Looters poll..

[C.Ann]

And as for UNARMED looters who are stealing from the stores, you DO realize that NONE of this merchandise would be able to be sold anyhow due to severe contamination, right?

 

[CLynnJones]

I think armed looters should be shot. The police have to protect themselves and others.
Hopefully the other looters will be punished to the fullest exent of the law. They have to live with themselves in the end.

 

[JoeThaNo1Stunna]

So shoot anyone on site if they have a weapon?

The American way is just flying out the window with you guys.

 

[Feralpeg]

I don't know, but I just heard that looters are crawling through flooded homes over dead bodies to steal things. IMHO, those people have given up their rights as human beings. Seems more like animal behavior to me.

 

[bsnyder]

And as for UNARMED looters who are stealing from the stores, you DO realize that NONE of this merchandise would be able to be sold anyhow due to severe contamination, right?

This is simply not true.

Some of the stores that are being ransacked are in areas that are not flooded.

 

[CLynnJones]

No I didn't mean that at all. Only if there is clear danger to others. I don't believe "anyone" should be shot except in the most extreme circumstance.

 

[bsnyder]

And as for the poll, I wouldn't mind if they used a few stun guns on some of these folks.

 

[Sparx]

And as for the poll, I wouldn't mind if they used a few stun guns on some of these folks.

that is what I was thinking! Stun guns!

 

[ericamanda01]

I think that all looters should be handled like anyone who is stealing, armed or not. Standard police protocal. And I also believe that anyone caught looting should be put to work asap to help with the clean up of the city. Of corse there are exceptions if someone is stealing food, water or medicine, that's a natural survival instinct.

 

[CLynnJones]

And as for the poll, I wouldn't mind if they used a few stun guns on some of these folks.

I would agree with this.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

All looters should be prosecuted...but none who are unarmed AND no physical threat should be shot. (if in anyway threatening--then law enforcement does what they can to get the situation under control).

Looting is illegal no matter how you look at it and it doesn't matter that they don't know that all that stuff is going to the dump once cleanup begins.

After "ordinary" disasters---they'd just be waiting for the power to get back on--or to load the back of a truck to sell this stuff.

They don't know that they are living in a sewage dump right now or if they're not--they don't realize that NOONE is coming back and that power won't be back on for months.

 

[DisneyLovingMama]

I don't think anyone should be shot, unless they are threatening to physically harm others with violence. Or destroying home, stores and hospitals that are salvageable.

I can't imagine (and hope and pray I never have to) what these people are feeling. The desperation and anguish must be overwhelming, drowning out everything else. Nothing these people are stealing can be sold -- in addition, there's nothing they can do with the items their stealing. But, in some small way, they feel they are salvaging something from this mess. Is it despicable, hateful, disgusting? Yes. But, should they be shot and possibly killed, when there has already been so much death and destruction in that area? No.

 

[C.Ann]

This is simply not true.

Some of the stores that are being ransacked are in areas that are not flooded.

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It will most certainly be true in the areas that are severely flooded.. The water has been contaminated with raw sewage, gas, oil, rats, reptiles, dead bodies, etc - not to mention all of the food items that are spoiling.. Grave concerns over typhoid, cholera, etc. are being voiced repeatedly by health officials..

 

[Kycha]

I think armed looters should be shot. The police have to protect themselves and others.
Hopefully the other looters will be punished to the fullest exent of the law. They have to live with themselves in the end.

The video I saw on the "Today Show" this morning showed police looting as well. Yep, there were two policewomen, in uniform, strolling up and down the aisles filling their shopping cart. Now what do we do about that?

 

[lyeag]

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It will most certainly be true in the areas that are severely flooded.. The water has been contaminated with raw sewage, gas, oil, rats, reptiles, dead bodies, etc - not to mention all of the food items that are spoiling.. Grave concerns over typhoid, cholera, etc. are being voiced repeatedly by health officials..

From what I have seen the looting is happening in areas where the water is not as high. I have watched on tv where people are in stores and you can see the floor.

 

[Charade]

So shoot anyone on site if they have a weapon?

The American way is just flying out the window with you guys.

That's what happens under martial law. But I don't believe NO or LA has declared that but Mississippi and Alabama have.

 

[Charade]

And as for the poll, I wouldn't mind if they used a few stun guns on some of these folks.

Not if they're in the water!!!!

 

[CLynnJones]

The video I saw on the "Today Show" this morning showed police looting as well. Yep, there were two policewomen, in uniform, strolling up and down the aisles filling their shopping cart. Now what do we do about that?

What were they filling their carts up with?
Weren't those police officers taking bottled water to hand out to people? That's the only thing I had heard about concerning police officers taking things.

 

[jrydberg]

Doesn't matter if the goods are contaminated and won't ever be sold. If it's not yours, it's stealing.

 

[eeyore kelly]

The video I saw on the "Today Show" this morning showed police looting as well. Yep, there were two policewomen, in uniform, strolling up and down the aisles filling their shopping cart. Now what do we do about that?

The police were taking food stuff to an area that needed it desperately.