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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