Why people loot after a disaster
Why people loot after a disaster
Why People Loot.
Societies are maintained by sets of rules and regulations. These rules and regulations are enforced by law enforcement personnel and the norms and structures of society. When you steal, society will know about it and you will be found. Under normal conditions, the looter or thief will stand out and both the police and society will take note.
Take a look at another angle: You hate what you have. You hate your neighbor. You hate many things about yourself, about other people and you just feel like things are stacked against you. Basically you have some sort of pent up anger or frustration. But you can't do anything about it because chances are you might be caught. Your personal morales, fear of of the law and fear of the wrath of society keeps you at bay.
Then one day disaster strikes- law and order breaks down. The structures of society collapse and no one cares what the other person is doing. In instances like this, personal morals and fear of the law disappear. Pent up emotions can rise to the top. An abnormal sense of entitlement takes over and people no longer feel guilty of taking what doesn't belong to them.
"Disasters alter the normative structure of communities, which generally guides human behavior. When there is a sense of confusion and ambiguity, and people find themselves in dire straits, people sometimes engage in behavior that they themselves would not find acceptable," says Dr. Daniel Sarabia, a sociologist at Roanoke College who teaches a class called "Crowds, Panic and Disasters."_"In the absence of being able to procure the very basic of necessities, some people will engage in behavior normally defined as deviant. This is not necessarily a moral lapse, but values can temporarily change in disasters. Norms have not been thrown out the window, but events cause people to grapple with what's normal."
Dr. Pam Haldeman, chair of the Sociology, Gerontology, Social Work, and Documentary Film and Social Justice programs at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, puts it this way, "Looting and vandalism are the outcome of longterm, pent-up frustration, marginalization, alienation, hopelessness, anger, and lack of social control," Haldeman says. "When these are combined with an opportunity structure to act out, people do. It is not surprising and is predictable."
Can you recall recent incidents of this? The Rodney King beating and subsequent riot? After the fall of Baghdad,Iraq? (2003) Hurricane Katrina,New Orleans? (2005)Earthquake in Kashmir,Pakistan? (2005).
In all these examples, there seem to be a common thread.
Piece written by WKA - Addo Enterprises - Retailer of self defense products. Taser gun, pepper spray, law enforcement equipment, stun gun, spy cameras and lots of information on personal safety.
http://collaborativepr.editme.com/psychologicalaspects
Societies are maintained by sets of rules and regulations. These rules and regulations are enforced by law enforcement personnel and the norms and structures of society. When you steal, society will know about it and you will be found. Under normal conditions, the looter or thief will stand out and both the police and society will take note.
Take a look at another angle: You hate what you have. You hate your neighbor. You hate many things about yourself, about other people and you just feel like things are stacked against you. Basically you have some sort of pent up anger or frustration. But you can't do anything about it because chances are you might be caught. Your personal morales, fear of of the law and fear of the wrath of society keeps you at bay.
Then one day disaster strikes- law and order breaks down. The structures of society collapse and no one cares what the other person is doing. In instances like this, personal morals and fear of the law disappear. Pent up emotions can rise to the top. An abnormal sense of entitlement takes over and people no longer feel guilty of taking what doesn't belong to them.
"Disasters alter the normative structure of communities, which generally guides human behavior. When there is a sense of confusion and ambiguity, and people find themselves in dire straits, people sometimes engage in behavior that they themselves would not find acceptable," says Dr. Daniel Sarabia, a sociologist at Roanoke College who teaches a class called "Crowds, Panic and Disasters."_"In the absence of being able to procure the very basic of necessities, some people will engage in behavior normally defined as deviant. This is not necessarily a moral lapse, but values can temporarily change in disasters. Norms have not been thrown out the window, but events cause people to grapple with what's normal."
Dr. Pam Haldeman, chair of the Sociology, Gerontology, Social Work, and Documentary Film and Social Justice programs at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, puts it this way, "Looting and vandalism are the outcome of longterm, pent-up frustration, marginalization, alienation, hopelessness, anger, and lack of social control," Haldeman says. "When these are combined with an opportunity structure to act out, people do. It is not surprising and is predictable."
Can you recall recent incidents of this? The Rodney King beating and subsequent riot? After the fall of Baghdad,Iraq? (2003) Hurricane Katrina,New Orleans? (2005)Earthquake in Kashmir,Pakistan? (2005).
In all these examples, there seem to be a common thread.
Piece written by WKA - Addo Enterprises - Retailer of self defense products. Taser gun, pepper spray, law enforcement equipment, stun gun, spy cameras and lots of information on personal safety.
http://collaborativepr.editme.com/psychologicalaspects
Labels: Why people Loot after a disaster
posted by Addo Enterprises, Inc. @ 1:37 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for leaving this comment response too blogging. When I first read the word 'entitlement," I was thrown. But as I read, I followed. My first thought was fear and panic about self preservation. I am a social worker who provides psychotherapy to senior adults in a group therapy setting. I am going to use this as a introduction into some insight processing. Thanks
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home