Justifying looting

Posted at 10:40 AM on May 23, 2011 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Disasters

Sharon Stiteler, aka @birdchick on Twitter, has posted this fascinating commentary that someone spray painted on a wall in Minneapolis...

Is it? Are liquor and cigarettes the key to survival?

Looters have an uncanny ability to justify their crime, and to write graffiti about it. Here's Oakland, 2009 (via Jared Shelburne on Flickr):

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Comments (4)

That same "Looting is Survival" tag popped up this morning at the corner of 24th and Nicollet. Noticed it on my drive into work, think it's on an electrical box?

Posted by Jason | May 23, 2011 10:46 AM

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Do we know how widespread the looting was? The papers, MPR, and KARE reported very limited looting, while Fox 9 (mostly Heidi Collins) made it sound like all of North Minneapolis had taken up arms last night.

Posted by Ryan | May 23, 2011 10:49 AM

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Tagging culture is pretty sarcastic. The whole idea is to get attention, not necessarily advocate for one particular idea. It's supposed to be outlandish and brash. Taking graffiti literally is like using The Onion as a news source. They're both based on reality, but seldom mirror it in a serious sense.

Posted by AndyG | May 23, 2011 10:49 AM

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Well, it is true that we are never asked to donate cigarettes or booze. And if you have an addiction, they are needs. Maybe next time I'll donate a carton of cigarettes and a bottle of vodka...

Posted by Kassie | May 23, 2011 11:21 AM

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