How many soggy cardboard boxes is a human life worth?
As Hurricane Katrina approaches its three-month anniversary, this is a question worth asking. As New Orleans sank into a state of chaos, one of the first priorities of the American government, both local and federal, was to stop looting. This was despite the fact that vast amounts of assistance still needed to reach people in danger of succumbing to hunger, thirst, and disease.
To be fair, the attention paid to looters was in part to protect aid shipments to the more peaceful victims. But upon seeing images of destitute, mostly African-American people carting off goods from the local Wal-Mart, officials were unanimous in their goal: this must stop now. Some even went so far as to suggest perpetrators be shot on sight.
Why such an extreme reaction by the government? Certainly it seems there must have been more pressing matters, such as rescuing those stranded on rooftops, and getting food, water, and medicine to the thousands crowded in shelters.
Part of the answer has to do with image. The United States is the richest nation the world has ever seen, yet a staggering amount of its population lives in poverty. The 2004 census showed that 35.9 million Americans, or almost 15 per cent of the population, live in poverty. In New Orleans, the situation was even worse, with 23 per cent making up the fifth highest poverty rate in America.
The Big Easy is mythologized as the city of blues and bare breasts. Yet, Katrina brought the city’s dark side to the surface. With no one to stop them, hundreds of marginalized citizens suddenly saw a way out of their destitution, and seized it. The thought that this could happen in America, on worldwide cable news, horrified government officials, and perhaps prompted a knee-jerk reaction.
But surely this can’t be the whole answer. America’s poor may be swept under the carpet, but they are far from invisible. Such explosions of lawlessness have been seen before, in riots in Detroit and Los Angeles, in protests in Seattle.
Another answer may be found in the status of property rights in American culture and law. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution enshrines the right to personal property. This right to private property even comes before the right to a speedy and public trial, and was enshrined in law nearly one hundred years before the Constitution included the freedom from servitude and slavery for all people.
In fact, one of the great controversies dogging the antislavery movement was the insistence that as property, slaves could not be forcibly removed from one’s ownership. American citizens have the right to protect their property against encroachment, even to use lethal means. The right to property is a cornerstone of American legal and cultural tradition.
With this in mind, it is not too surprising that deadly force is seen as a viable defence against looting. Despite the fact that they may have been devastatingly poor people in unfathomable circumstances, the looters were treading on one of the pinnacles of American rights.
It would be going too far to suggest that this emphasis on property rights is incorrect or unethical. Every person in the Western world enjoys the security that these rights bring to their belongings. But before shooting down a poor teenager making off with some cheap Wal-Mart t-shirts, perhaps the American people should ask a very simple question: how many soggy cardboard boxes is a human life worth?
