Sure, some in New Orleans are breaking into jewelry stores, but this account seems more like desperate and hungry people than bad guys trying to make a buck (and as the mayor said, where they going to sell the stuff anyway)
In the city’s Carrollton section, which is on relatively high ground, looters commandeered a forklift and used it to push up the storm shutters and break the glass of a Rite-Aid pharmacy. The crowd stormed the store, carrying out so much ice, water and food that it dropped from their arms as they ran. The street was littered with packages of ramen noodles and other items.
Defillo said looters were also taking guns and ammunition.
If I were there, in a disintegrating city with no order and mass confusion, I’d want a gun too.
Update: Nagin declares Martial Law to crack down on looters.
When nursing home buses are jacked and then the residents are threatened, well yeah, it’s time to send in troops. But let’s not split the skulls of those who really were just hungry and stealing food. There is a difference, a big one.