So today I was dicussing recent events with friends and a good question came up:

If a shop owner in New Orleans shot one of the looters would it be "looked over"?

Of course there is the obvious moral issue of taking a human life (or at least critically injuring someone) but with the death toll I wonder if one or two people killed in looting would even be punished.

Thoughts?

8/31/2005 7:10:40 PM

My friend said that the mayor of NO said looters should be shot on sight or shoot to kill. He might be bs'ing though.

8/31/2005 7:32:37 PM

again, if there will be no consequences to bad actions, people will steal all day long.

they have to have a reason not to steal, and that is being shot

8/31/2005 7:44:50 PM

yes.

On NPR today they interviewed people who took things from a store because everyone else was doing it and cops standing there said they would not stop them.

These were people who never thought they would do something like that, so they slipped into a "grey area". It just seemed like a true demonstration of human nature.

The more I think about it and watch the looting, the more I realize that if I was there and in that situation I would use lethal force.

[Edited on August 31, 2005 at 7:51 PM. Reason : -]

8/31/2005 7:45:05 PM

mob mentality...a person feels anonymous and therefore does stuff they may not normally do

8/31/2005 8:47:20 PM

you would use lethal force against a large mob of people?

for stealing stuff?

i hope you can reload quickly

8/31/2005 8:49:23 PM

as the long as it was only Walmart they stole from I could give a shit.

just stay away from Target or I'll get pissed.

8/31/2005 8:51:49 PM

i wouldnt steal from a family owned store that depends on their products for pay

but i would steal from a chain store

8/31/2005 8:52:50 PM

Hmmm, now imagine your in Baghdad, Iraq. Its April 03, there are literally over a million people looting throughout the country. what do you do then? Imagine shooting someone and his buddies just keep on looting. People will always defy the consequences.

8/31/2005 8:53:12 PM

Quote :

"you would use lethal force against a large mob of people? for stealing stuff?"

Well, the looting was widespread but spotty. In most places it was not a mob of people, but a mostly a few people over time. It is just so widespread that the cops can't control people in such a fragmented situation.

8/31/2005 9:33:32 PM

Quote :

"i wouldnt steal from a family owned store that depends on their products for pay but i would steal from a chain store"

so you are only half nigger then?

8/31/2005 9:54:12 PM

Looters for food are okay by me.

Looters for greed can go away by S&W.

8/31/2005 10:09:20 PM

Quote :

"People will always defy the consequences. "

haha, not dead ones.

all joking aside, this isn't really a black and white question, but yeah, there are certainly times when i would feel totally justified in putting two to the chest of a looter. prob most times, really...but definitely not all.

8/31/2005 10:12:41 PM

Theres reports that looters have broken into stores and stolen guns. Also reports that officers have been shot at by these armed men. Fucking people taking advantage of the situation for their own gain. I would shoot them on the spot.

Oh btw, did you see them smiling as they were looting? Someone from cnn quoted this one looter, "He looked like Santa Claus with his bag of toys".

[Edited on August 31, 2005 at 10:23 PM. Reason : .]

8/31/2005 10:20:46 PM

Quote :

"Hmmm, now imagine your in Baghdad, Iraq. Its April 03, there are literally over a million people looting throughout the country. what do you do then? Imagine shooting someone and his buddies just keep on looting. People will always defy the consequences."

I thought they chopped off your hand if you stole...

8/31/2005 10:25:05 PM

you probably think they also still ride camels, huh?

8/31/2005 10:26:59 PM

I'm sure they do in some parts.

8/31/2005 11:33:14 PM

http://yahooracists.ytmnd.com/

9/1/2005 2:53:17 AM

does your definition of looting mean: just stealing random shit or necessities like food and water. I dont think its wrong for these people to take food and water, but not necessities like t.v.'s and toys and shit shouldnt be allowed.

9/1/2005 2:56:32 AM

btw, do any of you douchebags really think these business's are going to be running again any time soon. Not only that, do you really think the reason as to why they would not be running again would be due to the looting that happened. Come the fuck on. That whole section has to be bulldozed as soon as the waters recede.

9/1/2005 2:57:08 AM

Yeah it's wrong to steal items that aren't necessities, just as it is to kill someone thats not posing a threat to you. Whoever is for using lethal force should be eaten alive by ants in my opinion.

9/1/2005 2:59:47 AM

for real, this has nothing to do with mob mentality. People need food an water. If for some reason I were stuck there, you can be damn sure I would be getting all the groceries I needed.

If anything, looting solves some of the aid distribution problems. It frees up resources for use elsewhere.

9/1/2005 3:00:34 AM

Quote :

"Looters for food are okay by me."

Here's the thing. They knew about this hurricane well in advance. They should have stocked up or planned to move into Super Dome where aid was provided. Stealing is stealing and they should be treated accordingly. Store owners have insurance to cover their loses, but the more they have to claim, the more everyone suffers by having higher premiums. Sadly, these people (the looters) are used to sponging off of the government, so why should they care who else foots the bill?

9/1/2005 4:43:11 AM

Quote :

"haha, not dead ones."

There wasn't enough bullets in Iraq to make this work. You shoot one guy and his buddies keep on going.

9/1/2005 5:24:10 AM

Quote :

"Whoever is for using lethal force should be eaten alive by ants in my opinion."

Most reports at this point say that the looters themselves are armed. Some people are taking shit at gunpoint.

Its hard for me to even relate because if I had lived there I would have got the fuck out first of all and second everything would likely be ruined.



They found a family dead in one house and discovered that the reason they stayed was that they didn't want looters to take their valuables. They lost their lives for nothing.

9/1/2005 8:32:09 AM

Quote :

"i hope the court charges her with murder. I'm sorry, but your fucking car is not worth someone's life. Die Bitch."

Quote :

"come try to steal my car. you will find out it is worth more than you. hell, come try to steal my stapler."

9/1/2005 9:13:17 AM

Quote :

"i wouldnt steal from a family owned store that depends on their products for pay but i would steal from a chain store"

Quote :

"so you are only half nigger then?"

9/1/2005 2:09:22 PM

So, it turns out that rescue workers don't have enough resources or the ability to bring food and water to all the areas where people have gathered (lots of people, 2000 in one instance). As a result, these places have descended into real zoos. People dying, people getting raped, no air, food, water, etc.

Mitigating these poor conditions are looters who are jacking food and water from local shops and distributing them to people in these areas.

I don't see how anyone with a brain could argue that this activity is wrong.

Why people didn't evacuate is wholly irrelevant to the issue of whether looting should be allowed.

9/1/2005 4:38:29 PM

Quote :

"skokiaan: Mitigating these poor conditions are looters who are jacking food and water..."

...and firearms, and stereos, and TVs, and...

9/1/2005 4:48:35 PM

^do you have a magic wand that will stop them from doing both?

9/1/2005 4:49:49 PM

^ do you have a fucking brain cell? a single one?

9/1/2005 4:50:56 PM

^apparently one more than you do

9/1/2005 4:51:41 PM

Quote :

"People dying, people getting raped, no air, food, water, etc."

9/1/2005 4:55:32 PM

the black people are quickly breathing up all the good air with their wide noses

9/1/2005 4:59:57 PM

Quote :

"skokiaan: ^do you have a magic wand that will stop them from doing both?"

no, I leave that to the military-grade firearms the National Guard will be bringing in...

9/1/2005 5:02:30 PM

Quote :

"Here's the thing. They knew about this hurricane well in advance. They should have stocked up or planned to move into Super Dome where aid was provided. Stealing is stealing and they should be treated accordingly. Store owners have insurance to cover their loses, but the more they have to claim, the more everyone suffers by having higher premiums. Sadly, these people (the looters) are used to sponging off of the government, so why should they care who else foots the bill?"

winnar

9/1/2005 5:02:39 PM

from what i understand, they can shoot them.

I do understand the need to take food and water...but beer and jewelry and tv sets are another thing. First of all, it isnt even logical to take a tv set as it will be ruined by the water...and looting all of the guns from a walmart is a totally seperate thing.

And they do pose a threat as most of them have guns and stuff. My cousin is doing rescues in NO and he was told to come with a loaded gun, and "if anyone shoots at you, shoot back"

9/1/2005 5:06:18 PM

Just thinking that it's possible the looters stayed behind intentionally because they knew people were being told to leave and that nobody would be there to stop them from looting.

9/1/2005 5:12:35 PM

I read the thread title as "Shooting a Lobster."

And I clicked wondering why anyone would want to do that

9/1/2005 5:40:39 PM

Quote :

"I thought of this as a good chance to "clean up society." Find the people who are looting and shooting at the aid workers and put a bullet in their head and leave their corpse in the water. Problem solved."

9/1/2005 7:16:39 PM

I'd like to think that a store owner could protect his store with a gun,
but I saw these folks on tv with handguns and a shotgun to keep the crowds back.
And I thought to myself that they had a pretty effective tool for keeping the looters out.
But there is probably some guy that wants those handguns and the shotgun really fucking badly.
And if that guy already has a rifle,
then they are in a whole lot of shit.

As chaotic as things are there, I'd keep my piece tucked away unless I absolutely had to use it. Because there are plenty of people that would kill you to get their hands on another gun right now.
That gun that everyone thinks would save their life would probably just make them a bigger target.

9/2/2005 1:20:46 PM