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‘Experts’ Want You to Stop Using the Word ‘Looting’ to Describe Robberies in San Francisco

‘Experts’ Want You to Stop Using the Word ‘Looting’ to Describe Robberies in San Francisco

I AGREE! Just not for the same reason. I want to stop using the term because I stick to definitions. It’s all about race for these so-called “experts.”

Our dear Leslie has kept us updated on the pillaging in San Francisco. The local police department described the crimes as “looting.”

Supposed “experts” told ABC 7 News Bay Area the police and people should stop using the word “looting.” Race and Social Justice reporter Julian Glover said the “experts” want this to change since the crimes in question appear to be organized “smash and grab robberies.”

Here’s the thing. I agree they shouldn’t use the word “looting” because of the definition in the California Penal Code.

Looting in the penal code: “theft or burglary…during a ‘state of emergency’, ‘local emergency’, or ‘evacuation order’ resulting from an earthquake, fire, flood, riot or other natural or manmade disaster.”

Also, if you watch the videos, you can tell these people coordinated the robberies. I don’t think this is looting at all. They planned out the robberies.

HOWEVER! This has nothing to do with linguistics. The left always twists definitions to fit their narrative. For example, they are not liberal or progressive!

This has everything to do with them making it about race because that’s their ride or die.

You know what? These experts assume the robbers are black:

To some, the distinction may be small, but Lorenzo Boyd, PhD, Professor of Criminal Justice & Community Policing at the University of New Haven, and a retired veteran police officer, emphasized that words matter.

“Looting is a term that we typically use when people of color or urban dwellers are doing something. We tend not to use that term for other people when they do the exact same thing,” said Boyd.

To be clear, we don’t know the identities or races of the majority of the thieves involved in this crime wave.

Glover brings up Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal because of local protests. I guess people have connected the acquittal with the robberies?

Boyd said: “These types of massive, organized smash and grabs were happening before the Rittenhouse situation, because it happens cyclically. It’s a false equivalency. It’s people trying to politicize crime.”

Um, no one is trying to politicize the crime. Anyone who has followed San Francisco’s downfall (and you would if you read Leslie’s articles!) you would think it was just another day ending in “y” in the Bay Area.

Another person equated looting and race:

Martin Reynolds, Co-executive director of the Robert C. Maynard Institute of Journalism Education thinks back to Hurricane Katrina, when largely Black New Orleans residents were labeled looters for crimes of survival – stealing water, food, and supplies before federal government aid arrived.

“This seems like it’s an organized smash and grab robbery. This doesn’t seem like looting. We’re thinking of scenarios where first responders are completely overwhelmed. And folks, often may be on their own,” he said.

Both experts expressed the importance of media literacy for viewers to critically think about the language used by public officials and the media as we all try to make sense of these complex issues our society is facing.

“People draw their own conclusions, if the terminologies that you use are tethered to people’s understanding of how they have been used in the past,” said Reynolds.

Hurricane Katrina happened in Louisiana. The state’s penal code defines looting the same way as California. So I’m glad Reynolds gave us a perfect example of looting!

The dictionary has a broad definition of looting going by the word “loot.” The essential meaning of loot: “something that is stolen or taken by force.”

One example includes a war scenario. The second example: “The thieves got a lot of loot in the robbery.”

I have a crazy idea. How about we remain consistent and stick to the definitions no matter how we identify politically?

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Comments

I thought it was “mostly peaceful protest”. Looting was a major component of “Mostly Peaceful Protest” (TM – CNN) in 2020, why wouldn’t it be that now?

Governor Newscum has declared California to be in a permanent state of emergency, so it is looting, even by the definition in the penal code.

“Looting is a term that we typically use when people of color or urban dwellers are doing something. ”

This is a lie. Everyone knows what looting means and this isn’t it. He made that up just to prove his liberal bona fides.

Looting will be properly referred to as “redistribution” or “reparations”. You get more choices this way. Or you could call it “peacefully shopping without the need of payment“ but that is kind of long.

From the get go I thought these events were robberies. Are penalties for looting $2000 worth of property (i.e., during a riot or in the aftermath of a major earthquake) different from the penalties for robbing the same $2000 worth of property?

    When 50 looters coordinate their attack on facebook and assign tasks and specific “go time”, it’s called organized crime. I don’t care what they are called, they should be shot on sight.

Progs are so damn dumb… they think that using a different word for something can somehow magically remove the stigma from the morally bankrupt behavior.

“Don’t call it looting!” So what? Whatever you call it, you’re stealing something that belongs to someone else.

“Don’t call it pedophilia!” Sure, call it “minor attracted” but it’s still repulsive to normal people.

“Don’t call them ‘Sex Offenders'” OK Colorado, but they’re still engaging in perverted behavior and no matter what we call them they’re still criminals.

Here’s an idea you pinko commie freaks…. why don’t we just leave the language alone, and you perverts work on correcting your antisocial, demented and sick behavior instead?

    AnAdultInDiapers in reply to Paul. | November 24, 2021 at 1:18 pm

    I find I can accommodate people that insist on using the term MAP by articulating it in full.

    Minor Attracted Paedophile.

    henrybowman in reply to Paul. | November 27, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    Guest on Gutfield pointed out that “sex offenders” is already the “politically correct” term for what everybody used to call rapists, pedophiles, flashers, and peeping-toms.

    Here we see the traditional leftist flailing for a new and better-smelling term to outrun the odor the previous term invariably accreted onto itself, because what it is describing is simply undesirable. And they never realize it’s only temporary. Or perhaps at this point they no longer care.

Oh.

I thought “looting” was when certain elements on The Community stole decorator sneakers or wide-screen TVs.

I guess they’ve expanded their horizons a bit.

If you are going to do business in any of these blue city hell holes, you’d better beef up your loss retention capabilities.

Look to South Africa because this is the reality for blue cities.

    alaskabob in reply to Andy. | November 24, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    Compare Walmart stores …. the more “urbanized” and “blue”, the greater number of goods are behind locked shelves. Gee… is there a relationship?

The Friendly Grizzly | November 24, 2021 at 1:10 pm

Of course it’s about race. Take a look at the video that shows up on places like hip hop star or whatever that website is called. They openly brag about their thievery. I think that they’re proud of it!

Just another fundamental transformation of America. Seems to be working better than expected.

OK, “theft” it is.

“did you pay for it?”–“uh, no. wees didn’t.”–“then you stole it. you’re under arrest.”

am wondering if that america is gone forever–how far from organized mob thievery of businesses to organized mob thievery of neighborhoods? entire apartment buildings? so-called “gated communities?”

there is really only one way to deal with looting

    The Friendly Grizzly in reply to texansamurai. | November 24, 2021 at 8:45 pm

    At least some of those communities, the gated ones that is, are populated by people that see guns as being evil and icky. One sweep through of these gangs will change a lot of minds. At least I believe it will.

“Looting” is wrong word. Right word is “robbery.”

Experts and studies have become 7 letter dirty words because of their fake use by the left.

Would Organized Looting be acceptable?

Just so all of we “rubes” can be informed why not use the term blooting for black looters and wlooting for white looters? Makes perfect sense to me!

Char Char Binks | November 24, 2021 at 3:41 pm

LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING LOOTING

How to reduce these organized robberies–
Have armed security and shoot to kill the looters/robbers.
When reading the following–remember these robbers are carrying crowbars and hammers (which are waaaay more deadly than hand held flag poles that have been forbidden at rallies in Beverly Hills)–
See, California Penal Code § 197:
Homicide is also justifiable when committed by any person in any of the following cases:
(1) When resisting any attempt to murder any person, or to commit a felony, or to do some great bodily injury upon any person.
(2) When committed in defense of habitation, property, or person, against one who manifestly intends or endeavors, by violence or surprise, to commit a felony, or against one who manifestly intends and endeavors, in a violent, riotous, or tumultuous manner, to enter the habitation of another for the purpose of offering violence to any person therein.
(3) When committed in the lawful defense of such person, or of a spouse, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant of such person, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony or to do some great bodily injury, and imminent danger of such design being accomplished; but such person, or the person in whose behalf the defense was made, if he or she was the assailant or engaged in mutual combat, must really and in good faith have endeavored to decline any further struggle before the homicide was committed.
(4) When necessarily committed in attempting, by lawful ways and means, to apprehend any person for any felony committed, or in lawfully suppressing any riot, or in lawfully keeping and preserving the peace.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 50, Sec. 67. (SB 1005) Effective January 1, 2017.)

    Paul in reply to Ira. | November 24, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    Wait… are you assuming that DA’s in California will fulfill their oath of office and faithfully enforce the laws that are on the books? And if so, are you drunk at 2pm on a Wednesday?

      The Friendly Grizzly in reply to Paul. | November 24, 2021 at 8:48 pm

      Based on the experience of a close family member, that adherence will depend upon whether or not things are happening in an election year.

      henrybowman in reply to Paul. | November 24, 2021 at 11:34 pm

      He’s drunk at 2 PM on Thanksgiving Eve. Big difference.

amatuerwrangler | November 24, 2021 at 5:50 pm

OK, for the record, and since the focus is on CA, with which penal code I am quite familiar:

Robbery (sect 211 of that code) is the taking of property using force or threat of force against a person; it can be armed or unarmed. Its the force that differentiates it from theft.

Theft is the taking of someone’s property with intent to deprive them of it. It comes in a variety of flavors, all without force involved.

Burglary is the entry to a structure with the intent to commit theft or any felony (sect 459, et seq penal code).

So in most of these events we are seeing thefts. Since it can be established the thieves entered with intent to steal stuff, the crimes are burglary. If force is used, or threatened it is then a robbery.

So these so-called experts are twice wrong, at a minimum: the events are not robberies and since CA is under a “state of emergency” established by the governor’s order, “looting” does apply. The problem is that a few years back there were changes made to the penal code making “simple” burglary of a commercial enterprise a misdemeanor, essentially de-criminalizing it.

Well it is Legalized Organizational Opportunity Theivery
So how about they call it L.O.O.T.ing?

Redistributive change.

“‘Experts’ Want You to Stop Using the Word ‘Looting’ to Describe Robberies in San Francisco”

I choose a better and more permanent solution: stop using the word “Experts” to describe assholes.

Here’s an old word that applies to what they have been doing – RICO

Or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organized Crime Act.

Perhaps the DoJ should dust that one off and have a good look.

Looting is looting You can’t deconstruct language and expect to fool people

A chapter in Edward C. Banfield’s book, “The Unheavenly City Revisited,” deals with riots. Its title is “Rioting Mainly for Fun and Profit.” Banfield was a sociologist at the Univ. of Chicago. He identifies four kinds of riots, one of which is “the foray for pillage.” Banfield says that stealing is ordinarily done in private, but when law enforcement is interrupted by a natural or man- (person-?) made disaster, mass stealing takes place. This would be looting. Ms. Chastain has made a very good point. It was obvious to me, before I saw photographs that support it, that the thieves/burglars/robbers (terms that describe criminals who commit different sorts of crimes: stealing/breaking and entering or even entering w/o breaking in order to commit a felony inside/theft from a person’s possession (as opposed from a mere location of property) that the malefactors were probably black. That’s because, if they had been white, the press would have identified them as white. As they weren’t identified, it seemed to me that they were black.

“Black” Friday shoppers and every day is Friday?