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| Home Front: Economy |
| "You Loot, I Shoot" |
| 2005-08-31 |
| From NOLA.com: Those trapped in the city faced an increasingly lawless environment, as law enforcement agencies found themselves overwhelmed with widespread looting. Looters swarmed the Wal-mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, often bypassing the food and drink section to steal wide-screen TVs, jewelry, bicycles and computers. Watching the sordid display and shaking his head in disgust, one firefighter said of the scene: "It’s a f---- hurricane, what are you do with a basketball goal?" Police regained control at about 3 p.m., after clearing the store with armed patrol. One shotgun-toting Third District detective described the looting as "ferocious." "And it’s going to get worse as the days progress," he said. In Uptown, one the few areas that remained dry, a bearded man patrolled Oak Street near the boarded-up Maple Leaf Bar, a sawed-off shotgun slung over his shoulder. The owners of a hardware store sat in folding chairs, pistols at the ready. Uptown resident Keith Williams started his own security patrol, driving around in his Ford pickup with his newly purchased handgun. Earlier in the day, Williams said he had seen the body of a gunshot victim near the corner of Leonidas and Hickory streets. "What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," Williams said. Like-minded Art Depodesta sat on the edge of a picnic table outside Cooter Brown’s Bar, a chrome shotgun at his side loaded with red shells. "They broke into the Shell station across the street," he said. "I walked over with my 12-gauge and shot a couple into the air." The looters scattered, but soon after, another man appeared outside the bar in a pickup truck armed with a pistol and threatened Depodesta. "I told him, ‘Listen, I was in the Army and I will blow your ass off,’" Depodesta said. "We’ve got enough trouble with the flood." The man sped away. "You know what sucks," Depodesta said. "The whole U.S. is looking at this city right now, and this is what they see." In the Bywater, a supply store sported spray-painted signs reading "You Loot, I Shoot" and "You Bein Watched." A man seated nearby with a rifle in his lap suggested it was no idle threat. At the Bywater studio of Dr. Bob, the artist known for handpainted "Be Nice or Leave" signs, a less fanciful sentiment was painted on the wall: "Looters Will Be Shot. Dr. Bob." |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #18 Just wait, we'll be hearing reports of bodies found in the coming weeks that had bullet wounds in them. "Who shot my boy!?" "Don't know lady, but the jeans he's wearing with the tags still on might be a clue." |
| Posted by: Charles 2005-08-31 23:48 |
| #17 Magazine & Henry Clay ! Superior timing |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-31 18:59 |
| #16 Big Ed, .30-'06 through heart or skull won't cause permanent injury either and seems a better approach than Granny Clampett's. I recently sold our condo on Magazine & Henry Clay and lived in Jefferson Parish until 2 am Sunday. Even from that perspective, based only on what I see on the news I would have the attitude 'New Orleans deserves what they get, screw 'em.' It's wrong, but even I have to fight that attitude. I'll feel a whole lot better when good folks like Art Depodesta take out a few of these f**kers. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2005-08-31 18:56 |
| #15 "What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," Williams said. Amen. The National Guard needs to by fully in place by tomorrow morning with orders to shoot to kill all looters. And thats a full day or two too late. wtf. |
| Posted by: Abu al-MacSuirtain 2005-08-31 18:28 |
| #14 Actually the "Granny Clampett" method, "Rock Salt & Lard" fired from a shotgun towards a troublmaking posterior might make a point without causing permanent injury... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-08-31 18:01 |
| #13 "You Loot, I Shoot" Just do it. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-08-31 17:53 |
| #12 "it ain't lootin' it's survival" just heard on msnbc, by a kid being interviewed. It saddens me to not be hearing how folks are getting out and helping each other, instead being very self centered stealing jewelry and tv's. It will be dark soon, and not only do folks need to deal with the horrific fact of the hurricane, but now high crime as well. Very tragic. Kudos to all the agency's that are helping these folks. |
| Posted by: Jan 2005-08-31 17:32 |
| #11 Maximizing the return on derelict Capital. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-31 16:17 |
| #10 Actually they're Free Market Capitalists in the purest sense of the term. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-31 16:16 |
| #9 Good, ZF. Let's tun in to CNN and see how long it takes top get on the air. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-08-31 14:38 |
| #8 C'mon - you guys are too cynical. They're not looters - they're civic-minded citizens moving the goods to higher ground. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-31 14:18 |
| #7 ACLU reminder: No racial profiling when taking pot shots at looters. Make sure your activities reflect prevailing demographics in your neighborhood. |
| Posted by: Capsu 78 2005-08-31 12:45 |
| #6 "What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," WE'RE ON OUR WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2005-08-31 12:35 |
| #5 Seafarious ...cruel, yet funny. |
| Posted by: DragonFly 2005-08-31 12:21 |
| #4 "What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," That'll be happening soon enough. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-08-31 12:01 |
| #3 It's the NO midnight basketball league. To keep kids off the streets and out of trouble. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-08-31 11:26 |
| #2 ...what are you do with a basketball goal? Maybe he should ask this cop what he's going to do with those DVDs. Caption reads: GARDEN DISTRICT: A New Orleans police officer is seen carrying DVDs at the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Tuesday. Many police officers said they felt helpless in enforcing the looters, which were found all over the city. "So we joined 'em." |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-08-31 11:20 |
| #1 "Watching the sordid display and shaking his head in disgust, one firefighter said of the scene: "It’s a f---- hurricane, what are you do with a basketball goal?" Wet dreams are for kids, I want my hoop dreams. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-31 10:41 |
