Why people loot

[bèlla]

Well I remember hurricane Katerina. That was a different scenario with some very real desperation and anger but there were litters in that situation too. People sheltering at the Super Dome were raped and beaten. It was horrific. I think there is a line of thought that thinks looting is only done by the poor. That’s not true. Many actually travel to loot and commit other criminal acts. The psychology of looting is not that simple. And when one is of that mindset I do not think the fallout matters to them as long as they are not caught.

Seeing a moving freight train being looted was the final straw. Some people are beyond reason or being reasoned with.

~Bella

 

[Hank77]

I think so many of the uprisings are nothing more than excuses to make trouble under the pretense of getting justice for Mr. Floyd.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'uprisings'. If you mean 'protests' I can't agree with you.

I think if he were around today, he'd be really ashamed of what extremists are doing in his name. People like them are only going to set the causes of civil rights and police reform back decades.

I agree that what 'extremists' among the protestors don't help with reforms.

 

[Michie]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'uprisings'. If you mean 'protests' I can't agree with you.

I agree that what 'extremists' among the protestors don't help with reforms.

On either side. The militant partisan attitudes do not bring anyone any closer together. I don’t care if it’s ordering a hamburger.

 

[bèlla]

Yep. People do not care as long as they get theirs. That is the mindset in the majority of cases. It’s not like someone in desperate need of food or meds taking something because they are in real need.

Yes. I’ve seen posts from several requiring medicine and no local pharmacy. Or others requiring food who must travel a distance. Instacart and Amazon are options. But the prices are higher.

~Bella

 

[bèlla]

We should be praying for those negatively impacted by lawless acts. I posted this a few days ago regarding the looters.

And vindicate every tear...every shard...every item...every blaze...every transgression that befell the innocent. Grant us your justice and retribution one hundredfold.

~Bella

 

[Broken Fence]

Heard in another thread hope is true.
"Do not deploy anything yet, the community is interceding"

 

[NerdGirl]

I would guess that poverty exacerbated by the lockdown are behind such an explosion of irrational and greedy behaviour. It is easy for rich men in their covid-19 isolation palaces to decry the behaviour of those in such desperation who were just looking for an excuse to steal stuff. But the riots,expose a dysfunctional American culture shaken to its core by covid-19 and the economic crisis that comes with it.

Hmm. I'm not rich. I'm not a man. I don't live in a palace. I have lived in poverty most of my life, been homeless, etc. I have never, ever, ever considered stealing or looting or becoming violent to survive. I still decry these thugs and criminals, for that is what they are. Everyone is responsible for their choices.

 

[Bruce Leiter]

On who looters are, what they want, and why some protests are more likely to include them.

For many Americans watching the country erupt in protests, the looting is the rub. Over the past week, thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across the United States to denounce institutional racism and police violence after a Minneapolis man named George Floyd died when a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. But the breaking of windows, burning of property, and stealing of goods that has accompanied peaceful demonstrations makes some people hesitant to throw their full support behind the protesters.

Continued below.
Why People Loot

I don't think that this article covers all that's involved in the looting and burning by rioters. Along with most people, I protest with the protestors the horrible taking of George Floyd's life by police. The article depends on a study from the 1960s and is therefore out-of-date.

However, the article does briefly allude to another possible cause. The rioters, who were basically separate from the peaceful protestors. According to reporters on the cities' streets, they saw that the rioters came in vans armed with baseball bats, rocks, bricks, and police scanners to create mayhem against local businesses and the police. Their horrible work cropped up "spontaneously" in many small and midsized cities as well at the same time.

Their attacks have been well coordinated and financed. The president declares that he will designate the group Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Their all-black attire in our cities tips us off that Antifa is at work similar to the work of the German Antifa after WWII. Their ideology is to topple capitalism and any symbols of authority. Their work is not just to break windows and attack police, as bad as that is; they want to be part of a revolution that will end our society as we know it. That's scary, but the anarchism involved is indeed horrifying.

Antifa's ideas collide with the Bible's commands to submit to the authorities over us (for example, Romans 13) and wait patiently for God to topple them.

We must actively oppose those destructive elements that take advantage of protests to increase their demonstration of violent, revolutionary philosophies. Human depravity is very evident in their rebellion.

 

[CitizenD]

Don't conflate the protesters and the looters. I live in a major US city and have seen many of the protests. In most cases the looting is taking place at *separate locations and/or separate times* from the protests.

Ex: There was a march with 10-20k people at it a few days ago. I watched it. I saw it end before curfew. I saw most people leave. Then I saw about 50-100 people stay around 10 minutes before curfew. I walked back to my apartment. I heard in the news those remaining groups were scattered later that night by teargas and a police barricade. And those... those weren't even the looters that night. Caravans of other people descended on remote shopping centers nowhere near the civic locations that protests were taking place.

Don't conflate these groups. The vast majority of the protesters are non-violent and not destroying property. The looters for the most part aren't even at the same places at the same times.

 

[Michie]

Don't conflate the protesters and the looters. I live in a major US city and have seen many of the protests. In most cases the looting is taking place at *separate locations and/or separate times* from the protests.

Ex: There was a march with 10-20k people at it a few days ago. I watched it. I saw it end before curfew. I saw most people leave. Then I saw about 50-100 people stay around 10 minutes before curfew. I walked back to my apartment. I heard in the news those remaining groups were scattered later that night by teargas and a police barricade. And those... those weren't even the looters that night. Caravans of other people descended on remote shopping centers nowhere near the civic locations that protests were taking place.

Don't conflate these groups. The vast majority of the protesters are non-violent and not destroying property. The looters for the most part aren't even at the same places at the same times.

I don’t think anybody/posters conflated peaceful protesters with looters.

 

[bèlla]

I’ve listened to both sides if this dilemma. But there’s a line I won’t cross. Not for the sake of those who resemble me or share my faith. The Lord is my Shepherd. Not a group or movement.

I can’t compromise my conscience to get along or appease others with different opinions. The mayhem I witnessed is unconscionable. No one should be subjected to violence and destruction for material goods.

This is one of many situations that will allow us to evaluate our beliefs and see where we stand when they’re tested. I stand with the innocents. They didn’t deserve this.

~Bella

 

[mindlight]

Hmm. I'm not rich. I'm not a man. I don't live in a palace. I have lived in poverty most of my life, been homeless, etc. I have never, ever, ever considered stealing or looting or becoming violent to survive. I still decry these thugs and criminals, for that is what they are. Everyone is responsible for their choices.

You are very right and indeed commendable about how a person should behave. But this violent greedy darkness that says racism gives licence to lawlessness is something shaken out of the depths of the American soul by the current plague and economic crisis.

 

[Landon Caeli]

But why would you post an article that presents information that contradicts your opinion? Is this a topic you’ve studied?

There's nothing unusual about it.

 

[Broken Fence]

You are very right and indeed commendable about how a person should behave. But this violent greedy darkness that says racism gives licence to lawlessness is something shaken out of the depths of the American soul by the current plague and economic crisis.

I think this goes way deeper, a lot of looting in history before coronavirus.

 

[Michie]

I think this goes way deeper, a lot of looting in history before coronavirus.

Yes I was going to bring this up but was thinking I’d let someone else do it given some posts! Lol

 

[Redwingfan9]

On who looters are, what they want, and why some protests are more likely to include them.

For many Americans watching the country erupt in protests, the looting is the rub. Over the past week, thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across the United States to denounce institutional racism and police violence after a Minneapolis man named George Floyd died when a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. But the breaking of windows, burning of property, and stealing of goods that has accompanied peaceful demonstrations makes some people hesitant to throw their full support behind the protesters.

Continued below.
Why People Loot

People loot because they hate God and his law. They ignore thou shall not steal and thou shall not covet.

 

[CitizenD]

People loot because they hate God and his law. They ignore thou shall not steal and thou shall not covet.

I don't follow. You can hate God and hate the law and still follow the law.

 

[Landon Caeli]

People loot because they hate God and his law. They ignore thou shall not steal and thou shall not covet.

What about members of the armed forces... Do they also hate God by ignoring thou shall not kill?

 

[Redwingfan9]

I don't follow. You can hate God and hate the law and still follow the law.

So what? We're talking about looters not other people.

 

[Redwingfan9]

What about members of the armed forces... Do they also hate God by ignoring thou shall not kill?

God gave to the state the power to defend borders with force, so no those folks aren't violating God's law. There are justifiable homicides in scripture.