Fuck the looters.

[Modem Butterfly]

Half of New Orleans is flooded. People are trapped in their damn attics trying to not drown. Fuck the looters. They're just stealing property.

[lebkuchen]

1. How about the hotel mogels who upped their prices in London

after the bombings?

Whose worse?

The poor, or the rich?

[Modem Butterfly]

4. That is so not the issue today

Jesus fucking Christ.

[lebkuchen]

6. How about the projected price of gas Bush is salivating over

right about now?

Natural and otherwise?

[charlie]

8. Fuck Bush

Fuck the parasite profiteers.

Fuck the looters.

[LittleClarkie]

32. Thank you, no.

I don't know where they've been.

[Hubert Flottz]

44. Bush and the oil barons are the looters.

Bastards!

[Modem Butterfly]

17. There will be plenty of time for that later

The people of the gulf need to take priority right now.

[lebkuchen]

46. for those of us living on military bases, the time is now

the lines are ever longer to lock in today's gas price for 2006 driving. I only wish the rest of America had the same advantage.

[KyndCulture]

2. there are bodies floating in the water being reported now...

:scared: :scared:

[Dora]

3. I agree. There are lives to be worrying about.

Stealing/looting is a non-topic, imho.

[Beaverhausen]

5. Hopefully the businesses have insurance

and the looters really, really need what they are stealing.

[Heddi]

11. Do people NEED TV's, VHS Tapes and CD's to live?

How about couches and refrigerators and designer clothes>

That's what people looted in Charleston just hours after Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989

There was a pickup truck outside of Pier 1 Imports loading in Papasan Chairs and seat cushions. We thought it was the owners trying to salvage what they could (We saw it being done at 7am right in the middle of everything). Nope. Not the owners. Looters.

Stealing furniture.

They stole TV's, VHS tapes---video stores in the area were completely obliterated by looters in the hours after the hurricane.

Sporting goods shops were looted

High-end clothing stores were looted

Electronics stores were looted

Grocery stores were NOT looted
Convenience stores were NOT looted aside from cigarettes stolen.

Looters were going into the houses of people who evacuated and proceeded to "evacuate" those homes of their furnishings, electronics, clothing, and jewelry.

Looters are theives. The looters we saw after hugo were THE most brazen and in your face looters I've ever seen. They would go in to the store and come out with an armful of clothes or Reeboks, dump them in the car, and go back in for more.

Amazing that they left the grocery stores and food hordes alone.

So no, generally, they dno not really really really need what they are stealing.

[crispini]

18. They are stealing FOOD, per WDSU.

Yeah, they need what they are stealing.

[Heddi]

31. You are wrong if you think the only thing looted is food

Again, I was in Charleston during Hurricane Hugo--the thing about Hurricanes is that generally the thuggy, criminal types tend to stay in the area because they know that so many OTHER people (mainly police and residents) WON'T be around.

The mall was ravished. People broke down the plywood covering the doors so that they could get inside and steal clothes and electronics.

People broke into any store that wasn't manned with armed guards (very few stores were) and stole anything that wasn't tied down. Ski's, golf clubs, surf boards, footballs, uniforms, baseball bats.

People whose homes were not wiped out by the winds and water had their houses wiped out by looters who felt it was their god-given right to break into people's homes and releive them of unnecessary things like pots and pans, furniture, clothing---even the fucking FAMILY PICTURES hanging on the wall.

Not everyone is altruistic and heroic during a natural disaster. Criminals don't turn into selfless angels because of high water levels. Habitual criminals don't see a hurricane as a way to undo their past wrongs and help out other citizens.

They view these natural disasters as the city and its homes and property as being their personal playground. I saw it myself for the weeks and months following Hugo.

They would come IN DROVES into the suburbs to raid homes. One tried to make his way into my grandfather's garage and take the life-saving necessities like wood saws and pressure-blowers.

Yeah. It's all food.

Wait until tomorrow when the REAL reports start and I'm sure you'll be surprised to know that 90% of any looting that was done was NOT centered around food and other necessities...but around pleasure items and things from people's homes---HARDLY "life saving" necessities :eyes:

[Modem Butterfly]

37. Looting is the LEAST of New Orleans problems right now

I have no idea why anyone is even thinking about this. We don't even have a body count yet.

[LostinVA]

45. Looting is also extremely scary if you're in the area

It's a thuggish mob mentality that is frightening as hell. I've been there. I've been that store manager trying to protect goods. Business and home owners absolutely don't need this ravishment on top of everything else. It sucks.

[Beaverhausen]

20. The way things look those items are probably ruined anyway

from flooding or from wind and rain.

Hey, I'm not going to judge these people. They are going thru hell right now and life will be hell there for days/weeks.

There are far worse criminals on the loose.

[Modem Butterfly]

47. I'll happily judge their felonious asses...

...once the lives of the victims are saved. For now, worrying about looters is ridiculous.

[johnnie]

14. Hell yeah

They need the beer.

[Modem Butterfly]

24. I just hope no one dies while the guard and police try to protect property

[Heddi]

34. In Charleston, people didn't die because of police or NG

People died when they tried to bust into houses they thought were evacuated and were met face to face with an angry owner with a gun.

It's not just businesses that are looted. It's HOMES AS WELL>

As I posted above, Natural Disasters doesn't turn hardened criminals into saintly angels.

They go into the residential neighborhoods because they know most of the houses will be empty. Houses that were not ravaged by floods and winds were ravaged by looters who took FAMILY PICTURES OFF THE WALLS, who stole furniture, who stole pots and pans and refrigerators and clothing and shower curtains.

Several people came back from evacuation to find their house not even touched by the hurricane but completely emptied inside because of looters.

[Modem Butterfly]

43. Unfortunately, I doubt that will be the case in New Orleans

I don't think there will be many houses left untouched by this hurricane.

I just hope the national guard isn't too busy keeping the looters out of somebody's house while someone else drowns. If the price of having my furniture safe and sound is the lives of a few of my neighbors, then that cost is too high.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cleita]

9. If it's food they are stealing, all that stuff will probably have

to be thrown out anyway as damaged goods. Probably everything else is ruined too. Also, wouldn't insurance cover those loses?

[KyndCulture]

13. The stores usually give away their stock anyway...

[Montauk6]

10. You mean the looters referred to in this article?

Hurricane Katrina Disrupts Energy Output
By Brad Foss/AP

Hurricane Katrina disrupted Gulf Coast petroleum output and rattled energy markets on Monday, sending crude-oil and natural-gas futures soaring and setting the stage for a spike in retail gasoline prices.

The Bush administration considered releasing oil from the nation's emergency stockpile while analysts awaited details on the extent of the damage to the region's platforms, pipelines, refineries and electric grid.

"We're losing a lot of crude oil and also a lot of natural gas," said Lawrence J. Goldstein, president of the New York-based nonprofit Petroleum Industry Research Foundation. Goldstein estimated that total refinery production of gasoline, heating oil, diesel and other fuels could fall by as much as 20 million barrels over the next 60 days.

By late Monday, several refiners said damage at their plants appeared to be minimal and oil prices retreated from the day's highs above $70 a barrel. But if a bleaker picture emerges in the days ahead — it may take more time to assess damage, depending on how rough the seas are — prices could run up once again, analysts said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050829/ap_on_bi_ge/katrina_oil

[unrepuke]

59. "We didn't 'allow' looting. It happened."_______Rummy

[Tyranny_R_US]

12. *drops pants*

This is gonna be sweet... Oh looters!!!!!

[SofaKingLiberal]

15. Yeah

It's not like the government didn't do everything they could to get them out of there. :eyes:
Personally, If I was broke and without transportation and left in a hurricane, I might be doing the same thing.

[stillcool]

16. This is our America....

where people stealing from a grocery store during an emergency gets more ink than the bodies of their neighbors floating in the street. The Almighty Dollar in all its glory.

[Chocolatebison]

19. I'm no Bible thumper but......

even I think stealing is wrong.

[Sequoia]

56. As in "If thy right hand offends thee, cut it off."?

So, are they white people or brown people......?

Maybe they're hungry and their babies are crying.

[TahitiNut]

21. Life is so simple in Pleasantville.

No moral dilemmas. Everything is as it appears. Sorta. :eyes:

[chelsea0011]

22. Call out the National Guard! Oh, wait a minute.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

27. You handle hurricanes with the National Guard you have, not

the National Guard you want or might wish you had.

[heidiho]

23. Relax, as Rumsfeld said "Stuff happens"

when asked about the looting in Baghdad. Free people are free to loot and we should celebrate the looters in the Gulf Coast area because they are free people and free people loot!...


Because the Bushies can explain away just about everything!!

[Sunkiss BlueStar]

25. Survival Instincts kick in

these people may have their power out for a month or two. a can of tuna wont be missed

[WildEyedLiberal]

26. Why the hell are people here trying to make looters into heroes?

These are scum who stuck around to steal high priced merchandise while everyone else has evacuated or is concentrating on survival. These aren't proletarian martyrs stealing bread to feed their hungry families. They're thugs stealing booze, TVs, and other people's personal belongings. Jesus. The few who are taking food and other necessities alone are obviously not swarming the streets with shopping carts full of crap they don't need taken from people who aren't there to claim their property. They're not part of your Marxist revolution, so calm down and stop defending them.

[Modem Butterfly]

30. I'm not defending the looters

But I happen to think that a human being trapped on the roof of their house should be a higher priority than someone doing a smash-and-grab at the Quick-E Mart. I don't think that's a Marxist revolution at all.

[WildEyedLiberal]

36. I do too

But there are other posts here that are defending looting like it's some kind of revolutionary act against the man. Looting is the last thing cops should be worried about now, but that doesn't make it right.

[-..__...]

54. I guess the looters have already established their priorities.

I mean, if they're able bodied enough and have the time to steal, they should be in good enough shape to assist in the relief effort instead of carrying out "smash and grabs".

[FlemingsGhost]

33. Post like this, crack me up.

Thank you.

[Cleita]

39. Yeah, high priced, water-logged merchandise that probably

isn't good for anything. The stores have insurance and the government big business welfare office will be open to take care of the businesses, especially Wal-Mart and all their big Republican contributors. Don't worry.

[LostinVA]

48. Thank you. I've come face-to-face with looters after a hurricane

And I've never been so scared in my whole life. Ever. They aren't Robin Hood, or people feeding their family, they are opportunistic criminals, hitting people when they're down...

[Heddi]

52. Oh no! You're wrong

see, the cities are filled with families who can sustain themselves by eating televisions and couches. They're INNOCENT POOR PEOPLE BY GOD!!! HOW DARE YOU CRITICIZE THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE WIPING OUT THE STORES!

THEY *NEED* those FuBu Jeans and 20 pairs of Adidas tennis shoes to LIVE. If we can JUDGE the CD-eaters of this country, what have we become? Have you ever been so HUNGRY that you are FORCED TO EAT A CAR STEREO???

heartless

[Cleita]

58. They are petty thieves you are describing, and yes they

can be scary. I have been robbed at gunpoint in my place of business and I hope the $90 they got was worth their time in jail. It sure shook me up for a long time, however, it's social conditions that lead to this. If you don't take care of the least of those and help them to succeed in life and I am talking about all our children, this is what grows up. The real wholesale criminals are running our country. These petty thieves and gang bangers are nothing in comparison.

[Zynx]

28. Stealing is never appropriate IMO.

99.99999% of the time it is just greed.

[cally]

29. I would definitely loot graceries

if I was stranded for possibly weeks due to a natural disaster. I would try to pay for them sometime in the future but right now survival is paramount. I think it's wrong to steal stuff not needed for survival.

[The_Casual_Observer]

35. Plain old bad people. I can't disagree with the idea that "looters will be

shot". It seems that it is the only way to maintain law and order.

[Cleita]

42. Better make sure the looters didn't get guns and ammo.

They may shoot back. This is where you need your national guard, but oops they are in Iraq getting their asses shot off for Bush looting a country that has decided to fight back too.

[The_Casual_Observer]

50. Looters aren't out to start a war. They are the lowest of the low.

Ghouls who scatter to the four winds at the first sign of difficulty.

I remember those evil bastards running amok in Los Angeles in 1992. They were nothing but thieves, it was the worst showing of ugly side of humanity I had seen outside of wartime. Only the threat of extreme violence can keep creatures like that at bay.

[Cleita]

51. Yeah, some gang bangers stole some TV's and stereos.

The real evil bastards are robbing our country blind and we call them the Bush administration. When you direct your wrath to the real criminals I'll listen.

[Heddi]

55. So one can't be disgusted by two things at once?

Opportunistic criminals are criminals the same, whether they're millionaires or living in a gutter.

And it was more than "some" TV's and Stereo's taken in the LA Riots. Or did you forget the MASS looting, MASS fires, MASS Destruction on the part of far more than a 'few'?

[Cleita]

61. I saw people get really mad, who for the most part were

chronically unemployed because they didn't get the education and nutrition they needed to grow up into successful human beings. I saw kids lured into a gang lifestyle because their mother was out working low paying jobs to try to pay the rent, but who didn't earn enough for childcare. I saw mothers who were on welfare and couldn't find work having to shop ten miles away from where they lived because there were no stores in their neighborhood.

I lived in south central such a long time ago that it was white then. Every time I went there or drove through, nothing had changed since the WWII. No new buildings had been built. The landlords didn't bother to repair anything. The LA police's attitude of law enforcement for the most part is to beat up as many gang members as they can and otherwise just seal up the perimeter of the neighborhoods, with the intention of letting them kill each other. (Watch "The Shield" sometime. It's not far off the mark how rogue cops operate in South Central. That's why they like the duty. No one cares what goes on there.)

These are dirt poor neighborhoods in a city that has more multi-billionaires per square foot than anywhere in the west. You have such a white bread moral clarity about something you haven't bothered to learn anything about. Maybe some night classes in social studies at UCLA might enlighten you.

[Heddi]

65. You know NOTHING about me or where I'm from

and to sit on your pedestal and have the AUDACITY to say "You have such a white bread moral clarity about something you haven't bothered to learn anything about. Maybe some night classes in social studies at UCLA might enlighten you."

You know NOTHING about me.

Lady, I've lived a hard fucking life. I was the child of a single fucking parent who lived in a fucking trailer with holes in the fucking floor. We had sporadic lights and even more sporadic water because my mother coudln't afford both.

I grew up wearing shoes and clothes that were two years too small for me . I have WAITED in line at foodbanks longer than i can fucking count. I have GONE DAYS without eating because there wasn't any fucking food in the house.

Don't fucking tell *ME* about being poor.

I can tell you one fucking thing, though---when we were DEVISTATED with hurricane hugo, the notion of stealing FUCKING FOOD never fucking even entered my mother's head once---let alone stealing VCR's and Coffee Tables and Ski equipment.

Don't fucking tell ME where I came from. You don't have a fucking CLUE.

And since you're so sympathetic to the plight of the poor criminals in Hurricane Ravaged areas why don't you be proactive and open the doors of your house to every criminal, thug, poor person, and homeless person in YOUR area? Give up everything YOU own for the greater fucking good.

But you sit there on your computer with internet access (Something millions of americans can only DREAM to own) and you make it seem like YOU aren't as much of the problem as anyone else.

Get off the computer. Give it away. Allow anyone who wants whatever you have to come in and take it. Just open the doors...let them in. IF they're so noble and virtuous in New Orleans, I'm sure your area is no different and I"m sure there are TONS of people who would love to have what you have. So move out of your house, live in a tree, and never consume ANYTHING ever again---because if you don't, you are JUST as guilty as everyone you're lambasting in this thread.

You have some fucking nerve, I'll tell you that fucking much.

[The_Casual_Observer]

60. Suit yourself, the only criminals are the bush administration

everybody else is a victim.

[Cleita]

62. Did I say the only criminals? I did not. I said the worst ones.

And most of the the people in prison today come from an underclass, which makes them victims of circumstances. The White Collar and affluent criminals seldom spend much time there.

[Heddi]

66. There is nothing 'Circumstatial"

about breaking into a building and relieving its owners of property for no other reasons than:

1) no one is around to stop me
2) no one is around to stop me
3) I REALLY REALLY wanted as many CD's as I could carry
4) No one is around to stop me

Yeah. That's being a victim of circumstance :eyes: More like, being a fucking criminal and taking full advantage of the facts that cops are busy doing more important things like saving lives than stopping OODLES of people who are theives because they're allowed to be.

So, when are YOU going to allow unfettered masses into YOUR home to take what THEY like anytime THEY like? hmmm???

[Cleita]

67. Yeah, but think about it. Who decides who gets what property?

I know of a family who fell on hard times, who couldn't pay $2,000 in property taxes and had the county sell their property appraised at $150,000 at the time for the $2,000. A widow with six children living on food pantry and paltry assistance was thrown in jail and her children put into state custody because, having no place to go, she stayed on the property.

To make a long story short, her husband had contracted multiple sclerosis several years before and essentially died in the end without medical care because they ran out of money. She was the only caregiver for him and her six children and couldn't go to work and had to rely on what assistance she could get.

So you'd think the county could have sold the property for the market value and given her the rest less the taxes but they didn't because in that red state, they don't give a shit. Now I know everyone says that she should have sold the house herself, but with her mounting problems she hadn't done it before it was too late.

Now, I'm not talking about a poor minority family here but a white family, whose husband had a college education. So who were the real theives here? I'd say it was the people who bought that home for $2,000 right under that widow's nose. Her children are now in foster care and for all I know she's living under a bridge somewhere.

So property laws are not always fair laws. This situation is not black and white.

Why do you care about a bunch of mega-corporations who are going to be well reimbursed by the insurance companies and the government while the single home property owner is going to be stiffed.

[w13rd0]

38. Looting is just a symptom...

...of democracy and freedom.

Sorry, I didn't say it, Rumsfeld did.

[Cleita]

63. Yes, they thought it was fine in Iraq, didn't they?

That's because the real looting by them of the American and Iraqi people was just beginning. They know how to do it in style and without having to explain themselves.

[LostinVA]

40. I've lived through one of the most destructive hurricanes to

Hit the US... looters are SCUM. So I agree with MB: Fuck the looters. And fuck the inevitable price gouging for water, ice, gas, and generators. Fuck 'em.

[3days]

41. Looting

Not to condone it or call out my favorite city, but I think this would be happening whether there was a hurricane or not.


Looting
New Orleans, 2:15 p.m.

Returning from a fact-finding expedition from the newspaper's Howard Avenue headquarters, a group of reporters and photographers stumbled on a parade of looters streaming from Coleman's Retail Store, located at 4001 Earhart Blvd., about two blocks away from The Times-Picayune offices.

The looters, who were men and women who appeared to be in their early teens to mid-40s, braved a steady rain and infrequent tropical storm wind gusts to tote boxes of clothing and shoes from the store. Some had garbage bags stuffed with goods. Others lugged wardrobe-sized boxes or carried them on their heads.

The line going to and from the store along Earhart Boulevard numbered into the dozens and appeared to be growing.

Some looters were seen smiling and greeting each other with pleasantries as they passed. Another group was seen riding in the back of a pickup truck, honking the horn and cheering.

The scene also attracted a handful of curious bystanders, who left the safety of their homes to watch the heist.

No police were present in the area, which is flooded heavily with standing water two to four feet deep on all sides of Earhart Blvd.

[-..__...]

49. This must be the "steal now, pay later" plan I keep hearing about?

Some looters were seen smiling and greeting each other with pleasantries as they passed. Another group was seen riding in the back of a pickup truck, honking the horn and cheering.

Yes, nothing like mob rule and looting to bring out the warmth and feeling of community pride in people.

:sarcasm:

[Heddi]

57. THEY NEED THOSE CLOTHES TO EAT!!!!

Obviously the reporter is a REPUBLICAN because otherwise they would have stated that these people were looting FOOD and not participating in the unnecessary theft of personal property :eyes:

According to a large amount of people on this thread and others, NOTHING BUT FOOD is being looted--so we must assume that the people who are taking these shoes and clothes are a very under-studied tribe of Americans who have the ability to eat and gain sustinence from shoe leather and poly-cotton blends

[eyepaddle]

53. Looting...it just adds to the chaos. It's inexcusable.

What if people are stealing food and water--we don't know how much they already have, there could well be people who need those supplies far far more--and just aren't in a position to just rip shit off.

And you know what, just because some greedy merchant price gouges and profiteers DOESN'T make looting okay.

It's pretty much the same as mugging a knifing victim, preying on vulnerability.

[Ron Mexico]

64. If only food is being looted, shouldn't we help the looters by

sending them Swiss Army knives and lockpicking kits?

Looting during a time like this is inexcuseable; either assist in the relief effort or go get fed by it. If you're stealing at a time like this, I can't wish you anything but the worst.

[elehhhhna]

68. OOps. I thought this was about Bush's socialsecurity plan. Sorry.

[ArkDem]

69. Only because of what the american society has done to them.

It's not their fault that they were born into poverty.

[kymar57]

70. fuck em' indeed

so where do ya draw the line where stealing and lawlessness is excusable? It's only corporate criminal Walmart, Only that nat'l grocery chain, only that mom and pop store on the corner, only my rich neighbors house, only my hou...hooold it. Sorry, too late