changed forever on Oct 21, 2014."

Great blog but it was the 22nd yesterday, sorry to be that guy lol
- PaskySens

fixed...duh It was a long day all around

be safe ottawa and watch each others' backs. be smart, don't be afraid.

I'm sorry for what happened in your city. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family, and to your city.

Jared Crozier: This Is Our F&*^ing City!
Thoughts on the attack in Ottawa at the National War Memorial and Parliament Hill.
- JaredCrozier

I'm not a fan of the cliche lines of "we've lost our innocence" or "city is changed forever".

A good city was rocked by a horrible violent act that ended in a lost of life.
But like any good city filled with good people, it will be changed in the short term...but it wont be in the long term.
Dont let it change you in the long term.

Things will be approached differently for sure, but dont let the events have a negative long term lasting effect.
Be safe people.

I can't wait for Saturday night- the arena will be electric during O Canada. Don't adjust your set. We're a city full of pride and fully intend on showing it on Saturday.

#ottawastrong

I'm not a fan of the cliche lines of "we've lost our innocence" or "city is changed forever".

A good city was rocked by a horrible violent act that ended in a lost of life.
But like any good city filled with good people, it will be changed in the short term...but it wont be in the long term.
Dont let it change you in the long term.

Things will be approached differently for sure, but dont let the events have a negative long term lasting effect.
Be safe people.
- Fakepartofme

Agreed - as the resident of a city where six infant corpses were found in a U-Haul, I draw a pretty fine distinction between politically/religiously motivated sickos, and the 'regular' ones. I don't know why either act should radically change the way people think in either city, although both are horrendous acts in their own way.

In a response that (so far) has been characterised by restraint and quiet courage, I'm sure we can avoid making this one of the 'defining' moments for our country, or your city.

GO SENS GO, and BRAVO, OTTAWA.

I'm not a fan of the cliche lines of "we've lost our innocence" or "city is changed forever".
- Fakepartofme

I was going to say a similar thing... it was a great blog, but nothing really changed yesterday (apart from our sense of security – although, you’re probably more likely to get hit by a bus than caught in a terrorist attack). History is full of periods of relative safety and security punctuated by stupid people doing stupid poop.

Again, great blog and great writing, but the city hasn’t changed forever – that would imply the terrorist achieved some sort of lasting effect. ‘Terrorist be terrorist-ing’ or ‘terrorist gonna terrorize’ might be better suited next time a coward decides to shoot/maim innocent people. At least I’d be able to find some humor in how ugly humanity can be.

One positive thing to take away, the end of Sens Mile will now be that much more important when we parade the Cup around town.

I can't wait for Saturday night- the arena will be electric during O Canada. Don't adjust your set. We're a city full of pride and fully intend on showing it on Saturday.

#ottawastrong
- Jordo

Damn right!

I really hope the Sens use yesterday as a rallying cry to help bring the city together. The catharsis of emotions being let out while watching a game can be very helpful in addressing the anger a lot of people feel. I'll definitely be yelling at my TV on Saturday, and singing my heart out for the opening ceremonies.

Yesterday was a very emotional one for all residents of Ottawa. I worked on Parliament Hill from 2004-2010 as a tour guide, and got to know many of the people who worked in the building and were involved in the firefight in the Hall of Honour yesterday, including Mr. Vickers, who is a very kind and polite man both at work and in his private life. I can't imagine the emotions he and his colleagues went through yesterday, the combination of panic and early symptoms of guilt for taking a life are not easy to cope with, and I hope the entire city will continue to offer all these people the respect, love and help they will need in the coming days and weeks.

It is also important to keep the thoughts and memories of how we felt yesterday in our minds as we look at how we respond to this tragedy. More combat and carnage is coming, and I really hope we don't take our underlying desire for revenge to its logical conclusion, focussing only on foreign combat ops rather than how to prevent this type of incident in future. The sense of helplessness and fear we felt yesterday are what a lot of people who hate the West use to feed their ideological agenda and recruit sympathizers after events like air and drone strikes hit their own communities and also take innocent lives. We cannot move forward thinking that just using our military is the only solution, as it will just create more blowback and put more people in harm's way. (Sorry if this is too political for you Jared, but it needs to be said now more than ever...)

We will come out of this a stronger city and country by keeping on doing what we did yesterday - being there for one another, and refusing to let any one person destroy our sense of community, security and hope for the future. As long as we keep focus on how to move forward together, then lone wolf predators and the sickos who manipulate them will never be able to beat us Canadians.

great blog

RIP Nathan
- sensarmy_11

We're with you, Ottawa.
Sing loud, sing proud on Saturday night.