OT: Interesting take on the media's coverage of the lootings

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:29 pm

http://blackinformant.com/2005/09/02/th ... #more-1135

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:28 pm

Black people loot, white people find?

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/08/30/bl ... ot_wh.html

Even worse the original article was removed with the white people stating..

To our readers: This photo was removed from Yahoo! News at the request of AFP. Yahoo! News statement on photo language controversy.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:38 pm

I asked this in another thread which had a link to this.

Did the same person write both captions? Aren't they from separate news services? Did the person that wrote the caption with the photo of whites also write captions referring to blacks as looters instead of finders?

Even if it was the same person I'm not sure what it means besides the nation may have one racist caption writer *gasps in shock*.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:46 pm

Well from the link it explains that two different people wrote the captions as it came from two different services. That is really not the point and it just gives an example of how people can be affected "words and images". I have watched my share of coverage and have yet to see any white looters on TV. I know there are white looters, I have been to New Orleans and saw my share of "white trash" living there. Just show a few of em for cripes sake, go to the trailer parks dagnabit.

blueduke · Post by **blueduke** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 5:34 pm

“My question is, are blacks really the only looters? Or are they the only ones deemed worthy of camera time? Does 30 seconds of tape, rewound and replayed, tell the whole story? If pictures of looters never made it onto the air, would viewers be deprived of crucial information? Do these images advance the story of the plight of people?

Or do they play to stereotype, prejudice and fear?

Yes, stealing for profit and personal gain is wrong. And I hope those who decided to take advantage of a disaster to haul off flat-screen televisions and DVD players find no way to profit from their theft.

But during a devastating disaster like this, good, law-abiding citizens may do things they would never do normally. (more–may need to register)–Lucia Herndon, Inquirer Columnist

Lucia has a point.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 10:04 pm

bdoughty wrote:I know there are white looters, I have been to New Orleans and saw my share of "white trash" living there. Just show a few of em for cripes sake, go to the trailer parks dagnabit.

Well, to be fair, I have seen quite a bit of coverage and the vast majority of people that I have seen being rescued, interviewed, walking in water, or being stuck at the convention center/Super Dome are black. I'm sure white people are suffering too in New Orleans, but it is rarely shown.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:12 pm

In Census 2000, New Orleans was the 31st largest city in America but had the fifth-largest black population by percentage in cities of 100,000 or more people:

1. Gary, Ind, 85.3 percent
2. Detroit, 82.8
3. Birmingham, Ala., 74
4. Jackson, Miss., 71.1
5. New Orleans, 67.9

Twenty-eight percent of the people in New Orleans of any race live below the poverty line. Add up the fact that poverty was claimed by many as the reason why they ignored the evacuation order and that NOLA is 68 percent black, and you have a high poverty level in a predominantly black city.

Do the math, and that's why you're seeing a lot of blacks in TV footage from New Orleans.

Either way, this is a human tragedy, not a black or a white tragedy. These are people in abhorrent conditions, not blacks or whites.

Take care,
PK

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:44 am

bdoughty wrote:Black people loot, white people find?
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/08/30/bl ... ot_wh.html
Even worse the original article was removed with the white people stating..

This kind of thing makes me sick. It's what's wrong with the media. They continue to reinforce stereotypes and ignorant prejuidice. These people are not looting becasue of the color of their skin.....they are scared, angry and desperate to feed themselves and their children. Noone else that is not in their situtation knows how that feels.

Jima · Post by **Jima** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 1:40 am

Anyone see this yet?

http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?f=00&g= ... NBC%20News

hoserthehorrible · Post by **hoserthehorrible** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 2:38 am

This kind of thing makes me sick. It's what's wrong with the media. They continue to reinforce stereotypes and ignorant prejuidice. These people are not looting becasue of the color of their skin.....they are scared, angry and desperate to feed themselves and their children. Noone else that is not in their situtation knows how that feels.

I believe that in many cases people were looting in order to feed themselves and their families. The authorities at first watched this happen and let it go because they knew it was basic survival and understandable.

However, how do you explain a helicopter trying to land with medical supplies and getting shot at? How do you explain women getting raped? How do you explain attempted child abduction in the Superdome? How do you explain people stealing TVs, stereos, and many items that have nothing to do with survival? How do you explain random beatings of tourists trapped in the city? How do you explain car jackings at gunpoint?

The people of N.O. had to deal with two natural disasters; a cat5 hurricane and then massive flooding. Looting to survive is totally understandable. The shootings, rapes, child abductions, beatings, car jackings, and theft of non essential items by the residence that are taking part in it is completely uncalled for and barbaric. If it takes an order of shoot to kill to stop that rampant anarchy then I'm all for it.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 7:08 am

JackB1 wrote:This kind of thing makes me sick. It's what's wrong with the media. They continue to reinforce stereotypes and ignorant prejuidice.

It's possible that one caption writer didn't want to use the term looter and another did. I don't have nearly enough information to say this instance is a race issue. Again, there is no evidence that the same news organizations were using different captions/descriptions for whites and blacks. To paraphrase Wco, it seems like something pretty trivial to waste a lot of emotional energy and anger over when there are a lot worse things going on.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 7:17 am

Jima wrote:Anyone see this yet?
http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?f=00&g= ... NBC%20News

Thanks for the link. Kanye West didn't help people at all. I wonder how many millions of dollars in donations were lost by his words from people that just clicked off the TV at that point? There are forums for criticism and rants and then there are fund raisers. What a tool. He totally crossed the line with the statements about the National Guard and Bush. West's job was to help raise money and he failed miserably IMO.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:22 am

Leebo33 wrote:
Jima wrote:Anyone see this yet?
http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?f=00&g= ... NBC%20News
Thanks for the link. Kanye West didn't help people at all. I wonder how many millions of dollars in donations were lost by his words from people that just clicked off the TV at that point? There are forums for criticism and rants and then there are fund raisers. What a tool. He totally crossed the line with the statements about the National Guard and Bush. West's job was to help raise money and he failed miserably IMO.

I agree. I saw that happen live and they immediatelt cut away. I wonder what else he would have said. That was defintely not the time or place to make such a comment.....although I think that if this disaster happened to a more well-to-do, predominately white region......you might have seen a different response to the situation.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:54 am

JackB1 wrote:although I think that if this disaster happened to a more well-to-do, predominately white region......you might have seen a different response to the situation.

I don't. While I feel the Fed Govt. was ill-prepared for the eventual impact of this storm and the response has been slower than anyone would like, I find it very difficult to say that the response time was dictated by the socioeconomic status of the eventual victims. Forty years ago, I would sadly agree with such a statement. I strongly disagree with such a statement today. Here are some factors that keep me from criticizing this effort like some have:

1) Katrina left an unprecedented amount of damage

2) I do not recall a storm causing this much damage (total destruction) over such a large area (90,000 + square miles) - How the hell people blame FEMA and the Fed Govt. for not "being in place and having a contingency plan for THIS result" is beyond me.

3) I am quite sure that EVERYONE grossly underestimated:
a) the number of people who did NOT leave N.O. for whatever reason - the day of the storm only 10,000 showed up at the SuperDome - I think many people felt like a much larger number were able to leave which ultimately turned out not to be the case

b) the impact that the broken levees would have. I go back to the comments made by the Army Corps of Engineers who stated that the initial design of the levees was based on a Cat 3 or lesser storm - Why? Because of a cost/benefit analysis that was done prior to the construction of those levees. Now people want to blame the Bush administration for not forseeing this? Unfathomable.

c) that N.O would be rendered 90% shut down completely for MONTHS. It is easy to sit here and criticize after the fact. Yes, N.O. was warned that it was going to be bad a day or so in advance. The fact of the matter is that decisions made a LONG time ago are coming to bear TODAY. It will take $ BILLIONS to rebuild N.O. and the levee system. Exponentially more than it would have if the job had been done right THE FIRST TIME.

Lastly, all the criticism of Bush is very convenient and much of it is partisan to say the least. Bush is not perfect. He makes mistakes and when he does I will be the first to criticize him. However, he is being blamed for many things that I don't feel is at all fair. He is President and is the leader of this nation. However, he is only as good as the information he has access to (which should be the best). He is only as good as the people he delegates duties to. His HSA chief is an idiot. I will join anyone who criticizes Bush for appointing this bozo. That being said, I don't subscribe to the theories that Bush and the Fed Govt's. response is directly proportional to the race or social standing of the people needing the help. To me that is as blasphemous as it gets.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:00 pm

DivotMaker wrote:
JackB1 wrote:although I think that if this disaster happened to a more well-to-do, predominately white region......you might have seen a different response to the situation.
I don't. While I feel the Fed Govt. was ill-prepared for the eventual impact of this storm and the response has been slower than anyone would like, I find it very difficult to say that the response time was dictated by the socioeconomic status of the eventual victims. Forty years ago, I would sadly agree with such a statement. I strongly disagree with such a statement today. Here are some factors that keep me from criticizing this effort like some have:

1) Katrina left an unprecedented amount of damage

2) I do not recall a storm causing this much damage (total destruction) over such a large area (90,000 + square miles) - How the hell people blame FEMA and the Fed Govt. for not "being in place and having a contingency plan for THIS result" is beyond me.

3) I am quite sure that EVERYONE grossly underestimated:
a) the number of people who did NOT leave N.O. for whatever reason - the day of the storm only 10,000 showed up at the SuperDome - I think many people felt like a much larger number were able to leave which ultimately turned out not to be the case

b) the impact that the broken levees would have. I go back to the comments made by the Army Corps of Engineers who stated that the initial design of the levees was based on a Cat 3 or lesser storm - Why? Because of a cost/benefit analysis that was done prior to the construction of those levees. Now people want to blame the Bush administration for not forseeing this? Unfathomable.

c) that N.O would be rendered 90% shut down completely for MONTHS. It is easy to sit here and criticize after the fact. Yes, N.O. was warned that it was going to be bad a day or so in advance. The fact of the matter is that decisions made a LONG time ago are coming to bear TODAY. It will take $ BILLIONS to rebuild N.O. and the levee system. Exponentially more than it would have if the job had been done right THE FIRST TIME.

Lastly, all the criticism of Bush is very convenient and much of it is partisan to say the least. Bush is not perfect. He makes mistakes and when he does I will be the first to criticize him. However, he is being blamed for many things that I don't feel is at all fair. He is President and is the leader of this nation. However, he is only as good as the information he has access to (which should be the best). He is only as good as the people he delegates duties to. His HSA chief is an idiot. I will join anyone who criticizes Bush for appointing this bozo. That being said, I don't subscribe to the theories that Bush and the Fed Govt's. response is directly proportional to the race or social standing of the people needing the help. To me that is as blasphemous as it gets.

Here's a good explanation : http://news.independent.co.uk/world/ame ... 309938.ece

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:20 pm

DivotMaker wrote: Lastly, all the criticism of Bush is very convenient and much of it is partisan to say the least. Bush is not perfect. He makes mistakes and when he does I will be the first to criticize him. However, he is being blamed for many things that I don't feel is at all fair. He is President and is the leader of this nation. However, he is only as good as the information he has access to (which should be the best). He is only as good as the people he delegates duties to. His HSA chief is an idiot. I will join anyone who criticizes Bush for appointing this bozo. That being said, I don't subscribe to the theories that Bush and the Fed Govt's. response is directly proportional to the race or social standing of the people needing the help. To me that is as blasphemous as it gets.

Fine take away any mention of race. 5 days to make a tour ? I seem to recall the Goverment was quicker to send money and aid to the people in Asia when they were hit by the Tsunami.

The republican party is starting to speak their mind.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9157866/

Bipartisan criticism
Four days after Katrina killed hundreds if not thousands, Republicans joined Democrats in wondering why it was taking so long to relieve the misery of so many people living in squalor without the necessities of life.

“If we can’t respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the gulf for days, then why do we think we’re prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?” asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican.

Republican Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts called the government’s response “an embarrassment.”
Story continues below ↓ advertisement

Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., called upon Bush to recall National Guardsmen stationed in Iraq whose homes and families were in the path of Katrina’s destruction. The president said there were enough Guard troops for Iraq and recovery efforts.

The storm of criticism was stinging for a president who won widespread praise for his handling of the terrorist attacks four years ago. It was an unwelcome turn for Bush, suffering sagging approval ratings in the polls.

-----------------

From another site (I could list plenty of this quips from Rep's and Conservative papers)

Even the staunchly conservative Washington Times weighed in against Mr Bush. "We're pleased he finally caught a ride home from his vacation," the paper declared. But it was "time to crack heads," it wrote. Otherwise "he risks losing the one trait his critics have never dented, his ability to lead."

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:30 pm

Would Kanye West have spouted off like that if he didn't have a new album on the market?

Doubtful.

Now people are talking about Kanye West. And when they see the ad for the new Kanye CD in their Best Buy and Circuit City circulars this Sunday, they're going to say, "Hey, that's the guy who went off during the concert on TV Friday night. I need to check out his album and see if he's that pissed in his music."

Cha-ching! Coincidental rant by Kanye? Doubtful.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 1:04 pm

It's too bad the Album is garbage...I had that about a week ago and tried to like it...but I can't.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 1:23 pm

Weaver2005 wrote: Here's a good explanation :

Um, no. Feel free to buy into all of that garbage you wish though....

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 2:21 pm

DivotMaker wrote:
Weaver2005 wrote: Here's a good explanation :
Um, no. Feel free to buy into all of that garbage you wish though....

I guess we all can't be ignorant as yourself. I suppose facts don't matter with you.

Maybe EA Golf could have done a better job.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 2:35 pm

Weaver2005 wrote:
I guess we all can't be ignorant as yourself. I suppose facts don't matter with you.

Maybe EA Golf could have done a better job.

Don't confuse partisan speculation with facts. Insulting.

Unwarranted personal attacks tell us everything we need to know about your intelligence.

If you feel so inclined to make such offensive attacks in the future, please use the PM function so that you spare the rest of the DSP community from such unnecessary gabage....

blueduke · Post by **blueduke** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:42 am

pk500 wrote:Would Kanye West have spouted off like that if he didn't have a new album on the market?

Doubtful.

Now people are talking about Kanye West. And when they see the ad for the new Kanye CD in their Best Buy and Circuit City circulars this Sunday, they're going to say, "Hey, that's the guy who went off during the concert on TV Friday night. I need to check out his album and see if he's that pissed in his music."

Cha-ching! Coincidental rant by Kanye? Doubtful.

Take care,
PK

BINGO

TRI · Post by **TRI** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:41 am

It is very unfortunate that there are people that want to use this horrible devastation in New Orleans as a opportunity to divide the nation between black and white. This is a time the world should come together not ripped apart along racial lines. There are people in Mississippi who are suffering both black and white NOT just New Orleans. I believe this devastation is an act of God and is not a respector of persons.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:46 pm

bdoughty wrote:The republican party is starting to speak their mind.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9157866/

Bipartisan criticism
Four days after Katrina killed hundreds if not thousands, Republicans joined Democrats in wondering why it was taking so long to relieve the misery of so many people living in squalor without the necessities of life.

“If we can’t respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the gulf for days, then why do we think we’re prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?” asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican.

I just s*** my pants...I agree with Newt Gingrich!

With all due respect to Divot's post, every single American should be worried about what happened in New Orleans. I have been thinking along the same lines this week as what Gingrich said. How the hell could we be so unprepared for a disaster we had plenty of warning of. The flood walls breaking and potential for flooding were not surprises -- that scenario in NO has been written about and I think tested (like a war game) quite a bit. And while the extent of the looting was surprising, I would like to think that our government could suppress a few thousand disorganized looters much more quickly than a few days.

This isn't about parties or politics. It's about competence. The #1 job of the federal government is to provide security. Our government did a very piss poor job of that this last week, and we should be asking hard questions and learning from our mistakes.