A screen capture from MSNBC.com's coverage of Hurrican Katrina aftermath. I just don't get the obsession with the looting in the press and elsewhere. Um, hello? People are dying. The vast majority of those left in New Orleans are probably only those who could not afford to leave, and never will be able to afford to leave. They are effectively Third World citizens in a “first world” nation. Is anyone surprised that those who have somehow escaped death are taking opportunities to get a little of what consumer culture has to offer—a little of what they see all around them day in and day out, but which is generally far out of their reach? Sure, there are good reasons we have laws and law enforcement under normal conditions, and eventually “law and order” will be restored in the storm-affected areas. However, it seems to me that every ounce of energy or resources expended on stopping or preventing “looting” at this point is precious energy and resources wasted. Save lives, let the property go.