Demagogue

Wow, this is one seriously blackend soul. Neal Boortz has an interesting solution to the looting problem in New Orleans-- kill first, ask questions later.

Now I'm serious here .. not just saying this for effect. Shoot to kill. People have been victimized enough by this terrible disaster. Their grief does not have to be amplified by the actions of their lawless neighbors. If the police tolerate the looting, it is a signal to the predators that their lawlessness will be tolerated .. .and it will expand. One person told CNN "If it was wrong the police would be out there stopping it." Amazing, isn't it. This dreadlocked goon seems to believe that any behavior the police don't immediately halt is somehow OK!

First of all, the "dreadlocked goon" comment is absolutely priceless. I love how he seems to believe that the people doing the looting aren't victims of the hurricane, just the business owners are, the people who were actually able to pack up and leave town. He acts as though these "goons" descended on the city afterwards to clean out the joint. They are hurricane victims too, only they're the people who didn't have the the means to get out of town. It's not as though they were provided with a way to evacuate when the evacuation orders were made and chose to stay. Essentially, as others have pointed out elsewhere, the people without resources were left behind to fend for themselves.

While there are reports of some people who are stealing nonessential, materialistic stuff-- jewelry, electronics, etc.-- there are plenty of reports of people raiding grocery stores to get stuff like food, diapers and clothes. How can someone possibly demonize people stealing diapers? How dare they steal things like diapers and food! No, in Neal Boortz's world we should KILL POOR PEOPLE for stealing FOOD and DIAPERS. We should kill people who are trying to SURVIVE in the wake of a catastrophic natural disaster. What a truly warped sense of right and wrong.

Their city has been destroyed, it is flooded, they have no resources, there is no way to "buy" food, water or clothing, chances are they have nowhere to go. But Boortz can't rustle up a little sympathy in their direction? I have an idea, why don't we drop him and his family in the middle of New Orleans without food, clothing or shelter and see what he thinks he should do to care for himself and his family?

So, frankly, after what everyone who lives there has been through, I can hardly blame anyone for looting. I'm not saying it's right, but it is understandable. No matter what, looting is not nearly as wrong as the idea of shooting people who are trying to survive in the aftermath of a historic, devastating hurricane.

Looting really is the least of New Orlean's problems right now, well, unless you're someone who values property over human life.

Update: Know what is far more despicable than looting? People are already setting up fake charities to steal money from people who want to help Katrina's victims. Man, that is just. so. low.