The Psychology of Looting

By Latasha Willis Saturday, September 3, 2005 11:24 p.m. CDT

Very good article. The reasons for looting are looked at from just about every angle.

ID: 103013
Comment: Man I got to tell the response to images of looters by the African American Leadership has been appauling. They act as if they didnt know that there was so many living in abject poverty in New Orleans. I ask where was your outrage at the image I saw every day of squallar. Teaching in the NO public schools the images were far uglier than some kid stealing shoes in a catastrophy. Kids that steal tv sets after Katrina were theives before the storm. So to the NAACP I say where the hell were you before the Katrina. It has been ugly for generations. SO WAKE UP! The leadership of the federal gov. is equally apaulling did they not get the concept after Bagdad that if authority and infrastructure are taken away that "A hungry man is an angry mob" Yes, people with little will steal in times of anarchy. Yes, there is a difference between stealing food and stealing shoes and tv sets, but, this in no way justifys the focus on image over substance. "Shoot the looter" is not a war on poverty.
Author: Kamikaze
Date: 2005-09-09T12:56:34-06:00

ID: 103015
Comment: I got so sick of hearing about the looting that I felt sick every time someone brought it up on the news. Let's focus on the stories of hope and survival.
Author: LatashaWillis
Date: 2005-09-09T23:04:38-06:00

ID: 103016
Comment: I've noticed a subtle, or not-so-subtle, shift in the reporting of the earthquake this week. Media outlets are more prone to say that people who have no food or other supplies are looting businesses. This is very different from the spin coming out of New Orleans when the hurricane first hit. I'll say it again: Had I been deserted and had no food or water, I would have looted, too. It's simply amazing that that was the first thing that the federal government, and the corporate media, seemed to care about with Katrina. Guns before butter always, it seems.
Author: DonnaLadd
Date: 2005-10-13T09:26:36-06:00

ID: 103017
Comment: Yep, I heard it too, Donna. I couldn't tell if the media was trying to avoid a backlash or if it was just business as usual. I wonder what they would have said if this earthquake occured in Sudan or Haiti.
Author: LatashaWillis
Date: 2005-10-13T09:36:13-06:00

ID: 103018
Comment: Good question. Of course, many Americans aren't too big on the folks who live in that region, either, but still your point is good. Brings to mind Clinton's shameful reticence on the genocide in Rwanda. And if that guy is who people think he is, he should have noticed. Personally, I don't think he is who people think he is. Nor his wife. But I digress.
Author: DonnaLadd
Date: 2005-10-13T09:38:49-06:00

Jackson Free Press