by Doubtfully Yours 65 Replies latest social current
This quote set me laughing:
"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society," he said.
Any of you seen the movie CRASH? What a surprise. A complex movie with depth and wit. I say, any of these looters who got these sorts of ideas in their head should be forced to watch CRASH about twenty times in a row.
jgnat - I saw "Crash" I thought it was one of the best, most thought provoking movies I had ever seen.
As for the looters, I have learned in my olden age that for the most part, people step way out of their normal character in emergencies, especially in a dire situation like this. Is it wrong to steal electronics, jewelry, etc? Absolutely, no matter what, those are not necessities, and even if they are just going to be ruined in the water, there is no "moral" reason they are needed.
As for food and clothing, as much of a rule follower as I am, if I had hungry kids and family members, no place to go and no clean clothes to change into, I tell you, I would definitely take food that was going to go to waste anyway, and take clothing that was going to be ruined and written off on someone's tax returns anyway. Rules do change in regards to circumstances, let's not forget that. Even some of the people who appear to be giddy with glee are reacting to a major catastrophe, and really can't be judged the same way as they would under normal circumstances. I believe currently law enforcement realizes this, and are putting their emphasis on rescuing people instead of enforcing the "normal" rules.
There has already been a huge rash of gun thefts, with some Wal Mart stores completely cleaned out in those areas. There are reports of large groups of armed people walking the streets. I don't know if they felt they needed to protect themselves or what, but I really hope we can pull some troops away from outside our borders and get them home to help inside our borders.
Just one person's opinion
Happyout
I posted a smiliar message on another thread, but I thought it was apporpriate to this thread as well, so I am posting it here slightly revised:
I said earlier on this thread that looting for food was okay but looting jewelry and TVs was wrong. I now revise my opinion on that. If all looting had been treated equally, this situation could have been stablized much sooner.
It IS time for the military to move in and take control. Take out the looters...and I mean shoot to kill. For every relief/rescue helicopter that goes in, send in two Blackhawks armed to the teeth. If anyone takes a shot or throws a rock or proceeds to stampede the resuce copter, open fire. If warning shots don't keep them back, then take out the front line. You'll restore some kind of order damn quick. It's about the greater good now. Not everyone will survive. To get to the those that are trapped and stranded; to get to those that are patiently waiting and laying low from the crime and violence, you are going to have to go in strong, use force, take out the thugs and criminals, send a message to anyone even thinking of being troublesome and do the job.
If the looters had been dealt with as soon as it started, the authorities could have kept better control on the situation. But since we felt compassion for the victims we were willing to suspend the laws and morals that we normally live by so that maybe people could survive until real help could come.
While we excused people stealing water and food, criminals and thugs took advantage of the situation and started chaos and anarchy with their new found freedom to steal, plunder, loot, rape and kill. That's why laws apply to all people. You can't excuse one guy for stealing but punish another one for it, just because the item stolen is different. Looting is looting, stealing is stealing. Because of allowing some looting, the situation detioriated(sp) into what it is now.
the question is where are they gonna put all the stuff they are stealing?
As well as being immoral, its utterly stupid to be stealing electronic goods and jewellry. Its not exactly gonna feed you is it? Its not gonna quench your thirst? Who you gonna sell it to? Everyones lost their jobs. Its not gonna stop you from getting cholera.
Some stoopid idiots are gonna be sat there in a few days time when all the food has been looted, surrounded by bling that no-one can use, no-one can sell and no-one wants. I say leave 'em to it, stoopid muthas. Dont shoot em, just let em starve, cos they looted the wrong things.
I say leave 'em to it, stoopid muthas. Dont shoot em, just let em starve, cos they looted the wrong things.
That's part of the problem...they were left alone..and now there is complete chaos. There are thousands of others who are stranded and waiting, but no one can get to them because the looters have now become armed gangs, preying on others, killing, raping.
If the earliest reports of looting were immediately taken care of and police/guard/military were sent in early to maintain control, a good portion of the people could have been at least pulled from the high rises and rooftops and brought to a triage(sp) area.
U/C, When they leave an IOU for the gallon of water, which address should they use?
steve
Why are so many people's comments so violently on this thread, like shoot them! etc.?
Is that always the best solution you can think of, when things do not go the way you want them to go? Shoot it?
Danny
U/D, When they leave an IOU for the gallon of water, which address should they use?
That's not the point...it doesn't even matter..."steal" if you must, and when your life gets back on track or you recieve a gov't check for assistance...send some to the entity you stole from. You don't need to leave your personal info...it's all about MOTIVE. And it is the thought that counts.
I've borrowed money in my life...not knowing how or when I could pay someone back...and twice when I went to repay the person who'd been kind enough to lend it, they didn't even remember loaning it to me...truly great human beings.
People will do what they want to...period.
There isn't a person on the planet that wouldn't understand this situation...and make huge allowances.
I believe that most people are truly good...and want to do the right thing. It's a small minority that make humanity look bad.
u/d(of the let's be reasonable people class)
When they leave an IOU for the gallon of water, which address should they use?
I'm not sure what your point is...but from the early stages when I excused people for looting for food and water until now where the city has become complete chaos I have changed my opinion on looting.
I thought I was being compassionate by excusing those who stole only items to help them survive. But that compassion was misplaced. It was wrong to excuse them for looting, period. There are many factors involved I know and it's a terrible ordeal for all of those people, but we can't excuse wrong behavior because of a disaster. Control and civilised behavior has to be maintained.
To help maintain control, all looters have to be treated equally. Stealing is stealing whether it's water, guns or beer. We;ve all watched the city deterioate into the lawless jungle that it has become. Part of it is due to the inadequacy of the authorities, part of it is due to people becoming animals.
This should be a lesson for all communities. After any disaster, whether natural or man-made, control has to be quickly restored or chaos and anarchy will ensue. If control is quickly restored then relief and rescue will work much better and quicker. Again there are many factors involved as to why this situation is so bad, but from the early stages, if looters were properly taken care of, a lot of the lawlessness would not be a factor in delaying getting rescuers inside the city.
