Is it looting or survival?
Watching the looters in down New Orleans on various news shows, I was struck by what most of them were stealing: diapers, food, and clothing. And then we hear how people can’t get out due to breached levees. Add to that the shortages of food, fresh water (no running water), no electricity, and a worsening situation by the minute, are those people that are “looting” necessarily wrong? Or are they just trying to survive? We’ve watched countless disaster movies where people have raided stores after massive destruction and being cut off. And with relief efforts strained and slow, what are those people to do? Just sit back and do nothing?
This is a more complex situation. I’ve heard commentators (even the Louisiana governer) call the people looting “sub-human animals”. Oh really? How about we call the what they really are: desperate. Now the folks taking televisions and microwaves when there is no electricity, that’s another thought (dumbasses). I was talking to my grandfather about this and he told me that if he had a grocery store in New Orleans, he would just tell people to come in and take it all. What else is there to do?
Now I’m not advocating looting. And it does add to civil disorder. But I just can’t find it in myself to hate those “looters” like some people do. Just like I don’t hate the business owners there defending their property. In a place where life has been totally uprooted and turned inside-out, situations just aren’t black and white. I just hope that cooler heads prevail but… I worry.
UPDATE!
Shay writes about some manure fo’ brains bloggers thinking that the New Orleans situation (levees breaking, etc.) was a conspiracy to kill the black population. Huh? What? As if! Oh nevermind…
[zing! to Shay]
14 Responses to “Is it looting or survival?”
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In my comments about looters at the end of my piece, I’m not talking about folks who are getting stuff like food, diapers, and bottled water from flooded-out places. Personally, if I lived down there then I wouldn’t mind folks taking that sort of stuff out of my home or business since I couldn’t get to it anyway. I’m talking about the thugs we see on television carting off big-ticket items that have NOTHING to do with survival, and using a tragedy as an opportunity to get over.
Is it looting or survival?
Is it looting or survival?
This is dangerous territory you are treading into. Looting a grocery store of water, bread, and batteries is one thing but what the media has chosen to show isn’t showing that. Maybe the media needs to go to a Sports Authority or Military surplus store to see how many people are taking tents, portable stoves, high carb snacks, etc., Please forgive my pessimism but I would be surprised if I saw a majority of brothers and sisters taking those items if any at all. I would not be surprised if, after the TV cameras showed up at Sports Authority, we would see our people pass the camping section and raid the racks full of the latest throwbacks right after they found a pair of Jordans in their size.
Hurricane Katrina Wreaks Havoc
Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. - Mark 16:15
Tomorrow bloggers will unite in a hurricane relief day to blog and give to the charities of their choice. I’m asking my readers to donate to the Salvation Army. As you…
Shay: I feel ya.
Al: It’s probably dangerous terrority but I can’t resist. Yes, I see what the media is showing. Yet I did see an extended piece on CNN last night showing all these black women running out of a store with diapers, baby food, and canned goods. That was overlayed with a commentary by “some guy” saying they were “sub-human”. That’s not going to fly. We’re not talking about an everyday situation. We’re talking about survival. And in the middle of survival, there is always jackasses. If the media wants to turn this into a “looky looky at the stoopid darkies”, what are we to do? I’ll tell you. Press on and keep on movin’. Help who we can help and keep on movin’. You knew racist attitudes were coming (black people “loot”, white people “find”), so that’s that.
T-Steel, I would counter by saying that your beef is with that CNN piece. I would also add that the media outlets could put in some overtime and find those brothers and sisters who are stealing essenital items. It is highly improbable that ALL the looters are taking items they would not be able to use for the next 3 to 4 months.
One other point. Seeing all these people, helpless, at the mercy of nature, needing assistance that may not come for several days makes me consider building a completely “tricked out” survival kit. Gold coins, first aid kit, waterproof ruck sack, etc., The mere thought of being “caught out there” like this is frightening.
I understand what these people must be going through. My home here in Florida was struck twice last year so I feel their pain. After each storm however the Police were out in force and did not tolerate ANY looting whatsoever and they maintained very strict curfews.. Of course I’m not trying to compare my situation to that of the people of New Orleans. But when you hear of a Foot Locker store being cleaned out then you have to start wondering where are the national guard and the cops or is it too late now.
Maybe you realize a storm is coming and stock up on food, diapers, water, so you don’t have to loot.
That’s what we do in Taiwan when Typhoons hit.
Katrina relief: Give, give and give until it hurts
Helping around the clock:Glenn Reynolds has a comprehensive list of charities who are accepting funds tied to relief from the Hurricane Katrina disaster.Tomorrow, Truth Laid Bear is sponsoring Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day, in order to help fu…
What’s Broke Stays Broke
I’m not one to whine or complain about the daily abuses of Class Three Racism that dogs blackfolks and others across our nation, but I am particularly attuned to what goes on when there are soldiers with automatic weapons in the streets. For shame!
In watching tv reports, it’s obvious that there are people who pray and people who prey. We who pray must continue to do that, especially if that’s all we can do from where we are.
hey Aaron,
My understanding is that a god percentage of the people in NO did not have the financial resources to get out. Not enough for a bus ticket or a tank of gas — and no where to stay even of they got out. Or where elderly … what makes you think these folks have the resources to go out and stock up in advance. I think a lot of folks live day-to-day … don’t have the money to plan i n advance like that…
Everybody has got to know that taking food and some clothes and items you need or MIGHT need to survive isn’t looting. I know people understand that. People in govenrment may be talking but they aren’t shooting people stealing PowerBars, cigarettes and a change of clothes yet and I won’t be shouting about alot of imagined slights and racism until they do. I talk to all kinds of people everyone draws the distinctions between survival and non-survival (i.e. idiots with microwaves and knife sets and people with clothes, food, water, and hygiene products)
I wrote a long post on this - long even for me. It has many facets & I’m pretty sure there’s a little if not a lot of confusion as we use the same words to mean different things.
Short version is if they’re stealing food or some other arguably essential item as long as the property owner isn’t there trying to stop them I’d let it slide. It’s still wrong & if they have any sense of honor they’d try to make recompense when they were able - but I can sympathize with their plight & actions.
Taking DVD players is unjustified, TV’s or food, water, etc taking from an individual who didn’t want to give it up is inecusable as well.
So shooting the latter I could see as being justifiable, especially if by taking one or two out at the head of a crowd you keep the whole crowd from looting a place or robbing a person.
The other side is there just aren’t hungry desperate folks looting food. Hell, even the TV looters would be an improvement over the ones that are practicing thuggery (i.e robbing, murder, rape, etc…). Those folks often are lumped in with the two classes of looters & unfairly. Any one caught using confrontational vilence against another person down there to rob, rape harm or kill should be shot. & shot again.
The bigger picture though is that the people left in NO were & are looking for government (state federal local take your pick) to save them. That led to a level of unpreparedness & helplessness that allowed the civil unrest to get out of control. All this did was to lift the veil that everyone down there liked to look through a little to show them that .gov is not the be-all end-all answer they were hoping for.
Al from Bay Shore mentioned putting a survival kit together. That’s a good idea. What good will it do if you can’t keep someone from taking it away though? I’d add a firearm to the list & spend some time learning how to use it safely & effeciently. A gun won’t stop flood waters, but it will keep someone from taking what you need from you, or causing you harm if you know how to use it properly.
See it won’t completely eliminate the problem, but if we start making people realize that ultimately they, & not a .gov, is responsible for their own well being a lot of what happened in NO wouldn’t have been as bad as it was. If that means keeping some cheap food laying around in case ya need it, or having the means to protect you & your folks, then that’s what people will have to do.
& I know some folks are too poor to evacuate or stock up with a lot of food, but with a little planning & very little cash you can keep enough provisions around for at least a week’s worth of roughing it. Course that won’t do any good if they get destroyed (i.e. through flooding or some other physical damage) but I’d think that it should be worth trying.
Still the thing to hate is not the people stealing food, or even the folks trying to get a new TV. The thing to hate is the lack of personal responsibility; the idea that what happened in NO is someone else’s fault & those someone else’s better fix it. That dependent attitude makes things like hurricanes & floods much worse than they have to be.
But let’s not forget that despite the MSM’s coverage there are folks who are fending for themselves & helping each other. I’d hope that those stories will outnumber the ones about looters (of the bad variety) rapists & murderers.