Nowhere in the original article posted in this thread or in the article I posted said that the looters are primarily black. If indeed the looters turn out to be mostly black, then it still doesn't mean black people are more likely to become looters. It could just mean that the population in the affected areas turn out to have a lot of black people. I'm so glad you can read minds. It must be useful. What am I thinking about now? I stand by my comments. All the looters not scavenging for basic necessities are the worst human beings in the world. They are making the streets unsafe for rescuers and other victims.
Every picture I saw on TV showed black folks. So again, I'm assuming you watch TV. uh huh. It doesn't take a mind reader to understand the meaning when somebody suggests that black people should steal birth control. Looting from private homes is crappy. Looting from some national chain that is insured out of there a$$ and will probably write off the entire store as a loss when YOUR house is completely under water and you DON'T have insurance and never had any money and likely never will have any money... (how's that for one sentence. ). Personally, I wouldn't be stealing and certainly don't condone it, but as things go... I'm more worried about the thousands of people dying in Iraq and Sudan. Those are REAL crimes. Bashing these poor bastards in NOLA after their lives are destroyed is just a lose-lose situation for everybody. Just be sad for them that they feel they must resort to that and hopefully your life will never sink that low.
These looters are absolutely despicable human beings if their actions are not out of absolute necessity (doesn't sound like it from all the reports of jewelery and other things being looted), although I am not surprised about anything that goes on in NO, at least it's understandable under the current circumstances
Whether it's right or wrong, this happens any place in the world to some degree when "disaster" happens. The city of New Orleans has (or at least used to have) the lowest paid major city Police force in the country. The city also isn't exactly known as the center of moral living, and Louisiana has it's share of racial tensions and has long been known as the most corrupt State in the nation. Combine all those, and you get an environment where people don't respect law and order, but instead what you can get away with. If the governor takes stuff when he is given the opportunity, and the cops ignore half the “laws” anyway because they are not paid enough to care, why shouldn't you “get yours” when your chance comes around? In that way, the degree to which it happens in kind of an indicator of the moral health of the area. The worse the looting, the worse it is for at least some people. Anybody who didn't expect some looting is an idiot. Why do you think they instituted a curfew before the storm hit and why did they keep it in effect? BTW, "looting" a car would be a really bad idea because there's this little thing called a VIN... Finally, if more black people are looting it's because they are the poorest group, not because they are black. If you've ever seen some of the nastier parts of New Orleans, they make some of those crappy little "wooden white box house" slums in Houston look like Saddam Hussein's palaces.
Worst people in the world? What world do you live in? C'mon, they are just being greedy opportunists, no more, no less. Nobody died because of their looting.
while it's easy to condemn these people (i mean looters, not black people) - i would have to admit that I'd be hard-pressed not to steal a few non-necessities if I was in a similar situation - especially if the victim was some big chain like Walmart or something.
I caught a little bit of the CNN coverage last night and that was it. I didn't see any coverage of looters or evacuations in general, so I have no idea what the racial makeup is. But I guess facts don't really matter when you are on a witch hunt does it? Ironically, dictionary.com defines prejudice as "An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts." Gee, that sounds like exactly what you're doing. While we're on the subject, I really dislike most cable news' on-the-ground coverage of disasters. I find them exploitive and idiotic. Most of it is reporters standing around dangerous areas saying, "look at me look at me, I'm so brave!" That's great. But I didn't say anything about black people. My birth control joke was not directed at blacks, it was directed at the looters taking advantage of the situation. By your wonderful logic, all homeless people should have a license to rob Walmart anytime they please. Stealing isn't even the worst of it. Did you read the MSNBC article I quoted? It states that some of the looters are a hindrance to the rescue efforts. Some of those morons are armed and dangerous. Great, first you tell me that you know what news I watch; then you tell me you know what I secretly "mean" by my comments; now you tell me how I should "feel."
According to the MSNBC story, there was at least one report of a looter shooting another. Also, because the police are trying to control this anarchy, the looters are also taking away valuable manpower that should be used to rescue people. Actually, I'm very surprised that epople would be thinking about material gain at a time like this. My first instinct is to make sure my family and friends are safe. My next thought would probably be to go out and try to help out my neighborhood in any way that I can. I might also be so sad and depressed that I'd just curl up into a little ball.
and a little thing called a lake covering the entire city. as far as the looting, i was thinking like someone else mentioned that this is all insured/destroyed anyway so it's not as if they're taking something the owners are going to have again, but that doesn't excuse taking nonessentials, b/c it's still getting what's not yours. as for food and water, you gotta take whatever you can get so you can live and maintain your health. this is like being trapped in the wilderness at this point and doing whatever you can to survive. a grocery store is just like you found it or hunted for it at this point. grocery stores really should be everybody's stores now. and if the stuff is perishable, then there really is no problem with it.
since the race thing was brought up, just how many black people are in new orleans? every video i've seen of the aftermath has had essentially only black people. outside of the reporters, i'm trying to remember seeing any white people or any other race for that matter. is it just because the only people left behind are low income people and that's mostly blacks or does NO just have that many?
Stealing TVs in an area where you wont have power for 2 months is pretty effin stupid. I doubt that's about survival. It sounds like criminal behavior to me. By the way, some of us have just gotten home for the first time today and not seen the TV. I can't read vwiggin's mind like you can, but I might give him the benefit of the doubt on that one. I didn't realize the looters were of any particular race. The only picture I saw was of some guy with a lot of jeans and he didn't look particularly dark-skinned. Perhaps I didnt study his photo hard enough so I could develop some sort of racial opinion about a national tragedy like this. I mean, in a situation like this, what really matters is that we all divide as much as we can, point out our differences, and try not to work together at all. Looters suck. They are part of the reason some people stay in danger zones when they should be evactuating...they dont want these thieves taking things they worked so hard to earn. Its strange, I have not heard yet that the Red Cross and US Military have run out of supplies.....but then again I havent been watching TV all day so I may not know everything. Not everyone is a mega company on Canal street and Bourbon street. Not all of them are insured up the wazoo. And having insurance companies pay out BILLIONS of dollars in payments is gonna bite all of us in the ass. All I know is that my buddy who is a doctor in New Orleans, who just spent a year renovating an old house with his wife (another doctor), is probably working his ass off helping people while some assholes may be hansacking his house. If that's understandable behavior in the situation, then I dont want to understand.
Looks like the cops have joined in on the looting as well. http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20050830150050234 Law enforcement efforts to contain the emergency left by Katrina slipped into chaos in parts of New Orleans Tuesday with some police officers and firefighters joining looters in picking stores clean. Even a cop joins in the looting Mike Perlstein and Brian Thevenot Times-Picayune Staff writers Law enforcement efforts to contain the emergency left by Katrina slipped into chaos in parts of New Orleans Tuesday with some police officers and firefighters joining looters in picking stores clean. At the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, an initial effort to hand out provisions to stranded citizens quickly disintegrated into mass looting. Authorities at the scene said bedlam erupted after the giveaway was announced over the radio. While many people carried out food and essential supplies, others cleared out jewelry racks and carted out computers, TVs and appliances on handtrucks. Some officers joined in taking whatever they could, including one New Orleans cop who loaded a shopping cart with a compact computer and a 27-inchn flat-screen television. Officers claimed there was nothing they could do to contain the anarchy, saying their radio communications have broken down and they had no direction from commanders. “We don’t have enough cops to stop it,” an officer said. “A mass riot would break out if you tried.” Inside the store, the scene alternated between celebration and frightening bedlam. A shirtless man straddled a broken jewelry case, yelling, “Free samples, free samples over here.” Another man rolled a mechanized pallet, stacked six feet high with cases of vodka and whiskey. Perched atop the stack was a bewildered toddler. Throughout the store and parking lot, looters pushed carts and loaded trucks and vans alongside officers. One man said police directed him to Wal-Mart from Robert’s Grocery, where a similar scene was taking place. A crowd in the electronics section said one officer broke the glass DVD case so people wouldn’t cut themselves. “The police got all the best stuff. They’re crookeder than us,” one man said. Most officers, though, simply stood by powerless against the tide of law-breakers. One veteran officer said, “It’s like this everywhere in the city. This tiny number of cops can’t do anything about this. It’s wide open.” At least one officer tried futilely to control a looter through shame. “When they say take what you need, that doesn’t mean an f-ing TV,” the officer shouted to a looter. “This is a hurricane, not a free-for-all.” Sandra Smith of Baton Rouge walked through the parking lot with a 12-pack of Bud Light under each arm. “I came down here to get my daughters,” she said, “but I can’t find them.” The scene turned so chaotic at times that entrances were blocked by the press of people and shopping carts and traffic jams sprouted on surrounding streets. Some groups organized themselves into assembly lines to more efficiently cart off goods. Toni Williams, 25, packed her trunk with essential supplies, such as food and water, but said mass looting disgusted and frightened her. “I didn’t feel safe. Some people are going overboard,” she said. Inside the store, one woman was stocking up on make-up. She said she took comfort in watching police load up their own carts. “It must be legal,” she said. “The police are here taking stuff, too.” (Staff writers Doug MacCash and Keith Spera assisted in this story.)
I appreciate the benefit of the doubt, Mateo. You're right about that. I still think looters suck, but I'm willing to admit that it is not constructive to be hurling insults at them (or at fellow Clutchfans) at a time like this. I apologize for my snarky comments.
Does anyone honestly care? Flood insurance covers it all regardless and it is lost merchandise. These people are no worse than the people at DeBeer's selling you diamonds. Plus, they loot a TV or a Stereo or some other electronic - it's likely to be ruined before its use anyway. This isn't Baghdad, these aren't artifacts. They are electronics that are produced primarily in Asia. If my life was destroyed by a hurrican, and yes it still would be ruined even if I had left, I would feel no qualms about taking stuff. And as for God's (Allah's) law against stealing, most of these people feel betryed by him in after this most likely. I am happy they are alive to even be looting lost merchandise.
Take them all to jail. They're nothing but criminals who are taking advantage of others in their moment of weakness. Awful.
for once...I fully agree with texx on something. well...maybe not fully...if folks were just getting food or water...then it is understandable...but the ones looting other goods should be arrested...or at least very ashamed of themselves. mass insurance claims hurts all of us...you thinkn the insurance companies are just gonna absorb the costs they payout? Hell no..they gonna make it up by charging all of us more.. there aint no such thing as a free lunch people...*someone* has to pay for it...and you can rest assured it will be us.
Its easy to moralize from a distance but I think if any of us were caught in New Orleans with our home under water everything destroyed, our workplace underwater too and recovery months away we might think differently.
