"Heineken - It's all about the beer."
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.
One thing is for sure, things are getting way out of hand, rescuers being shot at, gun battles at night, I's sure rapes and murders are occuring too. I hope society is paying attention and resolves to deal firmly with the criminal class living in just about every big American city. Maybe we might even rethink the wisdom of allowing the nation to be overrun with third world types.
Our enemy, the terrorists, are paying attention. They just figured out how to bring us to our knees. Set off a dirty bomb in the middle of Detroit, Atlanta, DC, LA, etc. and let the criminals do the rest.
It's not a race thing, it's an attitude thing. Those people should be counting their lucky stars that they are alive. They should be offering to help others, but they are only thinking about themselves. I don't begrudge them for taking items that probably would spoil, you do what you have to do.
After 9/11, the people of New York and the nation came together. We don't see that in New Orleans, it has become "dog eat dog." It's not about race, it's about values, beliefs and attitudes.
"Heineken - It's all about the beer."
The Governor is a Democrat. The State Senate is controlled by the Democrats. The State House is controlled by the Democrats. The Mayor of New Orleans is a Democrat.
How could this happen????????? /sarcasm
Wow. You hit the nail on the head with that one. It's such a simple yet elegant solution.
Exactly.
Well, based on the demographics and based on the economic strata and based on previous "ratios" of ethnicity to crime, I'd say that Blacks are NOT the only looters, just the majority. Probably reflects crime rates prior to the hurricanne.
Charles Darwin, survival of the fittest. Playing out before our eyes. Don't interfere with the natural course of things.
But we're Americans. Now what.
Maybe "we" ought to, and while your at it "we" can eat my shorts, little man.
Did you have any trouble understanding that?
Good grief. It was posted several times yesterday. Thank God they have a real woman in charge, and she is issuing guns to her staff.
Your defense of these people stealing consumer goods (not subsistance supplies) is disgusting.
So YOUR grandson is more important than MY baby? You have no right to someone else's food.
As someone mentioned above, if you ASKED, someone might share their food. If you try to steal the food from my baby's mouth,
you would be very sorry.
Your attitude is disgusting.
LOL!
I said none of what you said I did and you know it.
That means I can not trust such a person under those conditions.
Just reading through today's Washington Times (which is NOT the Liberal rag around here) there were maybe 20 pictures of New Orleans refugees ~ we counted a dozen without shoes.
Obviously there's no charity coming from your house ~ ever. I gave you a chance to turn this away with a soft word, but you chose not to. Instead, you asserted ownership as being a superior right to someone else's survival.
Interesting choice, but you are assuming there was something else, e.g. running tap water, pure and cold maybe?!
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