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Author Topic:   Black Looters, White Finders - Is The Media Racially-Biased About Hurricane Katrina?
Mystic Gemini
unregistered
posted September 09, 2005 05:07 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

Black Looters, White Finders - Is The Media Racially-Biased About Hurricane Katrina?

Long Beach, CA (BlackNews.com) - It's no question that there is massive looting going on in the gulf coast area by white and black Americans. People of all colors are doing what they can to survive.

But why is the mainstream media saying that the Black people are looting supplies, and that the white people are finding supplies?

A recent report from DiversityInc.com found one picture by an AFP/Getty Images photographer and another by The Associated Press (AP) - and each had a different caption when published.

The AFP/Getty photo shows two white people with food, with the caption that they were "finding" bread and soda from a grocery store. However, the AP photo shows a black person with some food, with the caption saying he had just finished "looting" a grocery store.


Dante Lee of BlackNews.com, comments, "I've seen this variation several times, and it certainly reveals that the mainstream media is indeed racially-biased."

Pat Means of Turning Point Magazine, says, "The media must be careful in its labeling of people who are simply trying to survive. The media can not practice racism, when everyone is doing the same thing."

Others agree that the media is definitely targeting African-Americans to make them look worse than they already do.

Here's an interesting comic strip by Keith Knight that brings truth to the situation:

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LibraSparkle
unregistered
posted September 09, 2005 06:44 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Kudos to all of them.

I would have looted too... and I would have flipped off Bush's hilicopter as he flew over New Orleans. Damn coward.

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miss_apples
unregistered
posted September 10, 2005 06:14 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Looting doesn't necessarily mean anything bad.
I looked the word up on dictionary.com, and got five definitions....

loot
n.

1. Valuables pillaged in time of war; spoils.
2. Stolen goods.
3. Informal. Goods illicitly obtained, as by bribery.
4. Informal. Things of value, such as gifts, received on one occasion.
5. Slang. Money.

So from what I gather...it's something stolen but in a time of distress, which I think everyone in that situation would do. I don't know, I just feel there is more to worry about regarding the hurricane situation than the word choices in news articles.

And hell yeah, I would've looted too.

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Eleanore
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Posts: 112
From: Okinawa, Japan
Registered: Apr 2009

posted September 12, 2005 10:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Eleanore     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Numerous definitions for a word don't neccessarily go hand in hand. That's why they're separate definitions and thus some words have multiple uses.
Further, the general idea is that stealing is bad ... stolen goods are loot when acquired by looting, ie. stealing. This is not a war situation with Katrina and if it were, Katrina would be the biggest looter around.
I think the distinction between black looters and white finders is important in this age of media programming. Truth be told, they're all looting and, in this situation, it's perfectly understandable and generally acceptable, imo, for things like food, water, clothing, and baby supplies ... necessities as it were.
So why can't white people be referred to as looters, too? Why the effort to make a distinction?
Words have connotations too and the word has often been used, albeit appropriately, in conjunction with riots ... so to alot of people, looters in NO equals violence, riots, and stealing for "fun" which is not the majority of what's going on down there.
Sure, noting the difference isn't going to save more lives ... it's not the biggest issue ... but I think the last thing these people need is a slap in the face like that. Talk about adding insult to injury.

------------------
"To learn is to live, to study is to grow, and growth is the measurement of life. The mind must be taught to think, the heart to feel, and the hands to labor. When these have been educated to their highest point, then is the time to offer them to the service of their fellowman, not before." - Manly P. Hall

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miss_apples
unregistered
posted September 12, 2005 04:04 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Was it the same news source or the same writer that posted these 2 pictures? I mean how do you know that this was intentional, unless it was intentional I personally don't think it's a matter of racism at all. People do tend to jump to conclusions.

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