What's wrong with this picture?

[cloudy]

Read the little captions next to the pictures, and tell me what the hell's going on here.....please.

http://static.flickr.com/23/38725768_16c66eb58b.jpg

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

woohooo Some one else reads BoingBoing!

I saw that and just as I did, the TV showed dozens of african americans raiding a store. And this is supposedly the "liberal" media?

I want my own damn country, just so I can squash the nuts of media outlets when they do something irresponsible like this.

 

[cantdog]

Salvor, Cloudy:

You guys rock. They have egg on their faces. Paint it bright yellow and point it out to everyone with a big fucking megaphone.

Yes.

cantdog

 

[cloudy]

Salvor, Cloudy:

You guys rock. They have egg on their faces. Paint it bright yellow and point it out to everyone with a big fucking megaphone.

Yes.

cantdog

I'm still pissed about it.....it sucks monkey ass.

 

[cantdog]

Those guys suck farts from dead chickens, man. They eat shit from tin plates!

And I do love it when we have pictures of them doing it. Racist prigs.

 

[cloudy]

Those guys suck farts from dead chickens, man. They eat shit from tin plates!

And I do love it when we have pictures of them doing it. Racist prigs.

I think I'm going to write AP a scathing letter, telling them exactly what I think of their bigoted reporting. Not that it'll do any good, but it'll sure as hell make me feel better.

 

[impressive]

Good catch, cloud warrior!

Now, someone tell me what it REALLY should be called when (a) you're hungry and your children are, too; (b) there's no way to get to a grocery store that is open/manned -- which you'd gladly do if able; and (c) there's a store right in front of you with busted windows and food inside?

What would you do? Would you loot/find the food?

I would (but I'd make every attempt to compensate the owner when things again approached normal).

 

[iztheo]

At first I didn't even register the races of the individuals in the pictures ... I was looking at the captions and the sources of the news. AP calls it looting while AFP calls it finding. I did a quick check on AFP and they appear to be European based (headquartered at least) which may or may not influence the way that they present the information. Then I saw Salvor's comment and took a closer look at the photos. Sigh.

I had the misfortune of watching some of FoxNews last night and saw one of the commentators railing about the looting (while the stock video was showing people in grocery stores taking bottles of juice and other packaged foods) and demanding to know where the police were during all of this. There is some scary stuff going on in the area, but taking loaves of bread and cranberry juice is the least of the police's worries at this point.

 

[sophia jane]

I had the misfortune of watching some of FoxNews last night and saw one of the commentators railing about the looting (while the stock video was showing people in grocery stores taking bottles of juice and other packaged foods) and demanding to know where the police were during all of this. There is some scary stuff going on in the area, but taking loaves of bread and cranberry juice is the least of the police's worries at this point.

True enough. Unfortunately, the looting doesn't stop with food. There was footage last night of two police people (I can't remember if they were male or female) going through the shoes at Walmart, joining in with the looters. And then of course, there are the people taking tvs, etc. What are you going to do with a tv when you don't have electricity, or for that matter a house?

 

[iztheo]

True enough. Unfortunately, the looting doesn't stop with food. There was footage last night of two police people (I can't remember if they were male or female) going through the shoes at Walmart, joining in with the looters. And then of course, there are the people taking tvs, etc. What are you going to do with a tv when you don't have electricity, or for that matter a house?

I agree ... taking 4 pairs of Nikes or a TV doesn't have any justifcation. Some situations can either bring out the best part of people or encourage the worst to come out. It just bothers me to see people who appear to be only trying to survive be painted with the same brush as those who are taking advantage of the situation.

Another thing that started to get to me was the fly-over shots from the news helicopters ... they kept showing people standing on roofs/cars/etc signalling and waving to them. I know that the news team are doing their jobs, providing the images and feeds, but please tell me that they stopped to help some of those people.

 

[sophia jane]

Another thing that started to get to me was the fly-over shots from the news helicopters ... they kept showing people standing on roofs/cars/etc signalling and waving to them. I know that the news team are doing their jobs, providing the images and feeds, but please tell me that they stopped to help some of those people.

I know. Yesterday there was this reporter talking about driving down the highway and stopping to talk to this woman who was walking out of NO with her newborn baby and he asked her what she was doing, etc. And my first thought was- tell me you let her in your fucking car and drove her somewhere instead of just asking her where she was going.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

.

Another thing that started to get to me was the fly-over shots from the news helicopters ... they kept showing people standing on roofs/cars/etc signalling and waving to them. I know that the news team are doing their jobs, providing the images and feeds, but please tell me that they stopped to help some of those people.

If not hopefully they were able to give the location to the proper rescue authorities.

 

[Belegon]

it does do some good to raise your voice about such things Cloudy...if enough of us do it we are heard...that is an excellent example of the subtle racism that is still out there...

...and I wouldn't call anyone a looter that was taking food right now (especially perishables), but I sure as hell would use that tag on someone with a TV in their arms...

 

[kennylong]

True enough. Unfortunately, the looting doesn't stop with food. There was footage last night of two police people (I can't remember if they were male or female) going through the shoes at Walmart, joining in with the looters. And then of course, there are the people taking tvs, etc. What are you going to do with a tv when you don't have electricity, or for that matter a house?

That's because when the lights go out, the true cockroaches come out. It's not social outrage, it's a lack of morals. Stealing TV's and other non-essential items is a crime no matter what the circumstances. If you are in law enforcement and are doing it, you deserve to be unemployed ASAP.

Anyone in that area taking things to survive gets a pass as far as I'm concerned, along with my best wishes, as long as they aren't taking it from another needy person.

People taking food is not what I consider a crime, and even in non-crisis situations when I worked grocery retail and saw somebody that looked down on their luck taking things like tuna fish or such staples, I always looked the other way. When they dropped the shrimp and filet mignon down the blouse (true story) I did draw the line there.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I kind of wonder about the morals of TV-stealing.

If you know that the rising water's going to trash the TV in a matter of minutes, are you justified in taking it? What about after the water's ruined it?

What about those Nike's that the sludgy water's just about spilled into? And who's going to want those pants from the Gap after they've sat in that brew? Silly to let them go to rot.

What about that stuff that's already bobbing in the flood? Who does that belong to?

Or do the laws of naval salvage apply? Flotsam and jetsom and all that?

Just asking.

--Zoot

 

[oggbashan]

I know. Yesterday there was this reporter talking about driving down the highway and stopping to talk to this woman who was walking out of NO with her newborn baby and he asked her what she was doing, etc. And my first thought was- tell me you let her in your fucking car and drove her somewhere instead of just asking her where she was going.

If you remember the little girl in Vietnam who was filmed running away from her village after her clothes had been burned off by napalm - the cameraman ceased filming when she got close, stopped her and made sure she got medical treatment. He and the news company didn't regard what he did as 'news'.

What newspeople on the scene of a tragedy do is not reported because they are supposed to be observers and reporters, not participants. If they do help people it won't be reported.

Og

 

[kennylong]

I kind of wonder about the morals of TV-stealing.

If you know that the rising water's going to trash the TV in a matter of minutes, are you justified in taking it? What about after the water's ruined it?

What about those Nike's that the sludgy water's just about spilled into? And who's going to want those pants from the Gap after they've sat in that brew? Silly to let them go to rot.

What about that stuff that's already bobbing in the flood? Who does that belong to?

Or do the laws of naval salvage apply? Flotsam and jetsom and all that?

Just asking.

--Zoot

The family that I saw who had their house looted returned when the water had receeded and showed the second floor of their home that got cleaned out. Lucky for the looters the water didn't get that high, so they got some primo stuff.

I think if it floats down the road, it's fair game for everyone, but if you throw a brick through a window and shop around you may have crossed the line.

When we start to make judgements about looters getting to decide when things are about to be destroyed and are okay to take, I fear the next step is taking the money out of grandma's savings account because she looks like she's ready to go any day now.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I kind of wonder about the morals of TV-stealing.

If you know that the rising water's going to trash the TV in a matter of minutes, are you justified in taking it? What about after the water's ruined it?

What about those Nike's that the sludgy water's just about spilled into? And who's going to want those pants from the Gap after they've sat in that brew? Silly to let them go to rot.

What about that stuff that's already bobbing in the flood? Who does that belong to?

Or do the laws of naval salvage apply? Flotsam and jetsom and all that?

Just asking.

--Zoot

New Orleans is full of criminals. When the police are rendered helpless the criminal element will take advantage. It's apalling. It's awful. But it will happen in most every major city in the US.

Stealing food, water, etc. can be rationalized. Even the Mayor of New Orleans admitted they were comandeering the foodstuffs in gorceries to feed people because that's all that was there. When there is nothing to eat and nothing to drink you do what you have to do. That is just the way it has to be in survival situations.

A tv, isn't going to help you survive. Nor are nine pairs of nike air swooshes or whatever. The line between trying to survive a disaster and trying to take advantage of it is pretty solid. If your house got blown away and your kid is still in his pj's and your wife is wearing her night gown, by most standards stealing clothing and shoes for them would be a matter of survival. If you are already clothed and have on shoes, walking out of a store with eight or ten pairs of shoes around your neck and a plastic bag over each shoulder is just plain old fashioned theft. There is no excuse for it.

 

[LadyJeanne]

I wouldn't call it looting; I'd call it foraging. Food, water, medicine, first aid, diapers, clothing and shoes - that's all foraging for survival.

TV's, not so much. That's just stealing. And I imagine it might be disappointing to their families, too. They might have sent him to Wal-Mart to pick up some of those staples they needed, and he comes back with a TV.

"But, mom, the TV was about to drown!"

"Don't give me that! Food and water, I said. Sheets and towels, I said. Maybe some shoes for your baby sister, I said. What I am going to do with a damn TV set? Watch 'Survivor'?!"

 

[TxRad]

After reading through this thread a couple of things come to mind....

!. 60-70 % of N.O. population is black... and 90% of the people that couldn't afford to leave N.O. was black.. so the odds of the pictures being of blacks is stacked up pretty high.... since the written portion of the article doesn't mention race i don't see where this would be considered racist or bigoted

2. The police stealing shoes... Ok I didn't see the clip or what type shoes they were but.... there's always a but... The police wear leather shoes or boots in most places... have you ever waded water in leather footwear for long periods of time.... it eats your feet up... most of the local police in N.O. live in N.O. so odds are their homes are under water.... where would you go for clean socks and a better shoe for wading around town....

 

[cloudy]

After reading through this thread a couple of things come to mind....

!. 60-70 % of N.O. population is black... and 90% of the people that couldn't afford to leave N.O. was black.. so the odds of the pictures being of blacks is stacked up pretty high.... since the written portion of the article doesn't mention race i don't see where this would be considered racist or bigoted

2. The police stealing shoes... Ok I didn't see the clip or what type shoes they were but.... there's always a but... The police wear leather shoes or boots in most places... have you ever waded water in leather footwear for long periods of time.... it eats your feet up... most of the local police in N.O. live in N.O. so odds are their homes are under water.... where would you go for clean socks and a better shoe for wading around town....

Yeah, but if you notice, the picture of a black person is captioned that he's "looting" and the picture of the white person is captioned that they "found" the things.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

Taking food before it rots, drinkable bottled liquids in a flooded toxic environment, and fresh clothing where most houses are under water. is not looting, it is requisitioning survival supplies.

Calling survivors who are salvaging redeemable supplies looters, after three days with no incoming relief is unconscionable.

This is a massive emergency response failure. I suppose that any action which takes the spotlight off that failure, and paints the victims with some measure of culpability, is deemed appropriate.

With the exception of those who remained behind with the object of protecting their property form looters (an excuse with which I am rapidly losing patience) the majority of victims and survivors (so far) are those too poor have either the financial or even physical means to leave.

Last night (on CNN) I heard a report that while the Superdome survivors had to wait without food, water, or sanitation, buses moved out those better off people still present as guests in the big hotels.

It is not just the failure, but how that failure breaks along lines of the haves and have-nots.

Now the president (through his press secretary) promises zero tolerance for those “looting” even such necessary supplies as food and water, when (as his spokesman claims) there are legal methods for them to obtain what they need.

Oh, well! I guess, at a time like this, a nice dry prison cell doesn’t seem so bad!

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I'd loot. Definitely. But I wouldn't call it anything fancier than looting or perhaps even stealing, and I would pay the grocery store owner, just like imp.

I do love the irony of the pic, though.

Hi, boys and girls! Can you say "double standards"?

 

[Kassiana]

Disgusting.

If you're taking supplies so you can survive, that's fine. Pay what you can for them later.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

Any of the supplies that are taken as a legitimate need for survival, shouldn't need to be paid for.

They will be unusable before their owners' can salvage them.

They will be paid for through the stores' insurance reparations.

The owners don't deserve double payment.