Looters...the good the bad and the ugly

Something like Katrina happens and we see both the best and the worst in people. Again we see the economic & racial hatred rear its ugly head in the form of looting.

There are good reasons to shoot looters I'll agree:

THIS ARTICLE

points out a circumstance where the reason to loot appears to be revenge rather than survival. But those reasons do not give you a full view into their motives.

We have the right to protect ourselves and our possessions. Deadly force is definitely ok in your own home or for self-presevation. My point is do not set out to shoot first from an official perspective.

I heard someone say yesterday "shoot the looters". My response may seem surprising from a neo/paelocon: NO!

This blog came out of that man's comment and is my thoughts about the difference between survival looting and profit looting. While grocery managers may not approve, I would argue that 90% of grocery looting is for survival. You do not need a plasma screen tv to survive...

For example(unlikely, but anyway): IF this situation were at my home I would be doing the following: acquiring food, water, electricity and insulin. Would you shoot me for breaking into a drug store? For stealing a generator to run the refrigerator to keep the insulin cold so my wife woudn't die? A tricky question. How would you know why I need a generator or why I would be in a drug store?

((update: Graham's article from JWR reminds me: if I'm patient and check the right

resources

I should be able to get what I need with out looting... I stand self-corrected))

What if I save the upc symbols and go back to the point I stole it from when they reopen to pay for it? Am I stealing or borrowing? Do I deserve to be shot in this instance? (no jokes please!)

Yes they should have evacuated. Unfortunately I think we are learning something about the poor in a mandatory evacuation situation that we hadn't previously considered. Perhaps there needs to be government supplied evacuation methods. I'm sure some good democrat will step up and point this out soon.

Later on I'll rant about living where you can find work instead of whining about not having anything after these trying times pass. For now I'll use my yearly allotment of compassion and bite my tongue.