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Why is there no looting in Japan?
Telegraph ^ | March 14, 2011

Posted on 03/14/2011 7:30:40 AM PDT by NCjim

The landscape of parts of Japan looks like the aftermath of World War Two; no industrialised country since then has suffered such a death toll. The one tiny, tiny consolation is the extent to which it shows how humanity can rally round in times of adversity, with heroic British rescue teams joining colleagues from the US and elsewhere to fly out.

And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting, and I’m not the only one curious about this.

This is quite unusual among human cultures, and it’s unlikely it would be the case in Britain. During the 2007 floods in the West Country abandoned cars were broken into and free packs of bottled water were stolen. There was looting in Chile after the earthquake last year – so much so that troops were sent in; in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina saw looting on a shocking scale.

Why do some cultures react to disaster by reverting to everyone for himself, but others – especially the Japanese – display altruism even in adversity?

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Japan; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: japanearthquake; looting
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To: Sherman Logan

“When he [they] lies, he [they] is speaking his [their] native language.”
John 8:44


81 posted on 03/14/2011 8:09:18 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter knows whom he's working for)
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To: texson66
Japan isn’t diverse enough to create rioting or looting.

Precisely. They didn't get the multicultural bug.

82 posted on 03/14/2011 8:09:33 AM PDT by SampleMan (If all of the people currently oppressed shared a common geography, bullets would already be flying.)
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To: oh8eleven
"To be sure, Japan's welfare system operates in a very different milieu from America's. Only 1 percent of Japanese births are to unwed mothers. That compares with a percentage that keeps climbing in the United States and has now reached 30 percent.

Japan also has a far lower percentage of drug addicts than the United States has, a much lower unemployment rate, a much more egalitarian distribution of wealth, a greater sense of family obligation and an abiding sense of shame that colors almost every aspect of life.

NY Times is so funny. "Japan's welfare system operates in a very different milieu from America's" is the hoity-toity way of saying They don't have as many blacks as the US.

83 posted on 03/14/2011 8:09:51 AM PDT by Huck (Fools make feasts and wise men eat them - Poor Richard)
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To: tsowellfan

Wasn’t the military hanging around ground zero after 9/11? Could explain why there was no looting.


84 posted on 03/14/2011 8:10:17 AM PDT by tuffydoodle (Shut up voices, or I'll poke you with a Q-Tip again.)
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To: Altura Ct.
Race diversity has nothing to do with tribalism.

Some races have much greater occurrence of tribalism.

85 posted on 03/14/2011 8:10:34 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer (biblein90days.org))
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To: GOPJ
Time to take a deep breath and get real... there wasn't that much to 'loot' in New Orleans either.

And, as I recall it, most of what was worth looting was looted by the New Orleans Police Department pretty quickly.

86 posted on 03/14/2011 8:10:51 AM PDT by Steely Tom (Obama goes on long after the thrill of Obama is gone)
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To: tsowellfan
OK, what does diversity mean?

1: the condition of having or being composed of differing elements : variety; especially : the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization

2: an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities : an instance of being diverse

By the dictionary definition, as opposed to the PC definition, Japan is perhaps the least diverse country on the planet.

Haiti may not be far behind. While it was settled by people from all over West Africa, they've melded into a common way of life. They are divided into gangs that fight each other,but the divisions aren't really ethnic in nature. More like the Crips and the Bloods.

87 posted on 03/14/2011 8:11:05 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: texson66

Why no looting in Japan? Simple, No Democrats in Japan.


88 posted on 03/14/2011 8:11:49 AM PDT by A. Patriot (CZ 52's ROCK)
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To: frogjerk
Why was there no looting after 9/11?

Because there were cops and firefighters EVERYWHERE after 9/11.

89 posted on 03/14/2011 8:12:19 AM PDT by GOPJ (http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php - It's only uncivil when someone on the right does it.- Laz)
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To: NCjim

There wasn’t looting in Mississippi, either. They people hung together. Race was not an issue - all races helped.

Of course, having a LOT of active and retired military in the population helped.

It really comes down to morality and culture. If you have a strong culture, people know and trust each other, etc, no looting.

If you have a balkanized culture and/or an entitlement culture, you get looting.


90 posted on 03/14/2011 8:13:26 AM PDT by piytar (Godwin's rule is null and void. If you don't know what I mean, you aren't paying attention...)
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To: guerito1
Because Japan is an educated and civilized culture. As somebody pointed out on another thread, look at the dominant demographic in New Orleans and Haiti, then compare that to the dominant demographic in Japan. And I’m not talking about the color of their skin. I’m talking about the differences in culture (”Content of their character” - MLK, Jr.)

Very excellent post.

91 posted on 03/14/2011 8:13:45 AM PDT by justice14 ("stand up defend or lay down and die")
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To: Palter

And the Phillipines.


92 posted on 03/14/2011 8:13:56 AM PDT by wordsofearnest (Evan Bayh gave Indiana a twofer.)
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To: Dr. Sheldon Cooper

No democrats in Japan.


93 posted on 03/14/2011 8:14:46 AM PDT by screaminsunshine (34 States)
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To: Altura Ct.

Is Cleveland, TX where those 18 black men took turns raping that 11 year old Hispanic girl recently?


94 posted on 03/14/2011 8:16:53 AM PDT by tuffydoodle (Shut up voices, or I'll poke you with a Q-Tip again.)
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To: Ken H

Why no looting in Japan?

None of Eric Holder’s people.


95 posted on 03/14/2011 8:18:16 AM PDT by stbdside
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To: Ken H

Why no looting in Japan?

None of Eric Holder’s people.


96 posted on 03/14/2011 8:18:18 AM PDT by stbdside
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To: All
Wasn’t the military hanging around ground zero after 9/11? Could explain why there was no looting.

Not to mention, as horrific as 911 was, it was in a relatively small and contained area with functioning services all around it.

911 is just not a good analogy. A better analogy for NY would be the 1977 blackout or the 64 riots.

97 posted on 03/14/2011 8:18:44 AM PDT by Altura Ct.
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To: tuffydoodle
There probably wouldn't be any looting in NYC either if a giant Tsunami came rushing through an entire city and beyond already devastated by a 9.1. I doubt the 60 inch HDTV would still work after being submerged under 8 feet of sea water and beneath a bullet train.

The difference between 911 and Japan's situation is that 911 happened in a more centralized area of a city. Unaffected greedy thieves who may live outside that area with low values could decide to go loot. In Japan, you would have to walk miles and miles to get to the flooded area you wish to loot (no trains / no roads)and chances are even those would be looters are still picking up their own mess in their own home from the earthquake alone or looking for missing family.

Honor also plays a big part.

98 posted on 03/14/2011 8:19:16 AM PDT by tsowellfan
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To: NCjim

Because most of the young men have functional fathers?


99 posted on 03/14/2011 8:20:36 AM PDT by Hat-Trick (Do you trust a government that cannot trust you with guns?)
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To: tuffydoodle

Exactly


100 posted on 03/14/2011 8:21:37 AM PDT by Altura Ct.
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