One Author's Argument 'In Defense Of Looting'

NPR ^ | 08 27 2020 | Natalie Escobar Twitter

[yesthatjallen]

SNIP

What would you say to people who are concerned about essential places like grocery stores or pharmacies being attacked in those communities?

When it comes to small business, family owned business or locally owned business, they are no more likely to provide worker protections. They are no more likely to have to provide good stuff for the community than big businesses. It's actually a Republican myth that has, over the last 20 years, really crawled into even leftist discourse: that the small business owner must be respected, that the small business owner creates jobs and is part of the community. But that's actually a right-wing myth.

A business being attacked in the community is ultimately about attacking like modes of oppression that exist in the community. It is true and possible that there are instances historically when businesses have refused to reopen or to come back. But that is a part of the inequity of the society, that people live in places where there is only one place where they can get access to something [like food or medicine]. That question assumes well, what if you're in a food desert? But the food desert is already an incredibly unjust situation. There's this real tendency to try and blame people for fighting back, for revealing the inequity of the injustice that's already been formed by the time that they're fighting. SNIP

SNIP

[Cowboy Bob]

Is that what they call a trans-woman?

[The Sentient Sheep]

The author, Vicky Osterweil is mentally ill and has completely disassociated from reality. Also if one looks up a picture of “Vicky” I would bet a large sum of money that his original name was Victor before the sex change operation. Hopefully I am not alone that it is an insult to intelligent people that we are to take NPR seriously when they interview clearly mentally ill people and try to pass them off as normal.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

NPR removed their comment section long ago because shut up.

[irishjuggler]

“... defended constantly by each generation,”

RR was right, as usual.

[Bob434]

“His wit’s as thick as a Tewkesbury mustard.”

[SES1066]

Wow, that is telling us where to head in! If a small business fails to "provide worker protections" or fails to " ... provide [more] good stuff for the community than big businesses", it is unworthy of respect. Of course the subtext is let the rioters and looters run, it is not worth our concern to worry about the innocent bystanders, they are a Republican Myth! WHAT A TWIT!

Northwestern University, ProPublica and now NPR! Also articles in The Atlantic! This kind of screed is frequently a socialist one, they are very unfond of personal entrepreneurs and small businesses. These operations are gravel in the machine to nationalize a country. I'd like to call her attention to the minor fact that Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet and Microsoft, all started as small businesses in the past 50 years! Real myths, yeah right!

Note that this article does not appear to have comments enabled, strange that!

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

She writes, "Now, as protests and riots continue to grip cities, she argues that looting is a powerful tool to bring about real, lasting change in society."

She writes, " So you get to the heart of that property relation, and demonstrate that without police and without state oppression, we can have things for free."

She writes, "It's just money. It's just property. It's not actually hurting any people."

Looting does bring real, lasting change in society. Take a look at places where massive looting has taken place. Economic depression (i.e. Detroit, some parts of Chicago, LA, Ferguson and other cities that have had the euphoric rioting experience). Who in their right mind would set up any real, meaningful business there?

Without police and state oppression? Really? The day I can get a group of guys to go with me to take her stuff, I WILL do it just to watch her reaction (and then leave it where she can find it again). When initially taken, she will demand action from the police and the state. She only wants them to protect her while she takes YOUR stuff.

It's just money, property? It's not actually hurting any people? I want some of what she's smoking. If we go to take her stuff, she's going to try to stop you. Someone's going to get hurt and I don't plan on it being me. Looters have the same point of view and have clearly demonstrated it recently. Some attacked a guy trying to guard places from looting who was armed. It didn't turn out so well for them. Two of them, if they could come back from the dead would slap her two-faced for saying that and the third would slap her right now...with his LEFT hand.

[BenLurkin]

Bizarre

[Bob434]

shakespear- forgot to cite

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Actuarlee, if you’re axing me, she’s talking about what Vicky Osterweil wrote.

[Malsua]

These dolts complain about small business at the same time they complain about income equality.

It isn’t the small business man who is making billions. It’s CEOs like Bezos who crush the small business man and concentrate wealth at the top and concentrate the wealth in the highest end zip codes.

Holy crap are these people idiots. A local company, owned by a local guy, lives locally, spends locally for the most part.

[Vinnie]

One of the things some of the interviewed looters claimed is ‘insurance will cover the loss’.
Pretty sure my homeowners policy does not cover ‘insurrection’ ‘riots’.
What about these business owners?

[econjack]

The rioters who smash windows and take items from stores, she says, are engaging in a powerful tactic that questions the justice of "law and order," and the distribution of property and wealth in an unequal society.

Distill the BS and it becomes: I think it's okay to break the law, riot, and loot private property. If that's the case, then it seems equally okay to shoot anyone who steals my private property.

[SES1066]

OOP ERROR, Picture & bio is of Ms Escobar, not the book author, Vicky Osterweil, my apologies. Her picture & bio is in post #24. Comments on content are still valid!

[fireman15]

Vicky Osterweil should move to Venezuala, Cuba, North Korea or any number of other Commie sh@tholes where things are so much more fair.

[Celtic Conservative]

“In defense of shooting looters.”

CC

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Osterweil has literally invented a new paradigm:

Machiavellian Surrealistic Looter Guy Society.

Realism says when you steal people's stuff enough, they quite producing it because they can't buy the materials to produce it any more, AND, they get tired of working for free. When someone finally wises up and quits paying for her articles written in Fecal Font, pt. 12, she will quit writing them.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Why then Natalie Escobar won’t mind at all if a group of people break down her doors strip her house of anything saleable and then burn it to the ground.

Maybe we could form a special forces group to insert her into Venezuela with no passport, papers, etc. to cause her to not be able to leave for a while. THEN, see what she writes.

[SkyPilot]

Even before the riots, we knew why there were “Food Deserts” in black population areas. Those stores could not stay profitable. Theft and shoplifting put most of them out of business. Then blacks complained that there were no grocery stores in the hood.

[hanamizu]

“...But the food desert is already an incredibly unjust situation.”

---

I have an example. Cairo, Illinois used to be a semi prosperous town at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. It’s still at the confluence of the rivers, but it is no where near semi prosperity. It is a shattered shell of a town, filled with burnt-out buildings and once grand mansions falling into decay.

During the late 60s and early 70s there was ‘civil unrest’. Over the passage of time nearly every business left. Today, if you want to visit a real grocery store you have to travel either to Kentucky or Missouri. There is a Dollar General store that has some edibles for sale.

Why is this? Why did the grocery store, the restaurants, the clothing stores, the factories all abandon the place? Everyone knows the answer, but it cannot be said out loud.