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Looting or FInding????

But anyone who still talks about racism in today's society is a "race warrior."
 
You're aware that those pictures are captioned by two different news agencies, yes? And that the first one, with the odd phrase "finding bread and soda from a grocery store" is French? And that other AFP photos use similarly tortured phrases like "plundered" before finally learning the word "looting?"

The French might be the most racist people on earth for all I know. But absent additional evidence I'm more inclined to think this was a language thing.
 
I would have to say that all three parties had to find the items before they could loot them.

I hope they are all leaving notes behind with their names and a list of goods taken, with a promise to pay for them later.
 
i don't know what the laws are for defining looting are, but I wouldn't consider wither of these looters!

The infrasctructure has totally broken down. There is no support from the govt. to supply necessaties (soda is a necessity when the water supply doesn't exist or is poluted, and bread is a parishable good which will be written off as destroyed by the "owner")

To me looting would be if they were carrying CDs, boom boxes and big screen tvs (and even here I could make an arguement that these "goods" will all be written off by their owners asn damaged/destroyed anyway and mine and your tax dollars along with the insurance co will pay for them) and/or taking these items away from others by force!
 
Magyar said:
There is no support from the govt. to supply necessaties
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There isn't? then what have those people at the Superdome been eating and drinking and digesting and expelling from their bodies the last four days?

To me looting would be if they were carrying CDs, boom boxes and big screen tvs (and even here I could make an arguement that these "goods" will all be written off by their owners asn damaged/destroyed anyway
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Will they? Are you suggesting that these looters are only stealing stuff that was damaged or destroyed, and leaving behind the good stuff?

Are you suggesting that these looters are putting on SCUBA gear and diving down a couple of stories to pillage stores, instead of going into stores where the water is just a foot or two deep and turning what was previously a manageable mess into a total loss?

Are you suggesting that if my property is damaged and I am not there to protect it from you, you have the right to kick the door in and help yourself, just because you're hungry or would like my big-screen TV?

Please post two pictures of yourself, both full-face and profile, so that the rest of us know what you look like and can call the police if we ever see you walking around our neighborhoods.
 
shemp said:
I'm glad to see this. As a white person in New Hampshire, I think I'll go downtown now and "find" myself a new car and some nice clothes.
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...giving new meaning to the state motto, "Live Free or Die."
 
Looting

Well, I can understand, getting food for survival. But the Big Screen TVs, jewelry, stripping cars and dead people.
And if these people are doing this for survival. Is this a mix of people of different socio-economic backgrounds, races, etc? Or is it just a particular segment of the population that is trying to survive by looting.

These people are criminals, who are normally kept in check by law enforcement. Take law enforcement away, and you see what happens. The argument that they are shooting at people because they are not being helped fast enough, is baloney. If they had heeded the warnings and left, then there wouldnt be a problem. But some may have stayed behind in order to loot after the hurricane. But that is probably giving too much credit.

Most of the looters I have seen are black, but I assume evidently most of the population of New Orleans, and some of the rest of the areas are evidently predominately black. I am sure there are other races looting also somewhere.
 
Are you suggesting that these looters are only stealing stuff that was damaged or destroyed, and leaving behind the good stuff?
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Given the immensity of damage, I would give someone with food items the benefit of the doubt. They may really need water (via soda) or uncontaminated food for short term sustenance. They should leave a note but their actions may be reasonable.

CBL
 
CBL4 said:
Given the immensity of damage, I would give someone with food items the benefit of the doubt. They may really need water (via soda) or uncontaminated food for short term sustenance. They should leave a note but their actions may be reasonable.
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I'd agree with this and add that food is a wasting asset. Given the circumstances it's not like the shopkeeper is going to be back this weekend wondering where all the bread went. It is not legal to resell food that has been in the presence of standing water for any length of time.

I think it's useful to distinguish between "people who made a mistake (or who got trapped) and who are trying to survive" and "people who are taking advantage of tragedy to gain something."
 
People that are now fighting to survive are there for a variety of reasons. Some are there because they are handicapped or infirm, or are a relative of someone that is such and they would not leave them behind. Some are there because they lacked the resources to leave, whether that be money, transportation, etc. Some are there because of a lack of judgment on their part. They did not heed the warnings and stayed, and lost on that particular gamble. How many of us have done something similar ourselves? The tornado siren goes off, the news broadcasts tell us we are in an area with a tornado warning. Do we immediately seek the shelter of the basement? No, we keep an eye on the sky and continue about our business. Why? Because all the other times we heard the sirens, and we were told we were in a tornado warning, nothing happened. Others trapped were tourists, who were still partying it up last Saturday night when they should have been getting the hell out.

There is a difference between "scavenging" and "looting". Sometimes it's easy to see the difference, and sometimes the line is blurred.

Irregardless, order needs to be restored so that full rescue efforts can continue, as that is the moral thing to do.
 
I have no problem with people taking abandoned, wasting food to survive, as long as they're not hoarding or reselling it. I have no problem with people taking survival equipment and medicine and putting it to good use. I DO have a problem with people stealing jewelry, cars, money, (expensive) clothes, etc. that has no survival use. Some people are trying to survive. Others are street thugs and gang members who are trying to get richer.

Yeah, a few weeks ago I jumped all over the London cops for shooting an innocent man. So it feels pretty strange for me to say that I have little problem with the government declaring martial law in affected areas, and shooting non-survival looters and rioters on sight. I think the difference is that these non-survival looters and rioters are endangering inncoent people. I just hope that if it happens, the authorities get it right and don't shoot innocent people.
 
Well. I got an answer.

From Snopes

Jack Stokes, AP's director of media relations, confirmed today that [photographer Dave] Martin says he witnessed the people in his images looting a grocery store. "He saw the person go into the shop and take the goods," Stokes said, "and that's why he wrote 'looting' in the caption."

Regarding the AFP/Getty "finding" photo by [photographer Chris] Graythen, Getty spokeswoman Bridget Russel said, "This is obviously a big tragedy down there, so we're being careful with how we credit these photos." Russel said that Graythen had discussed the image in question with his editor and that if Graythen didn't witness the two people in the image in the act of looting, then he couldn't say they were looting.
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So, aside from being pretty unclear in the stories originally, i guess I can't fault the captions.

Apologies to the media.
 
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