Looters in police, military and Red Cross outfits caught in Kansas. (No word if Mayor Anderson will hang ’em at the courthouse. [Jericho reference])
Really, you cant trust anybody in that sort of situation. We’ve all seen the video of the New Orleans cops helping themselves to stuff at WalMart and the like during Katrina.
On the other hand, theres a certain…moral flexibility…on our side of the fence, too. I was rereading some golden age survival book the other night (“Checklist For Survival”, Tony Lesce, Desert Pub. 1980) and found two recommended courses of action appropriately labelled “Emergency Plan A” and “Emergency Plan B”. “A” is where you know something bad is imminent and you rush out and start buying stuff on credit cards which you have no intention of paying back, and writing checks fully expecting your bank to be a glowing heap of slag within a few days. Never mind that this only works if no one else knows whats about to happen, because if they did I can guarantee you they arent gonna be taking checks and probably wont be taking plastic either. Plan “B” assumes you have a bit more notice…maybe several months. It advocates getting a menial job in a supermarket, getting the graveyard shift, and embezzling as much food as you can or, if things go really bad really fast, simply backing your truck up to the loading doors and ‘pillaging’ the place.
Im the first person to realize theres a difference between ‘stockpiling’ and ‘hoarding’. Theres also a difference between ‘scrounging’ and ‘looting’. Scrounging and looting both involve taking things that arent yours. Scrounging, I think, involves taking for an immediate and urgent need without profit or gain (other than alleviating the urgent need). Looting onthe other hand is ‘gimme’. Both are, morally, wrong but one id more forgivable…at least to me.
I suppose that, in a dire situation, any of us would steal what we had to, regardless of consequence, in order to keep ourselves or loved ones safe. However, thats a reason not an excuse. The whole reason I prepare is so I dont have to resort to things like that.
As an aside, I see this Lesce fella went on to do twenty more years of PaladinPress-type books, according to Amazon.com.
Scrounging under color of uniform is premeditated looting.
Really, you cant trust anybody in that sort of situation. We’ve all seen the video of the New Orleans cops helping themselves to stuff at WalMart and the like during Katrina.
In some situations, I can see where that might be necessary — if the Wal-Mart is pretty much a write-off and the food’s going to rot, I can see how the police and others could justify their actions in taking food and other necessary supplies to survive (cops have families to feed too). Taking other stuff, like TVs and DVD players is inexcusable, unless someone somehow uses the stuff to construct a raft or other lifesaving device (admittedly unlikely).
Even though I’m short on cash, I’ve been stocking up on canned soup, beans, and other supplies that will keep indefinitely. Buying an extra can or two at the grocery store doesn’t cost much, but helps me slowly build up my supplies. Cleaning and filling 2 Liter Coke bottles with reverse osmosis’ed water (Tucson water tastes like ass) and storing them under the sink (I have about 15-20 gallons now) also helps. I’m in need of supplies like a hand-operated water filter, camping stove and fuel, and other stuff, but my key now is getting out of debt (which got postponed until this coming Friday, thanks to more bills), after which I can prepare more.
I wish I was as well-stocked as you, but it’s tough with little money and a small apartment.
here is a good question
if a disaster hit your homezone, what would you do if somebody in uniform is looting your supplies? Wildflower 07