“Now, some people are actually whining that, because of pictures showingHaitians “looting” stores and warehouses, people will not send shekelsto Haiti. That’s what makes them afraid. Not the looting itself, butthe fact that the looting is being shown around the world.” — AR commentator
In the wake of the Haiti earthquake, bloggers, twitter users, and radiotalk-show hosts are replaying a debate that emerged in the US afterHurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and its majority black population:Does race effect how the media covers natural disasters and how the USresponds?
Much of the discussion has centered around the slow flow of aid toHaitians and whether that compares to the chaotic and slow response tothe flooding of much of the crescent city. While complaints of a slowresponse might have some merit in the case of New Orleans — a city inthe continental US plugged into the interstate highway system and witha major international airport — Haiti seems a far different case, asthe poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere whose government collapsedin the wake of the earthquake that struck last week.
There’s no question that on the rubble-strewn streets ofPort-au-Prince, roving bands have been breaking into stores and takingwhatever they can get their hands on. The description of all this as”looting” (a term the Monitor has used in some of its coverage) has prompted some outrage.