Gimme The Loot

Loot: goods stolen or taken by force, as from a captured enemy city in wartime or by a corrupt official or by rioters; plunder; spoils

I admit that I did not know the official definition of the word “loot” before I started writing this post. I do also admit that the application of the word to describe the victims of the Haiti earthquake makes me mad uncomfortable. Imagine what you would do if your home was destroyed, bodies lined the streets, and you had nothing to eat. Would you loot, as the news media is so fond of labeling it? I know I would. I don’t mean that I would steal TVs or couches, but I sure would do whatever I had to do to survive. If that means taking whatever food and water is handy, then so be it. Am I supposed to just wallow near death, when there is an alternative? The insinuation of these news reports is that these Haitian, and by extension black people are unruly. GTFOHWTBS! People is hungry, yo! Why shouldn’t they take what they can get?

I’m sure there are people trying to get over in Haiti, but I think the characterization of “widespread looting” may be overblown. The UN says looting is limited, but nary a news article goes by that doesn’t mention it. Or maybe it is happening, but I honestly believe that if this disaster took place in a land that was not populated by black faces, it wouldn’t be mentioned in every article. Do I have proof? Nothing other than my memory and while that may not be good enough for you, it certainly is good enough for me. I just wish that news organizations would apply negative labels like "looter" equally.