From: brian@coombs.anu.edu.au (Brian)
Subject: Re: Susan is still only thinking about herself
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date:  7 Apr 92 01:25:57 GMT

cmraman@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Serious Moonlighter) writes:


>In article <susan.702533007@coombs> susan@coombs.anu.edu.au (Susan McDonald) writes:
>>	Really?  Gee, then Australia must be really unique then?   
>>In Australia, our two largest natural disasters (Cyclone Tracy in 1974, 
>>where the entire city of Darwin was destroyed and the earthquake in 
>>Newcastle which destroyed the centre of the city in 1989) there was not 
>>one reported case of looting.  The troops were not called out to protect 
>>life or property, they were not needed.  Perhaps I do live in utopia after 
>>all?
>>
>If the entire city of Darwin was destroyed by this cyclone, there would
>hardly have been much to loot, would there? 

	Darwin was "destroyed" true.  However, its a remarkably lax term.
Darwin's major buildings were only slightly damaged.  Her suburbs and 
residential areas were devastated though.  As for how much there would have
been left to loot, thats debatable.  What is not debatable is that there was
not one case of looting reported, even after nearly the entire population
had been evacuated after the cyclone had passed.

>						Besides, I seem to recall
>reading something about the city being _evacuated_ pre-storm, in which case
>there also would have been no one around to do any looting. Of course, I
>could be wrong (after all, I was merely four years old in 1974, so this
>really isn't first-hand knowledge. You have my curiosity piqued, though, so
>I plan to go to the library and search for contemporary accounts.).

	I'd recommend you do so.  The city was caught almost completely
unprepared and no evacuation occurred until _after_ the cyclone had done
its damage.  There were plenty of people left over to do looting and plenty
of opportunities to do so.  However, no one did.

>As for the earthquake in Newcastle, again I don't see where there would
>have been much opportunity for looting. Santa Cruz was also badly hit by an
>earthquake in 1989, and there was no looting reported. The local National
>Guard _was_ called out, but only to assist in cleanup and rescue efforts.

	There was considerable opportunity for looting.  In the case of
Newcastle, again the city centre was only severely damaged (a few collapsed
buildings, the most famous being the Newcastle Workers' Club where about
15 patrons died).  Again there was plenty of opportunities available for
looting, but again no one attempted to do so.

>>>How do YOU tell a "petty criminal" from a "professional" - no, wait - let me
>>>guess - the professional is the one who stabs or shoots you when you try
>>>to reason with him, right?
>>
>>	No, the professional is the one who doesn't care about the 
>>consequences of their actions, whilst the petty criminals are not yet so
>>hardened by the society around them that they place so little value on
>>human life as they appear to so much in America.

>What an interesting definition. The prevailing definition of "professional"
>criminals in the USA seems to be those that go for crime on a grand scale,
>such as extortion, skimming of union pension funds, smuggling drugs by the
>ton, etc. "Petty" criminals, on the other hand, are your average garden-
>variety mugger, robber, rapist etc. Therefore, "petty" criminals are the
>ones you're most likely to meet up with in everyday life, which is why you
>should be able to have at least one gun handy to defend yourself.

	You might have the bad luck to live in a society where that is likely.
Here at least we don't have to worry about that sort of thing and don't
need guns.  Perhaps an effort to make it unnecessary to have to need a gun
would be a good idea?



--
Brian Ross__________________________________________________________________
	"If it is dangerous to suppose that government is always right, it
will sooner or later be awkward for public administration if most people
suppose that it is always wrong."______________________________J.K.Galbraith
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns