Does Stealing Sneakers From Foot Locker During Hurricane Irma Constitute Looting Or Surviving?
HuffPo- These suspected Hurricane Irma looters could be gone with the wind ? behind bars.
Fort Lauderdale police said Sunday they arrested nine people after a local news team filmed them allegedly stealing from stores during the storm.
A news crew from ABC affiliate WPLG appeared to capture the thieves red-handed with merchandise as they entered and exited through broken glass at Simon’s Sportswear (watch above). The suspects are also accused of hitting a Cash America Pawn shop, police said.
Police Chief Rick Maglione called out the shoe pilferers on Twitter. “Going to prison over a pair of sneakers is a fairly bad life choice,” he said in a statement.
Looting is a tough one for me. There are two sides to it: you SHOULD loot when there’s a good chance the world is ending. You should NOT loot when it’s likely that the world will continue. If it’s probable that society emerges on the other side of the disaster to begin rebuilding, then looting is a real dick move. For example, we all know that Houston and Florida are going to get through these hurricanes, that businesses will reopen, that people will get back to their lives. Breaking shop windows and stealing inventory makes it much harder for those people to do that. You shouldn’t use the hurricane as a camouflage for criminal activity.
But, if there’s a strong chance that we don’t make it out the other side; that society, as we know it, will never return to normal? Then it’s every man, woman, and child for him/herself. Loot away! World War Z, The Day After Tomorrow, War of the Worlds, and Contagion are all blueprints for loot-friendly landscapes. And I’ll tell you–the thought of justified looting makes me giddy. I LOVE treasure hunts. And a treasure hunt for your own survival? Fucking exciting. Breaking into CVS for penicillin and morphine, jacking all the beef jerky, and even stealing a bunch of soap and shaving supplies just because they charge so fucking much for that stuff… it’s a dream. Laughing as you push aside the CVS-brand bullshit paper towels in favor of the luxury Charmin double-ply, enjoying a jug of apple juice as you “shop”? Excellent.
You’d have to be practical but you could take a few liberties as well. I Am Legend gave a nice nod to this when they showed Will Smith’s house decorated with priceless works of art, presumably lifted from the Met. Sure, it sucks to wake up every morning knowing you’re one of the last people on earth, but seeing a few Rembrandts on the wall would soften the blow.
Police Chief Rick Maglione called out the shoe pilferers on Twitter. “Going to prison over a pair of sneakers is a fairly bad life choice,” he said in a statement.
Oh Rick, I’d probably loot a Foot Locker too. Throw on some Shattered Backboard 1s as my beaters, maybe some Carhartt x Eminem 4s if I had a date. Something tells me Rick Maglione wears crocs with socks on the weekend.