I was just watching MSNBC...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

What the hell is up with those idiots looting!? Makes me wanna hurl...
One lady was carrying a lamp. "Everything has been distroyed, my home, my car, my life, but I just snagged a 12 dollar floor lamp from Walmart!" Jesus Christ.
Duckie

[WCGreen]

1. I can see the food, since it will all rot anyway....

[YellowRubberDuckie]

3. But who needs a 32 inch TV when there's no electricity or even a roof?

:shrug:

[WCGreen]

4. I agree.....

But in all honesty, with flood waters coming, all of that stuff would be gone anyway....

Not excusing it, but still......

[deadparrot]

24. Who knows? Crisis situations make people do weird things.

Including stealing a soggy big-screen with no electricity and no house. :crazy:

[CelticWinter]

2. i can see taking food and water

but anything else just leave it

[lostnfound]

7. or diapers, wipes, medicine, a pair of shoes.

bandages and rubbing alcohol. flashlight with batteries. Any of those things are for health and safety.

[Not Me]

5. I saw that, and wondered why...

what are they going to do with the lamp?

I also saw mothers coming out with diapers for their babies, and food.
Given the circumstances, it's hard for me to throw stones their way.

[halobeam]

6. I saw a funny thread the other night here...

a woman said "help, my husband is washing a paper plate!".. well, I'm married, so I understand the wonderment... but just possibly these people are in shock and not thinking straight? I doubt it'll get her very far... not much logic in it. Most of the looters I saw on the news clips were actually carrying diapers.. are the ATM machines working and do they have their bank cards? I hardly doubt it.

The whole thing stinks. I don't think I can judge though. I don't know if I'd be in my right mind.

[didntvote4shrub]

11. Yeah, she's probably just thinking "light"..

..and not thinking "no electricity." Honestly, the damned networks should just focus on the emergency...

[KittyWampus]

22. the atm machines have been vandalized.

[Avalux]

8. Where the hell is the NATIONAL GUARD???

NO is descending into a state of lawlessness; the police can't handle the chaos and their cars are running out of gas. There should be National Guard troops in the streets. Fuck Bush.

[CountAllVotes]

9. the National Guard is ...

likely NOT HERE in the USA! :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :argh: !!!

:kick:

[peekaloo]

10. I want to see someone shove that question up Monkey Boy's ass

when he makes his "appearance" in NO.

[Pepper32]

12. exactly! (nt)

[FloridaPat]

14. There was no NG in S. Florida when Andrew went through. That was

an election year. Clinton won. This is not an election year. They should have planned the hurricane for next year.

Really though, this is too big and too much of a mess to not have total confusion. Although, evacuating an entire city has got to be a mess. Water is rising. To go after looters at this point is not worth the effort.

[Dukkha]

28. they have SWAT there now

New Orleans SWAT police armed with machine guns patrol downtown New Orleans August 30, 2005. Hurricane Katrina devastated the town and surroundings and looting was reported in the area

it's far from enough to contol this nightmare. Reports are that tensions are real high at the Superdome and can become very dangerous.

[Birthmark]

13. Honestly

It is more ridiculous for us sitting comfortably at home to worry about a $12 lamp than it is for a victim of the flood to steal it. Who cares? The other crap won't matter anyway in a couple of days. They're evacuating New Orleans. Is that lady going to take her lamp with her? Will she ever see it again? Will Wal-Mart get paid for it? Really, this armchair moralizing is pointless and wildly out of step with the realities of New Orleans.

[progmom]

17. ....

:applause:

[ofrfxsk]

20. Armchair moralizing or just witnessing the breakdown of society

as we know it? I see the point in taking water, food, diapers, medicines, bandages, etc. What the hell is with taking lamps, tv's, stereos and computers? I think this is the problem most of us armchair assholes have a problem with. Take what you really need.

This is desert island time. What do you NEED? You cannot power any of that when there is NO electricity and you have to wade through flood waters to nowhere!
Save you strength for getting out of that hell hole!

[Birthmark]

21. People are irrational

When they are under stress they tend to be even more irrational. It's obvious that people taking electrical devices aren't dealing with reality. It is also obvious that worrying about these thefts aren't dealing with the reality within NO. (No insult intended.)

Yes, it is the breakdown of society in NO. We are better served to realize that and deal with situation on its own terms rather than impose useless sensibilities that are badly out of context in the reality that the looters find themselves in.

The way to stop the looting is NOT to arrest looters. Rather, it is to begin to improve the situation that led to the breakdown in society there. At this point, that probably means evacuating the whole city. If they keep looting after that, then I'll be the first one to advocate their arrest. :)

[KittyWampus]

23. actually after looting will come violence and people getting killed.

it's called lawlessness and it's not something to be rationalized away.

[Birthmark]

26. Maybe.

Even if that's true, we probably have time. Perspective is what's called for here. We can either worry about the looting or we can remove the factors that have led to the looting by improving conditions. Since improvement seems highly unlikely, the only rational move is to evacuate the city. This will stop the looting cold and prevent further lawlessness, no?

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. There are five things I can understand looting...

Food, drugs, booze, cigarettes, and clothing if you need it. I can't really see making off with cumbersome home electronics equipment in the middle of a flood. But then, it doesn't matter in the long run anyway; the retailers were insured, and all of their inventory would've been a dead loss.

[Pepper32]

16. What the hell is up with people focusing on damaged/contaminated goods

instead of saving lives? Oh that's right... that stuff belongs to decent white people and it's very important that we make an example of those "looters".

Well, thank goodness they declared Martial's Law today. Now the condemnable merchandise and food will be much safer now. :eyes:

[Onlooker]

18. Bring back Johnson's Great Society

Since Carter, our government has written off the urban poor, and at times like this the price we pay actually gets onto television.

[Evergreen Emerald]

19. here I go again

(I swear I am a liberal). But, I believe that doing the right thing is not set aside when the going gets tough. I am not talking about food or necessities, as in times of disaster, taking food or water or diapers for the baby should be ok.

But, just because the insurance company will cover it, does not make it right to steal a TV. Just because there is a possibility that someone or something else will ruin it, does not make it fair-game. You could say that about any insured person in America (including many of you). I did not teach my daughter that it was ok to steal a friend's toy because her mother has enough money to buy another one.

It should not be ok under any circumstances. Even when the going gets tough. What has our society come to?

[Ikonoklast]

25. The looters have learned the lessons that

have been taught by this criminal administration. Do whatever it takes; the end justifies the means; lie, cheat, steal, kill. If millionaires can do it, why can't the most hopeless in our society?

I suppose they are practicing rugged individualism and looking out for themselves, good Rethug values all around.

[Evergreen Emerald]

29. Personal Accountability

"I can be a thief beacuse the president is a crook?" And, you are making an assumption that those stealing are "hopeless."

[Ikonoklast]

31. I made no assumptions

I was using a form of sarcasm. I am sorry that you missed my meaning.

[RPM]

27. Can she eat the lamp?

guess she is fucked - oh well....

shoulda stole food.

darwin wins again

[Evergreen Emerald]

30. hahahaha

Intelligent design: 0
Darwin: 1