Looting?!?!?!?!?

[Travel2Much]

And how much longer will it now take this Wal-Mart to provide those jobs? Or will they just close up shop and leave the people to themselves? A handful of businesses seemed to have survived...maybe they could have provided a means to get the city up and somewhat functional again someday. Not anymore.

Rationalize this all you want. There is no good excuse for smashing store windows and running around with TVs on your head. Maybe some people did take some food. I'm sure somewhere, someone did. But the storm hit around 7:30 am. By that afternoon there was footage of looting being broadcast. I don't think they were quite at the starvation stage yet. If so, maybe they should have hit your Wal-Mart instead of the pawnshop near Canal.

Dude. I live there. I (used to) work there. My life is/was there. I think looters should be shot on sight. That's my rationalization. "Irony" was the tone in my voice.

I have no sympathy for looters. None whatsoever. Diapers & food most likely are available at the Superdome. People were well instructed for years about the risks they were taking if they stay. FEMA has been all over us for years, letting us know what would happen. Nothing that has occurred, nothing, has not been told to people over and over again. People were well instructed over the weekend about the critical importance if they were insane enough to stay about having 5 days supply of food and water. News stations (on all day) begged people to leave. Buses were available to shelters all day Sunday. People were loading up their trucks with wide-screen tvs. That truck could have taken them out of town on Sunday.

I simply cannot express the depth of my non-sympathy for these looters. It is vast and wide.

 

[shakennotstirred]

On the Today show this morning, there appeared to be video of two lady POLICE OFFICERS filling a grocery cart!!!!! I'm not positive but I believe they were in a store where others were looting as well. When asked about it, one said 'I'm doing my job' which was not very convincing and it appeared they did not want to be on camera - go figure.

Doesn't surprise me. I was on Bourbon Street several years ago & witnessed two uniformed police officers on horseback pull up to a window of a bar & knock on it. Out of the window came two beers which they guzzled.

 

[SlowMovin]

Travel2Much,
I stand corrected. I misunderstood your post and apologize accordingly. It's sometimes hard (for me, anyway) to detect irony and other subtleties in written posts. Sorry.

I used to live and work there myself. My sister still does, but got out to Baton Rouge with the rest of my family.

Again...sorry for misunderstanding you and for coming down a little too hard.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Correction, Never underestimate the power of people in large groups -- herd mentality. It is okay if everyone else is doing it. What are the police and National Guard to do? Even if they arrest these people, what then? I bet there are more than 10 looters to every cop / national guard person "protecting" the streets. So you want to kill someone? Go ahead, who is to know? .

...and to think we are worried about terrorists. We have our own American born and raised terrorists.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Travel2Much,
I stand corrected. I misunderstood your post and apologize accordingly. It's sometimes hard (for me, anyway) to detect irony and other subtleties in written posts. Sorry.

Where is the irony? Could you be thinking of another term?

 

[Jdarg]

I just read an article about the looting- and one of the looters was a banker who didn't get out or NOLA and is now on the same desperate level as everyone else. I am seeing lots of pictures of people taking sodas, water, and anything else they can find to drink.

 

[Travel2Much]

Where is the irony? Could you be thinking of another term?

The WalMart that was looted opened only months ago after a long fight to provide jobs and quality food to poor people in NOLA (some debate about this, but won't go into it). It actually really was beautiful. Getting a major retailer like WalMart to establish a store in that area was a big task. It was hoped that the project would swing around what used to be one of the worst areas of the city. It was a major source of employment for the people living in the area.

The president of WalMart actually showed up at the opening.

Now, it's trashed. No more jobs. No more easy access grocery stores and pharmacies. Wonder if WalMart will risk it. Not a WM shill, but that's that.

Irony, tragedy, villainy, stupidity call it whatever you want.

 

[Smiling JOe]

The WalMart that was looted opened only months ago after a long fight to provide jobs and quality food to poor people in NOLA (some debate about this, but won't go into it). It actually really was beautiful. Getting a major retailer like WalMart to establish a store in that area was a big task. It was hoped that the project would swing around what used to be one of the worst areas of the city. It was a major source of employment for the people living in the area.

The president of WalMart actually showed up at the opening.

Now, it's trashed. No more jobs. No more easy access grocery stores and pharmacies. Wonder if WalMart will risk it. Not a WM shill, but that's that.

Irony, tragedy, villainy, stupidity call it whatever you want.

Gotcha. Tying into that irony is that Wal-mart donated, or is donating, $1,000,000 to the Salvation Army to go toward helping these victims. I wonder how much they are really donating if you consider all of the crap that people are looting from Walmart and Sam's Club?

This looting crap stinks for sure, but more disappointing is that I don't see many stories of people helping people on the National Coverage. People tend to do that which they see others doing. Where are the good stories of kindness, compassion, empathy, assistance, concern, love, giving, etc?

 

[katie blue]

When networks run those stories, viewers jump over to the other stations. They'd lose too much $$ in this rubbernecking society. This was my field of study in college, and even (way) back then, the mantra was "if it bleeds, it leads."

 

[Rita]

There was just now a video clip with a reporter asking looters why they were bagging up all this stuff - Didn't they know that was wrong. Their answer?
"The police would be stopping us if it wasn't OK. No one's stopping us"

How nice it would be if the looters were out helping with the rescues or whatever they could do to help. Gosh - just being a good citizen and sitting on his duff would be better!