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Hey, Media: Don't Call It 'Looting'

Desperate, hungry people are just trying to feed their families

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 15, 2010 1:05 PM CST

(Newser) – Reports of "looting" in Haiti are surfacing, and Jerry Lanson isn't happy about it. He's not upset with the so-called looters, but with the reporters who are using the term. He cites one story in which the New York Times said "officials reported looting at a collapsed grocery store." Remember, those "looters" hadn't eaten in days, and relief was nowhere in sight.

"Is it looting to feed yourself and your family?" asks Lanson, writing for True/Slant. "Is it looting to take food that will rot in time from the shelves or floor of a 'collapsed grocery store?' Shame on the officials. And shame on the Times. One man’s looter is another’s humanitarian or mother or father. I’d urge the media to choose their words with care."

A group of detained men gathered on a police truck bed after they tried to break into a supermarket.
A group of detained men gathered on a police truck bed after they tried to break into a supermarket.   (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
People enter a damaged shopping center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday.
People enter a damaged shopping center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday.   (AP Photo)
Men are forced into a police truck after being detained for allegedly looting near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince.
Men are forced into a police truck after being detained for allegedly looting near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 41 comments
MarkFL
Jan 21, 2010 12:39 PM CST
Looting is looting. The judgement that you place on it depends on the circumstances and the person saying the word. Looting is what people do when social unrest allows them to steal without getting caught. It is already a nicer word than stealing. No matter what you call it it is still the same thing as looting. That being said, I agree that the media exploits people in disasters. No doubt about it.
GeminiMishy
Jan 18, 2010 4:20 AM CST
What store twiny? It is collapsed. The food is in the summer heat, on the ground amidst the rubble, on the fast track to rotting. Gosh, it's almost as if you didn't read the article...oh wait, idiots never do.
cornelison
Jan 17, 2010 10:43 AM CST
If I were them I'd steal food. There's no shame in taking the food.

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