I had to stop reading and watching, but they are already dismissing these people in their comments to Editor and Publisher, newspaper sites, and blogs. One mushroom, on another list, asked: "I presume there are some poor whites in New Orleans. Why do we not see any white faces among the looters? Could it be that one culture condones it, and the other doesn't?" This is a Rushbot, so he probably picked it up from El Rushbo. He predictably hops on the 'net after Rush and posts whatever he heard that day.
(Thanks to Chuck0 for alerting us to the differently captioned photos)
I don't do wiki, but someone ought to add the comments I've appended below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looting
What is really pissing me off is the definition of the bulk of what was on the television as looting. I'll bet those people had no food or it was going fast. If they live in an urban area, then they probably don't stockpile with their SUV. To me, looting is taking stuff that isn't needed: jewles, artwork, whatever, just because you can steal it -- and not because you feel you have to steal it. They need it. And if no one appears to be able to help them get food and water and diapers -- and they don't seem to be able to! -- then, not surprisingly, they are doing what they have to do to survive. The same force that makes people smash through their roof to get out is the same force that drives people to grab bread, soda, and diapers off the shelves of a Rite Aid. for all intents and purposes, for all these people know, it's the end of the world. They've been cut off from media. What do they know about their fate, other than it must feel like a disaster of biblical proportions.
And, if you have very little, your instinct is to horde -- horde _anything_. So, you take makeup. Plus, crowd psychology kicks in and you just take stuff, anything at all, because it can be bartered.
That's what white folks do around here. They stock up and horde, some of them openly talk about selling it off when the big one comes. They don't need all that water or gasoline or whatever. It's to sell or trade, just in case.... What's the difference? White people with cash and credit cards grab way more than they need, leaving nothing for the next guy.
Fucking looting: taking stuff you don't need.
In light of the commentary below, it's also notable that the mythology around looting is often what keeps well-to-do whites in their homes during hurricanes. They are terrified people are going to comb the debris of their blown out home for whatever they can find. As if it matters. As if, with the insurance they have, it matters that some homeless person snags their energizer bunny or whatever.
Last year, people broke into my car and stole 100$ worht of groceries just before one of the hurricanes. they were probably the homeless people who live in the forest behind the Walgreen's down by the bayou. It bummed me out but you know, they needed sterno and canned beans a helluva a lot more than I did.
This is interesting and the whole thing is even more enlightening. Below, more news from Jaycon in LA:
If it is reported by and media and believed by the public, local leaders must take steps to respond to it, real or perceived, lending credibility to the assumption that looting is pervasive. The incidence of looting (and other post disaster crime) is often misrepresented by those who have something to sell or a philosophical reason for you to believe in the impending breakdown of the social order. One survivalist web site claims that 'of the hundreds of victims that I have dealt with [after Hugo], most had lost something to looters. During Hurricane Andrew, looting was common place and accepted as a way of life. One victim from an upper class neighborhood told me "I was shunned by my neighbors because I rejected an offer to cruise for goods." Substantiated cases of looting after Hurricane Georges: 0. Substantiated cases of looting after Hurricane Andrew: probably 0.
One of our duties as continuity planners is to educate and manage the expectations of the 'masses.' Misinformation has caused people to drown in a storm surge trying to protect their property from potential looting. It has caused innocent victims and family members to be killed or injured by firearms. Important sociological and victimization theories do not change persons are still more likely to be injured by an intimate partner (48%), family member (32%), than by a stranger (20%). Next time we have the opportunity to advise the public or coworkers, ensure it is from a position of knowledge and not mythology.
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This is from Jaycon, again.
Final notes before I leave. First, thanks to all for concern. Second, all communication with those you know and love is impossible. Towers down, land lines down, etc. Assume all are ok, since they did get @80% out of the area before the storm hit. Third, keep inmind the extent of this event when the begging bowl comes to you via the airwaves. Fourth, Kelly, the orange jumpsuits will, like in '27, be used eventually to clean up the area. At least that's my prediction.
Last year I sat in on a presentation by Don Davis, a prof at LSU who gives a great speech that intertwines cultural, geographical, historical info on cajuns and other ethnicities in the south part of La. At one point in the presentation, he had this to say, approximately:
"Now, we all know that the models show what will happen to New Orleans should a cat 4 or 5 hurrican hit it dead on. Normally, the national guard is sent into restore order. Where is the national guard right now? Iraq. What happens if a cat 4 or 5 hit New Orleans while the majority of troops aren't in La. to restore order?
We're finding out now. No guard to restore order, no guard to help plug levees and rebuild the city.
But I hear the Green Zone and Baghdad airport are fairly well protected. Thank God.
Con
"Finish your beer. There are sober kids in India."
-- rwmartin