"The poor are only taking food to survive!" B.S.

[DFWdem]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/30/katrina.neworleans/index.html

Hundreds of people were looting businesses, throwing rocks through windows and hauling away goods from stores. Some looters were brazenly trying on clothes in the street.

In the downtown area, police had begun to respond to the looting Tuesday afternoon. The looting was happening citywide, according to police.



The people trying on clothes in the street must've been starving.

[msongs]

1. you mean watches are NOT food? nt

[johnnie]

2. .

:popcorn:

[AmyDeLune]

4. ".."

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
:beer:

[Qibing Zero]

3. When will the stupidity end?

Seriously, stop posting stuff like this. No one was claiming that every looter out there was morally justified. The point is that life is infinitely more important than property. Who are you to even judge these people while you sit here at your computer?

[progressivebydesign]

15. No. People here DISTINCTLY defended the looters...

saying that they were only taking food and diapers. ANd that somehow because they were poor, they were entitled to steal. WHo actually pays for the stuff they steal and the businesses they trash? Not them... it would be us. Looting is a crime..

[MissB]

22. In an emergency situation, taking food and diapers

is okay. There is actually a part of the law that covers that (according to some anchor at CNN).

I can't get too worked up over someone dragging a loaf of bread through the water as they wade chest deep in the water. None of that food is going to be saleable. Every grocery store that saw water will have to throw out the food.

The Red Cross hasn't arrived to provide relief for those folks. It's damned near 100 degrees there today. Should they just drink the flood water and eat the silt?

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. And this guy must have been thirsty

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. There's No Electricity And Consequently No Ice....

Warm beer tastes like, well_____________

[Kerrytravelers]

12. Those are beers, right?

In the absence of clean water, beer will do.

Perhpas they are saving the fresh water and juices for the kids. Don't know for sure because the picture doesn't depict the entire situation.

[jsamuel]

6. lest thee be judged

[Kerrytravelers]

7. If you read the posts carefully, you will find that a vast majority of DU

posters were not defending this type of looting. We were defending those who took food and medicines and diapers for the children.

Anyone who steals items that aren't life sustaining is committing a crime.

When you comment, please represent the arguments fairly. I suggest linking to the thread you are referring to so we all may see what you are commenting on.

[stepnw1f]

21. Funny How These Posts Keep Misconstruing What People Here

have said about the looting. Weird too how so many so-called liberals demonize those that have looted without wondering. I thought discussing the why's was important.

I think some of this is deliberate.

[dweller]

8. if your belongings (clothes) are gone

or ruined from the storm, what would you do?

cast the first stone, i suspect.

dp

[AngryOldDem]

19. CBS had a story on this tonight

...got rather up close and personal with the subject.

The folks who were caught in the act were not exactly wearing tatters.

Let's make the distinction here between looting for necessities in order to survive and looting merely out of sheer opportunism.

[dweller]

26. see post 14

for up close and personal.

i've watched the national news tonite. more of the same.

dp

[SoCalDem]

10. Anger from perennially dispossesed people should be no surprise

:(

[TomInTib]

11. My favorite looting story of the day...

On MSNBC earlier today:

A fellow who's pawn shop was destroyed in Biloxi was reportedly visiting the wreckage and concerned about people looting his shop. (No visuals).

I guess his looters are going to have to find a pawn shop that hasn't been destroyed. What a mucking fess!

[WindRavenX]

13. nice blanket statement

:eyes:

Of course some are taking shit they shouldn't...that doesn't mean that EVERYONE is taking TVs, Steroes..etc...Some are GENUINELY taking food for their very SURVIVAL.

Jesus fucking christ.

[CottonBear]

14. Please don't post this sort of flamebait. There's been a natural disaster.

See this thread for a civilized discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4515079

[Misunderestimator]

18. What she said.

[Big Kahuna]

16. Unfortunately, that is human nature.

[MissB]

17. Whatever.

This thread is good for one thing, though. :popcorn:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. we used to do that in live chat rooms...

there would be flame wars and we would write "throws popcorn at the screen" -:)

[MissB]

24. Ah, the good ole' days

;)

[katsy]

20. Huh?

Hundreds out of 1.3M people that live in NO???

SOME people trying on clothes??? Dry clothes?

Remember what the Israelis did to move people out of the Gaza? They assigned 4 officers per person and moved them out.

Case in point: assign 4 National Guards per looter, lock them up somewhere safe and move the hell on.

[zulchzulu]

25. OK...try this

Empty your fridge. Turn your water off. Turn off your electricity. Act like there is nowhere to buy food or water.

Now...tell me what you would do.

Yes, there are some bad apples in the crowd.

But until there is a way for food to be distributed fairly in New Orleans, it's dog eat dog. Literally.

Even the New Orleans cops are letting people loot Walgreens and other locations.

[fishnfla]

27. funny line from NOLA blog

man walking out of store with 10 pairs of jeans was asked if he was saving inventory from his store..."This aint my store", says he, "this is EVERYBODY's store!"

[Cleita]

28. If our national guard weren't mostly in Iraq, order could have

been restored much more quickly. Instead our President who should have been mobilizing all these emergency deployments of medics, troops and relief water and food, was eating cake, strumming a guitar and playing golf.

So if the landscape was a lawless one, who should be blamed? Also, if everyone had been offered evacuation transport who couldn't afford it otherwise, there really wouldn't have been that many people staying behind to loot. So our elected officials screwed up royally by not making a plan for such an event before it happened.

When you find yourself in a disaster, now you know that no one gives a fuck about how they use your taxes, only that you pay them, and don't ask for anything in return.

[Technowitch]

29. Locking

This is utter flamebait. Stop it already.

Technowitch
DU Moderator