The bloggers go crazy, and I'm joining in

Well, it seems as if recent hurricane events have sparked all sorts of ethical debates among bloggers (see MSN Slate's overview here http://slate.msn.com/id/2125438/?nav=fo) and of course, because I am who I am, I'm going to join in.

Number one issue that seems to be on bloggers' minds recently is that of looting. Is it ethical in a situation like this? What is the appropriate way of dealing with looters? Is the media's portrayal of looting racially biased? All good questions. Before I really get into anything heavy, let me just state my basic opinions.

In most situations, I'd say that looting is morally objectionable, BUT in New Orleans there exists a situation that makes looting of certain products almost a necessity. I've spent the morning listening to broadcasts covering the absolute lack of aid that is being provided to the unfortunate people that are trapped in New Orleans. Babies have died, elderly people have died, people have gone three or more days without eating, and no one is going in there to help them, because they are frightened of a mob situation. In that situation, where lives are at risk, and there is no help in sight, I would do what probably many people there are doing. Getting food from wherever they can find it. Getting items for basic hygeine where they can. In such a situation, I would do what I hope anyone would do in order to save themselves and their families.

On the other hand, looting for the sake of getting "stuff" seems to me to be completely out of line. What on earth are these people going to do with the plasma TV that they steal out of WalMart once they get back into the flooded streets of New Orleans?

Now, in one comment I read off of one blog, someone stated that looters should be shot on site, no questions asked. That seems a big harsh to me. Especially because in normal situations, someone trying to steal a TV wouldn't be shot without trying to detain them first. Others have said that since the merchandise is going to be probably destroyed by the flood anyways, who cares? I don't necessarily agree with that either. To me, that sort of looting is just people trying to take advantage of others' misfortunes.

Another issue that has sparked much controversey is the way that the media are portraying these looters. http://www.boingboing.net/2005/08/30/black_people_loot_wh.html
This link shows two different pictures of people with food items that they have aquired. One shows a black person and the caption states that he has just finished "looting" a grocery store. The other shows some lighter skinned (white??) people with a caption that states that they "found" the food at a grocery store. Also, there was this picture and accompanying story http://www.news2wkrn.com/nit/archives/2005/08/well_who.html#comments
of a police officer who appears to be joining in the looting.

Now, in the case of the black versus white depiction of people aquiring food, the pictures and captions were published by two different news agencies. It is possible that the journalists involved did actually question the people depicted about how and where they got their food, and one actually said that he looted, while the other said that he "found," but it certainly does raise some interesting questions about race and the media. As far as the other picture goes, I'd be more likely to agree with the blogger who urged people to use common sense. How likely would it be for an officer who is in full view of fellow officers and cameras to be joining in with the looting? I think its far more likely that the merchandise he's shown carrying was confiscated from someone else, and he was just doing his job.

Now, I have one other comment to make on the issue of looting. I had read somewhere this morning that the New Orleans mayor (or someone else in charge) had all the National Guard called off of the search and rescue mission, in order to curb the looting problem. Now, I don't have all the information, so I'm not going to claim to know what's best, but to me it seems, that if there are people in the city who have gone for days without food or water, if people are dying who had been depending on the system to help them out, I would make them a much higher priority than property crime. That is if I were in charge. To me, loss of life seems to be a much bigger problem than loss of property. But that's just me.

In any case, my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. I wish I could be there helping.