I once dated a boy with a confusing value system. His philosophy on stealing was that if you don't safeguard your belongings, you deserve to have them stolen. He absolved the thief of wrongdoing and placed the responsibility of ownership squarely on the owner. If a store didn't have security cameras, how could thieves be blamed for taking advantage of such a system? I quickly realized that he and I would never have common ground and that the relationship was doomed to fail. How can you possibly build when mommy says stealing is bad and daddy says it's OK? There was no future in that relationship.
I was reminded of him yesterday as I watched the footage of the looting in New Orleans. I cannot fathom what was going through those people's minds. What made them think that it was acceptable to steal merchandise just because the windows were broken? In whose worldview is it OK to steal during a national tragedy? In a time when all feared for their lives, individuals were cashing in on misery.
CNN currently has a poll up: "Can looting be defended by neccessity?" Right now, the vote is split 45/55% towards No. But the problem is that many people weren't stealing out of necessity. We're not talking Jean Valjean and his loaf of bread here; we're talking cash and jewelery.
Looting broke out in some New Orleans neighborhoods, prompting authorities to send more than 70 additional officers and an armed personnel carrier into the city. One police officer was shot in the head by a looter, but was expected to recover, said Sergeant Paul Accardo, a police spokesman.
On New Orleans' Canal Street, dozens of looters ripped open the steel gates on clothing and jewelry stores and grabbed merchandise. In Biloxi, Mississippi, people picked through casino slot machines for coins and ransacked other businesses.
Someone shot a policeman in the head over this. That is not necessity; that is greed. That is stealing, justified in someone's warped mind because The Man was too busy saving lives to guard the stores.
That's disgusting.
Posted by Sarah at September 1, 2005 10:37 AM | TrackBackwell what you just described reminds me of a movie with daniel day-lewis called 'my left foot' good flick by the way remindinds me of the scene where he learned how to knock off coal from the coal truck.mom said no till' dad came home.the house was warm that night.HA.look IMHO knocking off an ATM machine or the banks money is ok.but not gap or the foot locker,or most importantly the gun shops.rule#1 for stealing and this is coming from a vet who did his fair share,DON'T SHOOT AT THE COPS LOSE THE WEAPON IT'S NOT WORTH DOING 30 YEARS OVER.that's all and i enjoy your posts very much sarah.not all people on the right are stupid.
Posted by: tommy at September 1, 2005 01:56 PMThe police spokesperson, Paul Accardo, killed himself...very sad...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/hurricane_katrina
Posted by: Cheryl at September 5, 2005 05:51 AMDid you see this blog? Reminds me of your hub.
Posted by: David Boxenhorn at September 5, 2005 07:58 AMMost people don't realize it and it's not PC to say it on TV but a large percentage of those "poor people" stayed behind not because they had to but because they knew it would be a free for all once the storm passed. Watch the footage of the flooded neighborhoods and you will see a vehicle in nearly every drive. Most are late models. Sure, there were some who couldn't leave but most of those went to the Dome. The ones who stayed out there and got themselves snuffed for the most part got what they deserved.
Just FYI, a large portion of the cops in New Orleans are as bad as any of the thugs you've been hearing about. You better look around you because our Government has brought these third world savages in by the millions and dropped them into cities and towns all across this country. In the wake of any disaster natural or otherwise they revert to their ingrained ways and most of those are violent. Don't even think it can't happen where you live.