Finders Looters

(click on the above photo to get a clearer view of the captions)

I don't know if you have been aware of the controversy surrounding the above photos. The issue has focused on the race issue. A black person described as "looting" and the white couple "finding" groceries.

The photos are from the same scene just with different subjects. Now it might be the fact that I am removed from racial issues but as I see it, the problem here is of a more fundamental nature. Namely, here are people (coloured or not - more on that below) who have been effectively abandoned by their government, their city is in ruins and they are scavanging for food... and they are described as LOOTING?

How could anyone view that scene and think the person is doing anything but surviving? It's not as if she is floating a 42" plasma widescreen tv atop the water.

Now, you could say (as many have) that there exists a direct correlation between the black-person and the word looting, however I personally think it simply comes down to a coincidence and the problem lies more in our view of possesions. The reporter who used the word "looting" is obviously an asshole who has never endured anything harsher than a light frost on his SUV's windscreen in the morning.

Is this the paradise of George Bush's [ownership society]?

Dear white fellah,
There's a coupla tings you orta no.
Firstly
Wen I am born, I'm black.
Wen I grow up, I'm black.
Wen I get sick, I'm black.
Wen I'm cold, I'm black.
Wen I go out in the sun, I'm black.
And wen I get scared, I'm black.
And wen I die, yes, I'm still black.
But you white fellah ....
Wen you born, you pink.
Wen you grow up, you white.
Wen you get sick, you green
Wen you cold, you go blue.
Wen you go out in the sun, you go red.
And wen you get scared, you yellah.
And wen you die, you purple
And you call me coloured !!