This is truly disgusting. I might think it a coincidence had I not spent much of this afternoon watching Aaron Brown talking about looters while looping the same 4 or 5 video sequences of small groups of black people carrying goods from stores. I swear I saw the same loops repeated at least 4 times each in the first 10 minutes of the show. The impact of such imagery is powerful indeed and while the media might protest that they just show what is out there it is obviously video produced to back up a story that is sketchy at best. Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu put it best, the police ought to leave people alone who are taking food, right now it is literally survival mode in the streets of New Orleans with thousands of people who may not even have clothes on their backs, no water to drink, no food at all, no refrigeration, nothing. They have to get food and water wherever they can and I can guarantee you that not a single business owner cares a damn about a few cold cuts and some cases of bottled water. Hell, I doubt anyone cares much for their stock when the entire city is being destroyed.

The people who are wasting their time stealing TV sets and iPods are going to get mighty hungry and those things are going to look pretty useless with no power to run them. The folks that are taking food ought to be getting help carrying it to wherever they and theirs are taking shelter. The best thing the cops can do is help them empty the shelves of the supermarkets and convenience stores so people can have enough food to sustain themselves until aid can find its way to them.

Right now it’s just people trying to survive. Arresting them is asinine and a waste of time.