Looters found despoiling the dead were stood against the nearest wall or pile of debris and shot without hindrance of a trial.
The grisly work of collecting the dead continued by torchlight. The workers were issued generous rations of bourbon and strong cigars. They breathed through handkerchiefs soaked in bourbon and smoked cigars to mask the smell.

In the sweltering heat that followed the storm, decomposition was rapid. The bodies soon lost the rigidity of rigor mortis and had to be shoveled into carts. At times the fixed bayonets of the militia were all that kept many of the men at their work. Superintendents of the work gangs were finally given permission to torch the wreckage wherever found rather than try to extricate pieces of flesh from the ruins and cart them away.

"It was like living in a battlefield. The fuel-oil smoke hung over the city, day and night, and the heavy air was never free of the smell of carbolic acid, of lime, of putrefaction." (Death from the Sea: The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, Herbert Molloy Mason, Jr.)

Looters found despoiling the dead were summarily executed by the militia - stood against the nearest wall or pile of debris and shot without the hindrance of a trial. The same brutal justice was delivered to amateur photographers. "Word received from Galveston today indicates that Kodak fiends are being shot down like thieves. Two, it is stated, were killed yesterday while taking pictures of nude female bodies." (Dallas News, September 14, 1900.

Good thing times have changed since then.

Yes, looters are given carte blanche these days.

God damn human rights.

I read somewhere that civilization is just five meals away from barbarism.

But the difference is that most people would only loot if it was necessary for survival. There are those persons of low character who are simply opportunists. A case in point is that the looting in New Orleans actually started before the storm.

Actually I heard that the constitution is suspended when they declare martial law.

I don't know if it is true or not, but that is what I heard.

So I think they can start shooting looters. If they have not it is because the politicians are too timid.

Yes human rights.. the right to loot without fear of punishment.

Guys, I can see looting for survival. So I can see exceptions to the general rule.

What I can't abide by is the people who are stealing non-essentials.

That scene from American History X comes to mind where they are discussing it at the dinner table. These people are looting from thier own communities... which is beyond me. I couldnt see myself robbing from the stores around here that friends and people I know own and work at. These people dont care, they are scum. THe fact that they are looting TVs and Jewelry proves that they dont give a shit about survival they are just trying to get what they can for free, and through theft. If they were REALLY about survival they would have left the city like everyone with a brain did the few days before the Hurricane hit. But they didnt, know why? Because some are morons and others knew they were going to have an empty town to loot.

The year 1900 when you children only had to work 13 hours a day and before civil rights. Good times, right?

If I'm wrong, correct me, but I don't believe they've declared martial law in New Orleans, just a state of emergency.

least they were free, and there we actually big enclaves of educated blacks all over the north who hadnt been eradicated by the mass exodus from the southern blacks yet.

Galveston in 1900 was almost disgustingly upscale. The possibility that there were children working 13 hours a day is pretty remote. Becki Bondage annoys me with those random little hippie rants.

I was born on Galveston Island. They make a big deal out of that hurricane and its history.

I wish we had time machines just so that we could send everyone that actually imagines themselves being happier a hundred years ago could go back and try it out for a bit.

Of course life was barbaric in the 1900's South. They didn't have fucking air conditioning.

Frankly? I don't give a fuck. It amazes me that people can be dying of exposure and sickness from this crap and you give a shit that someone's taking a fucking TV from an abandoned store. If the looters get in the way of people trying to save the decent human beings, shoot them. Otherwise, let it the fuck go.

Good point, people's lives should indeed be valued over big screen TV's and whatnot. But there are a couple things to consider. One is that many of these looters are indeed shooting at anyone they perceive to be a threat, which has been volunteer construction workers on occassion. The city of New Orleans is in a state of emergency. A criminal is a criminal right now, anyone seen stealing electronics is viewed as a criminal and therefore a threat, that they could at that time or at a later time become even worse by firing upon volunteers, police, military personel, or each other. I don't often agree with making blanket laws, the so called "zero-tolerance policy", but in the paniced and emergency condition of New Orleans. it's one of the only ways that they can make sure everything gets done quickly and safely. I'd rather 20 small time looters be arrested than any one of them shoot at some construction worker who put his life on hold just to come and help.

Another less heartfilled way to look at it is how our government weighs everything. No blood for oil? If we lose oil, we risk the collapse of our entire economy. If that happens, and we hit a depression, how many people will die from starvation, crime and other things related to a depression? At least right now, it's soldiers dying, taking the risk that they agreed to take. I've taken 3 slugs for this country, and if it was for oil, then so be it, because that is currently the lifeblood of our American society. The government weighed the risk, and decided the risk of losing soldiers was better than the risk of losing economy and the things that would come with it. Agree or not, this is how they THINK, and that's what I want to focus on. Keeping that in mind, you look at New Orleans. If looters are allowed to proceed with their crimes, there is a risk that the crimes will become more frequent, more illegal, and/or spread. The government does not like the idea that anyone in America could turn on the TV and see someone else getting away with robbery. No matter what the conditions, it runs the possability of sending the message that it's ok to steal in some situations. Right now, big daddy government really does not want anyone even begining to think that it's a viable option. So, they're willing to take away minor sources from the releif effort in order to save face.

I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but that's a part of it as well.