Throughout history looters have been dealt with in the harshest
ways. They were always considered the lowest form of humanity, preying
on people’s misfortune in times of crisis or disaster. Times have
changed. Oh,looters are still the lowest form of humanity, it’s just that now we don’t do much about them. We make excuses.
I remember in 1979, when Hurricane Frederick hit the Mobile area, the mayor of Prichard, Ala., A.J. Cooper,
said at a press conference that he’d given his police a “shoot-to-kill”
order for looters. That became a national story: that a black mayor of
a predominantly black town would order his police forces to shoot to
kill to restore order. The order was rescinded as a result of bad
publicity in the national press and the looting resumed.
People
in New Orleans and other hurricane-ravaged towns and cities are now
trying to protect their property from looters, brandishing shotguns and
other firearms, while the authorities are doing little other than
giving looters the occasional tongue-lashing. God help the property owner who actually takes action. He’ll be considered the criminal.
