Posted on 08/31/2005 7:09:41 AM PDT by End Times Sentinel
NEW ORLEANS - At first it just seemed that the Wal-Mart in New Orleans' Lower Garden District was doing a very brisk post-hurricane business yesterday: The parking lot was full, people were leaving with brimming baskets, and city police and firefighters were there as if to oversee it all.
But people weren't going through the front door. They were squeezing between boards meant to protect the now-shattered glass from Hurricane Katrina's winds. One man was packing his van so full of computers, televisions and DVD players that he had trouble closing the rear doors. One woman was carrying three jugs of laundry detergent in a city with no power to run a washer.
As in so many past disasters elsewhere when crisis and chaos have replaced order and normalcy, a beleaguered New Orleans was beset by looters.
The widespread plundering started before Katrina had finished its onslaught Monday. That afternoon, looters broke into an emptied sporting-goods warehouse in Mid-City, a grocery in Treme, and the hardware center Uptown. In one instance, witnesses said, police were called but did nothing until one man shot another.
People said they had heard Wal-Mart had opened its doors to provide supplies for law-enforcement agencies sheltering the 10,000- plus people in the Louisiana Superdome. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Sharon Weber, said law enforcement, emergency-management teams, and relief agencies had "unwritten permission" to help themselves to whatever they need from Wal-Mart stores in times of crisis, but that standard procedure was for the police or aid officials to "leave us a list of what they take so they can pay us later."
At the Lower Garden District Wal-Mart, among the items seen being loaded into police cars were dozens of T-shirts, DVDs, and dog food.
But when law-enforcement officials went to get their goods, others - people of all ages and races - followed.
"They just came and no one could stop them," said David Brown, 38, a Port of New Orleans employee.
Brown and a coworker were filling their vehicle with dozens and dozens of canned goods - stews and chilis and Spaghetti-O's. Brown said the food would be used to feed the port's police and its employees, many of whom, like him, had worked nonstop since Saturday.
They were only taking essentials, he said, though a copy of Queen Latifah's Beauty Shop movie had apparently made that list.
Brown said the work showed no sign of easing.
"It's pretty bad," he said. "They've been calling for body bags all day."
Most streets in New Orleans were empty yesterday except for the hub around the Wal-Mart, in a section of the city that remained dry. People were everywhere: in cars and trucks, pushing goods in carts and baby carriages, dragging full trash cans and laundry baskets. The steady stream of cars caused a traffic jam on the streets near the store - the type of traffic jam last seen here when people tried to evacuate.
"Is everything free?" asked a woman who pulled up in a red car. Hearing "yes," she started to chant: "TV! TV! TV!"
Inside, a teenage boy held up a pair of blue lacy panties and snickered, "I want to see somebody in these so bad," before tossing them in his basket.
Another man used a table to break into one of the last unscathed jewelry cases.
A rumor that the National Guard had arrived sent people running toward the store's exit, shouting: "Come on! Come on!" But no one put down any merchandise, and the Guard rumor turned out to be false.
Some shoppers were oddly selective. One woman said she was taking only facial-care products. Another was pushing a cart filled with silk roses and baby's breath. In the pharmacy aisle, she leaned over the handle, pushing it slowly as she read labels the way a paying customer would.
But the overwhelming feeling was one of chaos - angry shouting, carts ramming, fast grabbing. When a teenage girl passed out face down between the baby clothes and a women's-sock display, people pushed past or stepped on her.
Joseph LoCascio of Picayune, Miss., stopped to try to help the girl. He rolled her over, and she vomited pink liquid all over her face and hair. He then rolled her back.
"People just walking around like they don't care," he said.
He and his friend Sandi Nolan, 21, of Baton Rouge, tried to revive the girl by pouring water, Gatorade and soda over her face and neck. It only left her shirt and hair soaked.
LoCascio tried to get a man in a firefighter T-shirt to treat the girl, but the man hesitated, saying: "She's breathing. If I took her, where would I take her?"
About 15 minutes later, a firefighter medic arrived and began checking the girl. Still, LoCascio and Nolan were furious at their fellow looters.
Both have infants being treated at Children's Hospital, New Orleans, and had come to get baby food and supplies.
"I've never seen people like this. I have drinks and chips, things I need," Nolan said. "They're getting chain saws and fishing poles, anything they can get for free."
As she and LoCascio left, she noticed he had at least a dozen DVDs in his basket, as well as baby formula and baby food. She laughed and pointed it out to him.
"They're for the kids, so they can watch them," he said. "Things like Finding Nemo."
Nolan laughed. "Don't worry," she said. "I got a few too."
And what does that mean?
I'm guessing a good percentage of us FReepers know damn right well what we would do and it would not involve risking our family's life by riding out a MAJOR hurricane, MOST of us would have PLANNED AHEAD and would not be sitting on rooftops or looting our local Wal-Mart. some people just naturally do the wrong thing
Are you kidding me??? Seriously? Are you kidding?? Anyone with half a brain knows right from wrong and would NATURALLY do the RIGHT thing.
The problem being that some innocent folks who have saved their own household items will be swept up with the looters. If I had to find the bills of sale for our TV's, computers and small appliances to prove ownwership I'd be in trouble. Might have to limit it to stuff in original cartons...
A friend in Budapest told me over there the news was all about the looters. "Decadent America".
I left, my family and friends left before the storm hit. If you want to go loot our stuff, go for it, it will all be under water in a few hours.
The way they figure, the water is rising so in a day or so the merchandise will go to waste. No excuse though. Looters still should be shot.
A few years back when the levy broke in Fargo, that's just what some relatives of mine did. They just let the government buldoze the place and moved to higher land. Once a house gets soaked like that, it's ruined and there is NOTHING you can do to salvage it. There really is nothing to go back to a salvage.
True. Either way they can probably write it off. That's what insurance is for. Hope the "guests" enjoy their new merchandise.
" Also, remember the Red Cross just hid 4 terrorists in Iraq from US forces."
That was the ICRC.
The US Red Cross has nothing to do with them.
Especially the dead ones!
Especially the dead ones!
Thanks.
2 months ago a tornado ripped thru 3 miles south of town. Threw the sherrifs truck 200 yards out in the pasture with him still in it. Flattened 2 houses and tore the roofs off of sveral more. I was up for 3 days helping get people to back to some sort of normalcy. Countless trips to town for food that was freely donated by the Churches and the local grocery store (that my wife owns) and I hope I never have to nail another shingle as long as I live. FEMA didnt join in because we didnt make a big enough blip on their radar. The damage from tornados pails in comparison to anything related to coastal weather, and I will take the charity of my good willed neighbors before I cash a gubmint handout.
No looting going on here. No cops being shot. No lake of raw sewage pouring into what was once my home town. Every one heeded the warnings and took cover and the only injury was a day later when a volonteer fell of the roof he was helping fix and broke his wrist.
The folks in Florida last year and befor and the outer banks of the Carolinas have been rebuiling for years and N.O. has been wondering for decades what they were gonna do when the pumps failed and ponchetrain drained into downtown. Well now they get to find out.
It won't be long now.....80 percent of the city is under water, wooden structures cannot withstand sitting in water for long periods of time, just a matter of time before the wood rots and these structures start collapsing all over the place, I say leave it be, let nature take care of it, do the clean up afterwards and DO NOT rebuild, we've seen what a hurricane can do to a place below sea level, just bury it and let it rest in peace.
placemark
I left Saturday and was sure I was doing the right thing.
On Sunday I was damn sure I did the right thing.
On Monday I was concerned about our property.
On Tuesday I was very concerned about the property.
Today, I am grateful to God that my family and I got out and are alive. I could really don't care about the house of anyone's TV or DVD player.
We are alive and not stuck in that hell hole.
My thoughts exactly when I began to read these stories.
Seems that many are helping themselves to whatever they "need".
Why would someone/anyone want to donate? They don't need my money or provisions, that's for sure.
Unfortunately, this is hurting all of the remaining residents of NO, including the honest ones (i.e. the sick, infirmed, elderly) who had no choice but to stay and ride out the storm.
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