Has there been ANY footage of "looters" stealing non-essential items?

[OrlandoGator]

All the footage I see is of people wading into stores to get food and diapers.

[ret5hd]

1. From some of the reports here...

you would think people are strapping BMW's and Mercedes to their backs and wading thru chest deep water with them.

i don't know why you would doubt such people.

[acmavm]

3. No kidding. There are a few here that one would think should be down

in the hurricane area helping. You know, because they can walk on water and all.

[Cleita]

12. LOL, Good one!

:rofl:

[TahitiNut]

19. Well, those TV cameras DO give us a God-like perspective.

It's satisfying to sit back and stroke our self-righteous 'member' furiously during such omnipotent moments.

I think the people v. property focus is very revealing.

When a GOP Governor advocates the killing of a human being for taking a 24-pack of toilet paper, and DUers agree, it's Bizarro-World indeed.

[G_j]

43. revealing indeed!

Americans have been programmed from day one to value property over persons.

[Misunderestimator]

14. Well, water does buoy things up and make them lighter.

:rofl:

[TahitiNut]

22. Shit floats.

:evilgrin:

[Roland99]

2. I don't think beer is an "essential" item.

Well.....


;)

[ohio_liberal]

6. If I were there right now

I think I'd have to be self-medicated just to keep my sanity.

[Walt Starr]

8. There is one thing about beer in a situation like this. It is potable

unlike the water.

[havocmom]

15. and it does have food value

along with being a mild analgesic

[Walt Starr]

28. And if you're thirsty and the closest thing you can wade to is

a liquor store, it makes sense.

[NYC]

16. Any beverage is essential.

There may be no water left in the stores.

P.S. The people who planned on evacuating probably bought all the bottled water before they left. The people who went to the Superdome were told to bring a gallon a day per person.

[Roland99]

20. Depends on the beer though.

;)

[RaleighNCDUer]

34. If no clean water is available for drinking

beer is an excellent substitute. Its low alcohol content means it will not dehydrate you, you know it is not contaminated, and is altogether much healthier than soda, which WILL make you thirstier.

[napi21]

I saw footage of destroyed ATM's and shelves bare.

I don't recall seeing any people in this footage, but the reporter said there was NOTHING left in the store that wasn't destroyed and no longer useable for anything.

I really doubt that most of these looters are poor people just trying to survive. In every national disaster, there's always some scumb crawl our from under their rocks for personal gain, and this one is no different.

[lastliberalintexas]

41. How the hell did they know that was from looters and not the storm?

You know, the at least class 4 hurricane that just ripped the area to shreds and would likely do some severe damage to a glass fronted store? What a joke these people make of the once fine profession of journalism.

[ugarte]

4. Yeah, I saw a guy waist deep in water with a pacakge of unopened chips

You know he didn't pay for those chips. Man, it pissed me off. It made me really envious.

[Misunderestimator]

11. Ha...

:thumbsup:

[jsamuel]

5. just like racism, 95% of people loot because they have to, but the 5% that

loot other stuff allow racists to say that 100% are all bad.

Not that people who complain about looters are racist, but that it is a similar comparison to me.

[Misunderestimator]

7. I just now saw a reporter go up to a restaurant, saying that there has

been widespread reports of looting... he points into the restaurant and says "We hope that all this damage was only due to the storm" insinuating that it MIGHT be due to looting. What assholes. To me, it was clear that the restaurant had been damaged by the storm the same way all the surrounding buildings were. Blown out windows, etc. They showed NOTHING that would even indicate a suspicion of looting.

:wtf:

[MissB]

13. Yeah, I caught that too.

bastard reporter.

[NoQuarter]

17. Look. Those guys are

barely educated nitwits who, like freepers, are incapable of original thought. They heard the word looting and thought it might up the drama quotient of their 'reports.'

Pathetic.

[RaleighNCDUer]

36. As if tens of thousands of people losing everything they own

was not drama enough.

[Pirate Smile]

9. Yes, on MSNBC, they were with a family that went back to their house.

The house was damaged and wet plus they were upset because their TV and others things had also been looted. They were an African American family and it didn't look like they had much money.

Edit to add - they felt violated, of course, because not all the damage was from the storm. People robbed them too. That isn't stealing bread and it f@#king sucks. I can sure differentiate between taking food when you are hungry without options and stealing from other victims of a natural disaster.

[Bridget Burke]

18. Fear of looters is one reason people refuse evacuation....

Not all the victims are rich, corporate Republicans.

[mondo joe]

27. Indeed - as I keep saying, whether it's looters or Katrina it's the

same victims who get hit the hardest.

[Cassandra]

29. I saw that, too.

That was sad. Their trailer homes were destroyed and now the TV, computer and other things are gone. No insurance, they have to start over.

[fishnfla]

10. beer, smokes, atm machines

whatever

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Yes

Soem people broke open an ATM machine. Last time I checked, ATMs do not dispense food.

[calico1]

24. No but you can buy food with it and

during a storm it is okay. Don't be so heartless. :sarcasm:

[johnnie]

26. Who would they buy food from?

The stores? Or the people that took the food from the stores?

[Bridget Burke]

32. Yes, from the folks who cleaned out the supermarkets.

There is always a way to turn a profit.

[calico1]

37. Ah, you missed my sarcasm sign.

Actually I am one of the few people that agrees with you. I don't condone looting.

[johnnie]

40. Yup...sorry

I missed it. I think it's best to stay out of the "looting wars". It honestly is the least of things we should be worrying about right now.

[geomon666]

25. I'm sure

They were just taking the dollars bills to start signal fires if needed. Maybe to cook food with too.

[acmavm]

33. So what are you saying? Seriously, are you tarring all these people

with the same brush?

This place has gone frigging nuts. I don't remember reading anywhere on this board where anyone said it was okay to steal tv sets or bust into ATMs. But the media are turning this into one big ugly garbage fest of lies and innuendo. They see damage and the 'hope' it's not due to looters. They see desperate people taking food (which as has been pointed out here will be NO DAMN GOOD, CAN'T BE SOLD, DAMAGED AND ALL THAT) and lump them in with the tv thieves.

Some people are assholes no matter what. Shall we condemn the entire human race on the basis of how 'some people' act?

[MadHound]

23. One thing that I've seen on all of the damage reports

And that is all of the reporters are saying that massive quantities of stuff were literally swept out homes, shops and other buildings. Picked up by the storm surge and deposited far far away.

I've been through several large floods here in Missouri, including the record breaker back in '93, and that is exactly what a flood does, sweeps in, picks up an incredible amount of stuff, and reditributes it all over creation.

I think some of these looting reports are overblown, and that they are being mistaken and are the results of what the flood did instead of actual looting.

[shugah]

30. i just saw some footage of a family with ...

... TOILET PAPER! OMG!!!! someone please call the national guard! toilet paper looters must be dealt with ruthlessly!

i think it is highly possible that quite a bit of "looting" is not even intentional, but that people are needing things, same as they would any other day, and when they get to the grocery store or 7-11 find that there is no cashier (or working cash register for that matter) they still need food and other necessities. what should they do? wait for the store owner? :shrug:

[txaslftist]

31. Who gives a shit?

You've got Lake Ponchetrain (sp), arguably one of the most polluted 'freshwater' lakes in the country spilling into the city, alligators and corpses sharing aisle space in the Winn Dixie, and miserable people who have lost everything roaming the streets trying to find something to salvage.

There is not a single item on a single shelf in that flooded Winn Dixie that is not going to be written off as a loss. There is not a single item there that they will be able to resell anyway, since the Louisiana Health Dept. is going to say they can't.

The entire flooded area has been contaminated by corpse-water, pollution, floating sewage, unmoored coffins and human excrement. You think they can re-sell that six pack? Even the bottle of liquor?

You can't steal garbage. It's just garbage.

[Misunderestimator]

35. THANK YOU! EXACTLY!

[Karenina]

38. Thank you.

Your *corporate mouthpieces are REALLY working overtime.

[OrlandoGator]

42. Damn, that was an awesome post.

n/t

[kittykitty]

39. So they should just let the food rot? The diapers get sodden? They might

as well eat,smoke, drink, and wear everything. It wil all de declaRed a loass anyway. ATM machines? Well that is a naughty.