Aussies 'loot to survive' (in NO)

[rooboy]

Trapped Australian tourists describe hurricane-raved New Orleans as a war zone, with them and everyone else driven to looting just to survive.

Rockhampton couple Tim and Joanne Miller have linked up with another Australian couple, Gary and Cynthia Jones.

All four are living in an abandoned mall with hundreds of other people.

They told Channel Seven News the streets were lawless with dead bodies everywhere.

Mr Jones said survivors were terrified of the violence.

"It's a battle zone. There's shooting, dead bodies in the street," he said, adding that he and his wife were forced to steal to survive.

"We're looters like everyone else," he said.

Mrs Miller told Channel Seven News: "There's no power, there's no water, we've still got a portable loo we've got three dead bodies, five dead bodies down there ... disease.

"I'm not blaming the police because they are under so much pressure.

"I had an altercation with a police officer and he ended up just crying to me because he was so frustrated and he couldn't do any more. He wanted to help us but he didn't have any resources."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/aussies-loot-to-survive/2005/09/02/1125302739575.html

[oioioi]

1. "We're looters like everyone else," he said.

"It's a battle zone. There's shooting, dead bodies in the street," he said, adding that he and his wife were forced to steal to survive.

Zero tolerance. Indeed.

[JoFerret]

2. Er....these must be BLACK Aussies? Right?

.

[northzax]

3. nah, the aussies don't let the aborigonals out of the country

they might notice other countries don't treat them like shit.

[Adrian Luca]

6. Thanks for the Aussie-bashing

I guess we in Australia don't see many native americans because you guys wiped them out before planes were invented.

[melody]

11. I am a Native American

I only saw one person Aussie-bashing. It was rude, imo, but meant to be a joke.

Most Americans ARE part Native American, btw.

[Adrian Luca]

17. A Joke?

Accusing all Australians of treating aborigines as "shit" is meant to be a joke?

Claiming that Australians would be surprised that aborigines aren't treated as shit in other parts of the world is a joke?


Do you realize how many "white" Australians are actually part-aboriginal? No, of course you don't, because you're a bigot.

Talk about stereotyping an entire population!

[melody]

12. yeah, well

We don't exactly hand laurels to our indigenous folk either.

[foreigncorrespondent]

16. Well, ya know what?

At least the majority of Australians do support our Aborigines in their quest to seek reparations for the horrid way white Australia has treated them. It truly is a shame that African-Americans don't get them same from white America.

[sarcasmo]

4. These are the people who will get shot by some trigger happy National

Guard troop. What a nightmare this has become. Went out and bought our 30 day supply of bottled water and I live in Michigan.

[atreides1]

5. Probably

SARCASM ON:

But it will make the "law and order" group here feel better knowing that a looter has been punished

SARCASM OFF:

[progressivebydesign]

7. No. the "law and order group" knows the difference.

And.. we've stated over and over that it's one thing to steal for survival, and quite another to RAPE people and rampage jewelry stores. The story of the Aussies is exactly what many of us are saying is simply a survival mode. Flashing gang signs while on national tv during this crisis, and stealing eletronics, is not survival.

[Roy]

8. Don't worry, the Looter Shooters are very selective.

Aussies are the 'FIND' type. They get a pass.

[slackmaster]

9. Stealing to survive is not looting!

Looting is using a crisis as an opportunity to steal things you don't really need.

[despairing optimist]

13. Absolutely right. The Aussies, and anyone else in their situation, are not

looters. It's not their fault that they're where they are under such impossible circumstances. You do what you have to in order to make it out of there.

[kskiska]

10. There was looting at the WTC, too. No one seems to remember.

All those shops underneath the WTC were looted of watches and other stuff by the first people who got down there, including cops. And that wasn't because anyone was starving.

[JoFerret]

15. Yep. Cops and firefighters

...looted away at the WTC (some of them). The lesson is - the world is not divided so simply into good and bad. Groups and individuals have some of each.

[high density]

14. Welcome to the ownership society!

Hope you enjoyed your stay.

[oscarmitre]

18. They only looted and handed themselves up

so they would be deported. In case you haven't realised it yet that was very heavy sarcasm.