Katrina

I'm somewhat surprised that discussions about the phenomenon of looting (even on the left) seem to see it as an inherently bad thing. Looting companies (aside from small businesses) isn't particularly unethical. To my mind, an ordinary person has far more right to a flat-screen television than a vast and wealthy organization characterized by internal tyranny and resource concentration like Target or Best Buy. It seems obvious that the existence of looting is itself an indictment of our society and its inequality. A recent article in one of the major papers quoted a survivor of the Tsunami in Southeast Asia who expressed shock at Katrina survivors looting and contrasted it with the absence of looting in the aftermath of the tsunami. One could cautiously interpret that as a result of the relative equality in poverty of that society. Looting is a clear manifestation of the deep discontent with the status quo, hidden just beneath the surface by a profound sense of disempowerment.

Two interesting articles on appropriate responses to the Katrina disaster:

Steven Sherman, The American Left and the Battle of New Orleans

Naomi Klein, Let the People Rebuild New Orleans

Klein closes her article with the suggestion that:

Those wanting to donate to a people's reconstruction can make checks out to the Vanguard Public Foundation, 383 Rhode Island St., Suite 301, San Francisco, CA 94103. Checks should be earmarked "People's Hurricane Fund."