Why Do People Loot?
I watched all the Chile “looting” footage I could find yesterday. It was hard to know what I was looking at, as it always is when you are watching disasters from afar--and often even when you are right there. I mostly saw people carrying water, diapers, sacks of flour and other necessities. I saw young men playing Robin Hood, throwing paper towels and toilet paper rolls from storefront balconies to older women waiting, arms uplifted, below.
Not to say that these people are wrong--or right. Just to say, I don’t know either way. I do think looting is happening, but it is equally clear that the reporting of the looting is somewhat more righteous than it probably should be.
What is looting? Is it the taking of property after a disaster? If so, then was it looting when some World Trade Center evacuees on 9/11 broke into soda machines and distributed water to people in the stairways? What about when civilians took water trucks in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and drove around neighborhoods distributing clean water? Where is the line?
The one consensus seems to be what I call the “plasma TV test.” If people are taking TVs, then that, we can all agree, is probably looting. Especially if they are fancy TVs! You see this pattern after most big disasters. First comes the catastrophe, then comes TV people talking about the generalized fear of looting--then comes a strange and disconcerting looting montage: footage of people carrying groceries out of stores, hearsay about violence and, finally, reports of stolen plasma TVs.
Here is one of the many plasma-TV stories to come out of Chile. (Notice the photo, which features a disheveled and frightened young man carrying...diapers.)
As I’ve written before, looting reports usually turn out to be exaggerated after most disasters. Looting happens, and it is damaging to the relief effort and the social fabric, but it rarely represents more than a drop in the bucket compared to the damage inflicted by the disaster itself.
As Ilan smartly pointed out in a comment to the previous post, we just don’t know much about disaster looting. What we do know is mostly from the U.S., which may or may not be relevant in this case. The scant research that has been done outside the U.S. suggests that it only happens in a major way when three other pre-existing conditions are met:
1. Dramatic disparity between rich and poor.
2. High levels of petty crime and gang activity.
3. An ineffective and corrupt police force.
We will one day (hopefully) get better information about what happened in the streets after Chile’s earthquake. Until then, my strategy is to listen to all the reports I hear with one question in the back of my mind: “How do you know that?” In other words, did you see it?
For example, when reading this Washington Post story today (which also includes the plasma TV claim. Check!), I had to wonder about this line:
“...the pillaging was carried out largely by poorer Chileans.”
Really? How do you know? Did you do a random sampling of the pillagers and survey them about their income levels? Or are you making that conclusion based on how the 27 looters you saw looked--what they were wearing, how they spoke, etc.? Either way is OK, but I’d love to know.
Andrés said on March 06, 2010 at 8:20 pm
It’s weird Amanda, between May and last January I gave 7 months of volunteer classes over at the District Jail in my city and it gave me a different perspective on many matters. For the most part I had always jugded people that stole… dunno, whatever… and judged burglars and thieves just cause they were!… Then somebody calls me and tells me if I would like to give a lecture to these guys since they’re trying to somehow show them a different perspective on life other than a life of crime (you see, they’ve been stealing since they were kids, as did their parents, as did their grandparents, and so on..), so I go, and find out that there are amazing people, “poor” people for the bigger part and then I realize a single lecture won’t just cut it, so I deviced this program and I come to teach them art and traditional animation out of all things… and after a while they start opening their hearts to me and I start to hear their stories.. why did they steal? ... And the most recurring stories (they weren’t trying to convince me of anything, just the way they told them, so I’ve thought) are mostly about how they need to pay their mom’s housing rent in a little room in a tough neighborhood, or getting money to buy one sandwich for their 8 year old friend, or buying clothes for their kids, and yes.. you get the answer: it was for drugs, or food, or booz, or shoes… like, everything into one same package, and it makes you realize… whatever it is they’re stealing it’s just because it’s.. well… life!
yes, commodities, food, blankets, ok… but plasma TV’s.. so what if people are stealing TV’s? what do they need a TV for? Life! As sick as it may seem to narrow it to that… it is what it is… people on poorer cities in LatinAmerica on the pacific coast may not have enough money to feed their children throughout the entire year.. but a huge part of them will have the biggest plasma TV’s, the biggest radio systems and sometimes amazing cellphones… so what’s that all about?.. just like this article I read from you on TIME MAG: It’s just plain social behaviour.
Why do people steal? Loot? They want food, comfort, clothes, drugs, booz, TV’s… a Life! A life they can claim as their own on our money-ridden society.. It is what it is… Should it b different? Perhaps.. Which way should we be inclined to? Won’t say democracy, nor socialism, nor comunism… but what about just plain human dignity?
Danny Coburn said on March 15, 2010 at 9:30 am
I am trying to find an article by you called Risk that appeared in Time on August 21, 2006 Vol. 168, Iss 8; page 22.
I am having a hard time locating it. Sorry to ask but my teacher requires that I read it. I am google dependent at the moment. Thanks. Danny
Disasternut said on March 17, 2010 at 11:04 am
Thank you for posting about this Ms. Ripley, I was studying this myself a few weeks back. I think your point that the following factors do play a part is valid:
1. Dramatic disparity between rich and poor.
2. High levels of petty crime and gang activity.
3. An ineffective and corrupt police force.
But as we all know, each disaster situation is unique, and looting, despite what the media would have us believe, is far from the norm. There are hundreds of disasters that occur each year, throughout the world where looting does not occur. I just recently saw a devastating mudslide in Uganda that killed 60 to 100 people. Here we have the poorest of the poor being affected, yet no evidence of looting. Disaster research is a fascinating subject and I thank you for your continued efforts.
London Plumber said on April 13, 2010 at 10:57 am
Honestly, I still don’t get it why they would actually do it..That is just so unreasonable.
Prepper Man said on April 14, 2010 at 12:50 pm
I liked your straight forward discussion of looting. Definitely an area which could use some better information.
John Sterling said on August 02, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Seriously… why do people loot? Did you see the streets in the footage? I don’t think that all that trash was the result from looting. It was obviously a “not-so-nice” place to live. Commercialism brings out the worst in all of us.
One thing that surprises me. Why were all the looters so cool about lying down to be arrested?
casino en ligne">blogman said on August 03, 2010 at 12:25 am
including reasonable comments here…
thank you for a great post.
Iron Man said on August 05, 2010 at 12:30 pm
The video is incredible. I appreciate the way you wrote this article and shared the video along with it.
Motorcycle Manuals said on August 05, 2010 at 1:48 pm
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Jonathan Brams said on August 15, 2010 at 10:04 am
When people they are just desperate. desperate people do desperate things.
criminal defense lawyer said on August 22, 2010 at 8:57 pm
It is always amazing to me how looting starts almost immediately after any serious disaster.
Long Island Swimming Pools said on August 23, 2010 at 3:46 am
Some of the people will loot if they do not have money and when desperately want.
Chicago mover said on August 23, 2010 at 5:51 am
The main reason for looting is poverty and in some case it may differ.Some do it for hobby and some one do it as there full time job.
summer coach purses said on August 24, 2010 at 5:03 am
Maybe they need money and don’t want to work!
Simon said on August 25, 2010 at 7:19 am
An often uncommented upon fact is that during the Blitz looting was a serious problem in London, but the authorities chose to ignore highlighting it due to fears over sapping morale of the country. It’s interesting to see that often authorities fear more for the damages to property than to the health of their subjects.
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Blood Pressure Monitors said on September 05, 2010 at 5:11 pm
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