Looting...

[BigMotherTucker]

So I just saw a post on twitter of a picture of a woman "looting" bacarti and cereal from a grocery store. I honestly have no issue with "looting" food in these emergency situations. TVs... Shoes... Nope.


Anyone care to share your though if you think there is a difference?

 

[aTotal360]

Stealing is stealing, but I'll turn a blind eye to bread and water. Texas seemed to not have a lot of looting issues for some reason...

 

[coach66]

My generation would say stealing is stealing. I would imagine there are plenty

of places she could find free food but I could be wrong.

 

[Digging dog]

Politics these days frown upon my thoughts of the matter. Which has influenced the reactions a normal society should / used to react to.

 

[Drebin]

Yeah....they shoot people in Texas.

 

[coach66]

You know the reason*

nm

 

[MSUDawgFan86]

Food, water, etc for survival I'm ok with. TVs and 10 pairs of shoes... cut their hand off. Nah jk but really they should be jailed and apart of the Hurricane Clean up crew.

 

[msu86]

If a hurricane is headed my way and I decided to ride it out or have nowhere else to go so I am forced to ride it out no way I run out of food or water before everything is back manageable. Water is what? $2.50/case(24-36 bottles) cereal $3/box, Vienna and sardines($1.50/can).

 

[BigMotherTucker]

honest question... If everything in a grocery store is going to go bad or be ruined or be demolished. Would you not get the oreos too? I mean, is it JUST bread and water that is ok to steal? I'm genually curious.

 

[johnson86-1]

So I just saw a post on twitter of a picture of a woman "looting" bacarti and cereal from a grocery store. I honestly have no issue with "looting" food in these emergency situations. TVs... Shoes... Nope.


Anyone care to share your though if you think there is a difference?

For the most part, it should be unnecessary. If you are riding out a storm, you should have supplies to last for at least a week, at which time a store will be open or relief efforts underway (at least in the continental US).

But there are people who really can't afford to evacuate or have to stick around to take care of family or who are riding it out in a reasonably safe area but lose their supplies anyway (like if a spin off tornado destroys an otherwise sound structure). If that happens, looting for necessities is fine. Water, food, and clothing/shoes to wear (i.e., no taking out several boxes, but if you're walking around in shoes and cloths that got wet, suit up).

I go back and forth on liquor/beer a little, as it's a time honored tradition to sit around and drink after a hurricane, but if you're in bad enough shape that you are having to loot, you don't need to be taking alcohol. That said, if I ended up in that situation, I'd probably help myself to liquor too, but of course I could also pay the store back when everything gets up and running.

 

[bulldogcountry1]

Stealing is wrong. All the time.

How can you justify stealing bread and water a day after a hurricane hits...that you know has been coming for a week?



ETA: How many of those people are leaving IOUs behind for the owners?

 

[BigMotherTucker]

A well thought out response... Thanks

Yeah... If it were me personally. Unless it was the only thing I could find to drink, id most likely pass up the Bacardi for water. But the oreos are fair game. As far as paying the store back. I like to think I would, but it just depends on my situation. Let me be clear... I don't condone stealing, but if busting out a glass door and stealing food was my only option to feed my family or myself... I wouldn't think twice about it.

 

[ShrubDog]

Looting has a line, necessity vs opportunity.

I have been through many hurricanes. A few of them I probably should have left but stayed behind just to protect my property. Many others around me got cleaned out.

They show the stores on TV but its the houses that get jacked up big time.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

You and I may plan ahead for a disaster... But not everyone can. There are a variety of situations that could lead to someone "prepared" having to make tough choices like that.

 

[Msubulldogfan1]

honest question... If everything in a grocery store is going to go bad or be ruined or be demolished. Would you not get the oreos too? I mean, is it JUST bread and water that is ok to steal? I'm genually curious.

M&M cookies getting took. Not gonna lie.

 

[Wizard of bulldogery]

extreme situations maybe like if your whole house flooded and everything floated away and you can't find anyone to help then yes it... a bottle of rum and cereal is acceptable.

 

[Wizard of bulldogery]

Owners prolly gonna get paid via insurance on the business

 

[Dawgzilla]

Yeah....they shoot people in Texas.

They also shoot L'Otters...

View attachment 7850

 

[MadDawg.sixpack]

Just about everything is "justified" these days.....

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

If I don't loot a pair of shoes and a 55" flat screen, how the hell will I outrun the hurricane and then get my CNN updates? ****

 

[Dawgbite]

Maybe not

Owners prolly gonna get paid via insurance on the business

I have friend who owned a grocery store that was destroyed by a tornado a few years ago. After the storm he called me and needed a generator and lights asap. When I arrived it looked like somebody had set up a store on a concrete slab, the building was gone but 90% of the stock was still on the shelves. He made the decision to load as much undamaged stuff as we could into several pickups and start carrying it to the local food bank. His insurance refused to pay for the contents because he had given everything away. If it had been blown away by the storm , they would have paid.

 

[WavelandDog]

I will not justify taking TV's and the like but if you have ever experienced a natural disaster you may have a different outlook on what is morally acceptable. Those that say you would be so prepared that you would not resort to that type of behavior have clearly never been in survival mode.

 

[aTotal360]

by bread and water, I meant food and rations. Not Heineken and 8 Series Samsungs.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Owners prolly gonna get paid via insurance on the business

"It's a write-off for them."
"How is it a write-off?"
"They just write it off."
"Write it off what?"
"Jerry, all these big companies, they write off everything."
"You don't even know what a write-off is."
"Do you?"
"No, I don't."
"But they do. And they're the ones writing it off."
"I wish I had the last twenty seconds of my life back."

 

[aTotal360]

But not everyone can.

"Can" is correct. But I bet a large portion of those that "can't" don't plan for much in life anyway. And when calamity hits, they expect everyone else to pick up the tab. I have no problem with govt assistance. My problem is with the rampant abuse. I bet a lot of those that "can't" plan for an emergency, have $700 phones, a better than average car, HBO and Cinemax, but find a way to pay $12 for medication at CVS.

Let's look at what poverty was 25 years ago vs today. Today "poor" people have smartphones, decent cars, big screen TVs, and high speed internet. 25 years ago, that would be considered middle class.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Stealing is stealing, but I'll turn a blind eye to bread and water. Texas seemed to not have a lot of looting issues for some reason...

There is this idea that Texans walk around with six shooters waiting for a gun fight. We do actually proudly have a lot of guns, but in this instance, it was the other side of Texas that made the difference. We help each other when someone needs it.

There were volunteers from all over the state rushing in after the storm. Here in Austin, there have been countless drives for food, clothes, and necessities that are still ongoing. Being a big state, there were countless other such droves of supplies being delivered.

We were also lucky that in spite of the excessive flooding, food and volunteers could get to the affected area, unlike Katrina where things were kinda cut off by the damage and water.

 

[johnson86-1]

Stealing is wrong. All the time.

How can you justify stealing bread and water a day after a hurricane hits...that you know has been coming for a week?



ETA: How many of those people are leaving IOUs behind for the owners?

You have not spent much time in hurricane country or have not spent time around poor people, or maybe both.

Evacuating is a pain in the ***. If you leave a day or two early, you avoid a lot of traffic, but you also miss work. If you wait until the last second, you get stuck in ungodly traffic. Then you have to either pay for a hotel or impose on friends or family. Then, it's usually a day or two for the hurricane to clear out it you've evacuated inland, but most employers don't give you an extra day or two after the hurricane, so that's more vacation/unpaid time or else you drive back through tornadoes. And then most of the time it's completely unnecessary, either because the storm veered at the last minute or because your house/apartment was completely safe. A little more often, it's not only unnecessary, but it hurts you financially (in addition to the lost vacation or pay if you're hourly) because a minor problem that could have been easily fixed becomes a big problem the day or two you are trying to get back (e.g., a minor roof leak ruins your floor or your furniture or tv etc bc you weren't there to put out a bucket). So people stay when they shouldn't, and every once in a while, you have places that "should" be safe get destroyed. Or you have an event like Katrina where people generally just don't understand what's coming because they are incorrectly judging things based on a past storm.

But by and large, that's not even the problem. The people you see looting (at least the ones looting actual food and drinks) are largely people who not only couldn't spare a few hundred dollars to evacuate, but can't even afford to go drop an extra $40 on supplies every time there is a hurricane warning (which may be a few years apart, or may be a couple of weeks apart). And those people tend to be in the shittiest housing stock that is most likely to suffer damage. So when the storm hits, they are completely unprepared if they are lucky and they go loot. And a lot of them use the same judgment that left them financially unable to prepare for a hurricane, and do things like loot tvs and shoes.

 

[johnson86-1]

"Can" is correct. But I bet a large portion of those that "can't" don't plan for much in life anyway. And when calamity hits, they expect everyone else to pick up the tab. I have no problem with govt assistance. My problem is with the rampant abuse. I bet a lot of those that "can't" plan for an emergency, have $700 phones, a better than average car, HBO and Cinemax, but find a way to pay $12 for medication at CVS.

Let's look at what poverty was 25 years ago vs today. Today "poor" people have smartphones, decent cars, big screen TVs, and high speed internet. 25 years ago, that would be considered middle class.

Well yes. But what does that matter? There might be a time to show some "tough love" and leave people to the consequences of their decisions, but it seems like after a hurricane would be the worst time to start, as there would be a higher number of people than normal who need help because of bad luck rather than bad decisions, and a lesser ability to distinguish between those in bad shape because of bad luck and those in bad shape because of bad decisions.

 

[seshomoru]

It's hard to look at things outside of your own perspective...

or at least significantly different than your own perspective. You generally look at actions of others based on the comfort or discomfort of you and those you interact with. Some things are easy and not influenced by your standing in life. For instance, no matter what your lot in life, it's wrong to murder someone. With things like looting, though... most people can't imagine a poverty level so great that it just becomes something you do without thought. A significant portion of this county is too poor to move jobs, much less hop in a car and get out of town for a few days to avoid a natural disaster. Even with government assistance to evacuate, there is still a cost that is marginally much higher for someone in extreme poverty.

In other words... If I'm paycheck to paycheck with two jobs, rely on public transit because my ****** car rarely runs and filling it up with gas is something I only do when I have to... yeah, I'm taking food. Who knows what sort of mental state I'd be in after getting no sleep while riding out a hurricane in waste deep water, so I might grab some shoes, too. Especially a nice dry pair. Doesn't make it right, just makes it what happens when people snap. It's hard for me to say what people should and shouldn't take. Hell, I'm taking beer because I'd ******* need something to take the edge off. But I can say if you're taking TVs, then you probably are just taking advantage of the situation and are scum.

 

[KentuckyDawg13]

...does not justify lack of simple preparations. Storing food/water is a survival mechanism. If one fails to do so, natural selection is paramount.

 

[Dawg1979]

if you are taking food, water, and maybe a pair of shoes and clothes, i'm good with it. imagine being in that situation and not having anything but wet clothes and shoes for weeks. i'm completely ok with it. now, 15 pair of air jordans, some Hennessy, rolling papers, blunts, and anything else that is not required for living and you should be shot. not shoot to kill. maybe just shot in the dick. no more reproducing and pooing in a bag. teach these punks a lesson.

 

[Shamoan]

dont call them looters....that has connotations of bigotry and hate....they are actually undocumented shoppers.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

Ok... So you prepare... You stock a room with food and water. A hurricane comes along and blows the part of your house that stores all that awesome stuff away. Your preparations just went to hell and you're at square one. Are you going to take water or pride yourself on all your prep time?

 

[Msubulldogfan1]

dont call them looters....that has connotations of bigotry and hate....they are actually undocumented shoppers.

Freedom fighters for food.

 

[Shamoan]

exactly. when you think about it, it would be wrong NOT to steal the food, shoes, tv's, and gin.

 

[aTotal360]

There will always be an "emergency" for a lot of people. I'm simply not going to draw an imaginary line and say when it's ok to steal.

 

[Msubulldogfan1]

exactly. when you think about it, it would be wrong NOT to steal the food, shoes, tv's, and gin.

Really, these "looters" are actually liberators. God bless these brace souls.

 

[WrapItDog]

Texas seemed to not have a lot of looting issues for some reason...

 

[jdbulldog]

Looting and stealing are synonymous. Someone bought that bread and had it on the shelf for re-sale. Taking it cannot be justified. There are places to get food in Florida. All one has to do is go to a little trouble to find it rather than doing the most convenient thing and stealing it from someone else.

 

[BiscuitEater]

So I just saw a post on twitter of a picture of a woman "looting" bacarti and cereal from a grocery store.

Would you have a problem if she was looting stuff in your house?