The Difference Between Finding Soda and Looting It

Pictured on the left is a young man with soda he looted from a grocery store in New Orleans. Pictured on the right are two New Orleans residents who found soda at a grocery store. See the difference?

Editorial verbiage courtesy of Yahoo News. See the original looting post here and the original finding post here. Thanks, Steinski, via blackcrack list.

UPDATE: The photographer who took these photos has checked in here and says that in fact the people shown at the right did find their soda, as opposed to looting it. Thanks, Phrankenshop via metafilter!

Comments

[Guest]

I had the same reaction when I heard a reporter dressed in the finest complaining about why "looters" needed new athletic shoes, as they waded chest deep in toxic/septic water.

[Guest]

I should have said "ankle deep" - why would anyone think of anyone wading at chest deep as a looter?

[housepig]

why would anyone think of anyone wading at chest deep as a looter?

because they're not white.

[Miguel]

This is burning up the 'net apparently. It was mentioned on my blog, and I saw it on BoingBoing too.

http://banananutrament.blogspot.com/2005/09/racism-in-media-i-found-this-on.html

[Guest]

The URLs in the original posting no longer work (they were TinyURLs). The last post has correct link to original photos.

[Richard]

I like what Foamy the Squirrel has to say about the whole mess: http://www.illwillpress.com/kat.html

[poesboes]

If those helicopter camera reporters would dump their cameras in the levee breaches and started to lift some people out... It's embarrassing to have to just watch those poor people and i guess it must be infuriating to the people down there. Doesn't make sense!

[Guest]

Sounds like Kayne West has seen these photos/captions when he went off-script during NBC et al. Friday benefit:

Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began with Myers speaking of Katrina’s devastation. Then, to Myers’ evident surprise, West began a rant by saying, “I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food.”

While allowing that “the Red Cross is doing everything they can,” West — who delivered an emotional outburst at the American Music Awards after he was snubbed for an award — declared that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting specific, he added, “They’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9146525/