Posted on 09/01/2005 5:17:32 AM PDT by AbeKrieger
I knew it would happen - just didn't know when.
I'm talking about television news footage of looters played over and over in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Looting occurs whenever law and order breaks down as a result of disasters natural or manmade. But since the advent of television, looting seems to be a black thing. From the Watts riots in the 1960s to today, you can count on pictures of black folk hightailing it away from some store with electronic appliances, jewelry and furniture.
So while reporters from 24-hour TV news channels poured into the area almost as fast as the rising waters, I didn't have long to wait for the looting story to flash on my television screen. And even though it was expected, I found myself a little sad. But mostly mad.
We journalists have a collective knee-jerk reaction in certain situations, disasters especially. We look for people, things, quotes that will convey what we want or need to convey. But overuse of this practice leads to cliche and stereotype.
In Iowa, where tornadoes are a summertime surety, reporters are always looking for someone to say that the barn-flattening winds sounded like a freight train. At my old newspaper, the first reporter to get that quote was treated to a beer after work.
For television reporters, shots of blacks looting are quick, easy and downright expected.
New Orleans is more than a party-time tourist destination. It's a city where two-thirds of the population is black, so I'm not surprised to see black people looting. Many are poor: The median income for whites is a low $31,971; for blacks it's a subterranean $11,332. Truth is, life in the Big Easy has never been that way for many.
My question is, are blacks really the only looters? Or are they the only ones deemed worthy of camera time? Does 30 seconds of tape, rewound and replayed, tell the whole story? If pictures of looters never made it onto the air, would viewers be deprived of crucial information? Do these images advance the story of the plight of people?
Or do they play to stereotype, prejudice and fear?
Yes, stealing for profit and personal gain is wrong. And I hope those who decided to take advantage of a disaster to haul off flat-screen televisions and DVD players find no way to profit from their theft.
But during a devastating disaster like this, good, law-abiding citizens may do things they would never do normally. On TV I saw people carrying what appeared to be groceries, water, and bags of ice. With no water, power, or way out of town, it looked to me that the "looters" were trying to survive rather than upgrade their stereo system.
Before you say "I would never," just remember that's pretty easy to say and believe as we sit in our comfortable, dry, air-conditioned homes with ice, water and food a few steps away. Hunger to us means we haven't eaten in a couple of hours.
Think about it: Water's at your knees, kids are hungry and thirsty. You'd call 911 if you had a phone and if someone would answer. How could I say that if this were my situation, I wouldn't be one of those people heading out of the Wal-Mart with things that could help my family survive?
So don't draw conclusions about the ways of black people from the few moments of "de rigueur" pictures of looters. Black citizens are also among the weary, the rescuers and the rescued, the resilient, the righteous... and the dead.
They just don't get much airtime.
And I meant EVERY WORD OF IT, sir. Note it well.
What you should have said is
Who put you in charge of the "what AJC should have said" committee? What I SHOULD HAVE said to such pro-theft advocates as yourself is of a profane nature, and not conducive to the rules of this forum. So I refrain. You, on the other hand, seem to care nothing about "rules" of any sort, as your constant pimping for scummy looters hauling plasma TV's and tubs of beer off from honest businessmen & women amply demonstrates...
Instead you just want to shoot me while I glean for my starving family
That is called the "fallacy of equivocation" - and it's as silly as the day is long. You are taking words I never said, putting them in my mouth, and then twisting them to serve some dreary, scummy ideological axe you're grinding. And one notes, incidentally, that cute little euphemism "glean": what that word "glean" REALLY means is STEAL. I'm sure you're proud of your devotion to such dubious moral precepts, but most decent people are repulsed by such notions...
You then justify your hardheartedness toward me on the basis that "others are stealing big time"
Another bold, rank lie. I've "justified" nothing: I don't need to. You, on the other hand, seem to spend a good deal of time "justifying" such quaint practices as theft by force and violence. Pardon me while I snicker at such a specimen who would on the one hand claim strong armed robbery is just swell, while leaking tears over other's supposed "hardhearedness" with the other...
Sounds like you missed Sunday School AND Hebrew School both
Whatever that meaningless babble is supposed to represent, claim, or state, I don't know. Anyone have one of those special dictionaries that deciphers such loony-speak? ...(snicker)....
You and me both buddy. It is bad enough as it is, then these idiots go and scare my mother half to death worrying about my sister. I think she will be okay were she is in Mississippi but things are deperate. Thanks for your well wishes.
Preparation should be prioritized over comfort when a dangerous and life-threatening storm is approaching. Lounging while dressed only in underwear is not a good plan. A well-prepared person could pack his/her backpack with necessities and then wear a pair of cargo shorts, hiking boots, and tee-shirt. They would be as cool as possible (under the circumstances) and still be prepared to evacuate if needed. Irresponsible preparation certainly makes things harder for the rescuers.
~ Blue Jays ~
"In short, Louisiana law does not require that you die on behalf of someone else's ownership claims.
"I assure you, if it ever comes to a choice between my family's life and your food, you lose!"
That is an implied threat that you will at least mug or maybe kill some1 who has some food.
You may not have meant it, but that's how it comes off.
My mother-in-law's boyfriend's son's family is JUST moving from Pascagoula up to TN. The good news is, they literally just got out up to TN - including w/their goods from the MS house. But they were supposed to settle on BOTH ends this week - well, we know THAT'S not happening! They don't know how their house near the shore is, and either way, will they have a sale when the worst of this mess is over? Now cuz of the mortgage(S) issue, will they really be able to settle on the TN house (this man has had horrid luck - he is an accidental amputee from w/diabetes problems)? Have they just become homeless? We don't know yet. We're all up mid-Atlantic; he has no1 else nearby.
"Did you see the fellows on the highway overpass changing into the red and orange jail outfits?
Didn't you wonder why people were willing to dress in prison clothes?"
Do you mute the volume on your TV? These people were PRISONERS that were being evacuated. That is precisely why they were wearing prison clothes, were being controlled by the prison guards, were banded together in groups of at least three, etc. In addition, several of them were making sure their faces remained covered......
Many people who live in rural areas store water, because when the power goes out, so does the water pump, which leaves exactly ONE flush remaining in the toilet. Another thing people tend to forget, is that their sump pump needs to have power, So a generator for houses with sump pumps and pump out septic systems is a MUST, otherwize your basement will quickly fill up with sewage and ground water. For most people in rural areas, a good back up generator is the single most important thing, along with plenty of fuel to keep it running. It keeps your toilet flushing, water flowing, freezer cold. All you have to do is keep the fire going and your eyes open for looters.
Wrong. it's MY food for MY family. If you tried to steal it, you'd end up with a hunk of lead blowing the back of your skull off. YOU LOSE.
It's a shame really. If you would have asked nicely, maybe I would have shared it. That would be MY decision however.
Anyhow, we have ALWAYS had a generator to power the fridge and the furnace blower (power outages in Atlanta traditionally occur during ice storms). We just added the sump pump to the list.
We did come up with an innovation after multiple power outages last year due to hurricanes & strong storms . . . we bought a little marine 12v bilge pump and stuffed it into the hole with the regular sump pump, and my hubby got hold of some salvaged 12v batteries (out of computer UPSs, I think - but they were FREE which I like a lot). We got a charger for the batteries, about 50 percent of them actually would hold a charge - so we have 6 or 8 12vs charged up and ready to go. We ran wires from the bilge pump, and now when the power goes out we just hook the wires to one of the batteries while we are messing with getting the generator up and running.
It pays to have both stored supplies and a bug-out bag (for each family member) ready in case your are isolated and stuck in the house or have to evacuate.
One is the Associated Press, the other is Agencie France Presse.
I don't think that guy had anything of value BEFORE the storm.
The picture shows why.
If that is your plan, don't be offended when the possesors of the food are willing to defend it at the expense of your health/life.
All these goods in the badly flooded parts of the city are or will soon be ruined. It's not like anyone is ever going to go back there and claim the stuff.
This is one reason why the go/stay call is so hard for many home owners, leave and your stuff gets looted, stay and you risk your life. I think New Orleans is a special case in terms of looting, most of the city is under water and will be for months, all the stuff will ruin in that environment, normally I would be very quick to come down hard on "looters" as the real owners will be back to claim thier stuff, just not sure that is the case here.
Thanks; I sent that along!
Bad news (maybe): husband in reply said in reality their home goods are untraceable. They may not be in TN yet - they may be part of that mess yet! :-o
"It's not like anyone is ever going to go back there and claim the stuff."
Huh? This is not the sea w/a boat subject purely to the Gulf Stream that you can't find on a map. There are tons of shops and such that will still be there themselves, that people can return to.
Yes, they won't miss some things in the stores, but they still have the stores and SHOULD at least have the equipment in them - which BTW seems to be disappearing also at least to carry out the foodstuffs. Not to mention the condition of the places. That is alot of stuff to recover - it's not just pure insurance money, it's EFFORT. I won't be surprised the main reason the "never go back" (i.e., open again) is more from the theft and destruction from the HUMANS than from the waters.
"under water and will be for months"
This I highly doubt. I just do. Call me crazy, but I think many are making more out of the duration than there really is.
Now being up in the midwest during the horrible MS River floods - yes, they were flooded for ages, exactly cuz the water had nowhere to go but down the thin river.
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