The media yesterday repeatedly showed the men seen here walking though a destroyed small store in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. They are looting. They might be doing it politely, but they're looting.
And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting, and I’m not the only one curious about this.
Not true. See above.
This is quite unusual among human cultures, and it’s unlikely it would be the case in Britain. During the 2007 floods in the West Country abandoned cars were broken into and free packs of bottled water were stolen. There was looting in Chile after the earthquake last year – so much so that troops were sent in; in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina saw looting on a shocking scale.
Why do some cultures react to disaster by reverting to everyone for himself, but others – especially the Japanese – display altruism even in adversity?
The question in the Telegraph is a propaganda exercise for future reference to justify opening fire on you when thief businessmen and corporations refuse to do exactly what has minimized looting in Japan. The author knows the answer. He said it himself !
supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive
In Japan, people were given shelter, cell chargers, access to microwaves, free soup, water, blankets... and more.
In the West, it's "how much are you willing to pay to eat, now ? Sorry, our ATM is not working, of course. Too bad for you."
This country raised its gas prices when crude oil went up by running out to the pumps to change signs or hitting buttons every day. Now that the oil price is falling, they haven't lowered them at all. They keep raising them as new convenient excuses emerge. They raised the price on something they already own and as the contracts that are worth more get closer to refinement, they're still raising the price !
In Japan the government responded in hours. In America the federal government has to go through its asinine bureaucracy and books of planning to act, which causes the citizens to become enraged.
The Japanese have not looted widely because it's early in the event.
They're in shock.
They're not as hungry or as angry as they're going to be.
It has nothing to do with politeness or some western gimmick that the Emperor taught them manners during WWII.
Panem et circenses goes farther with the public than with GE, GM and the banks.
It's the often vilified Walmart that is very noticeable with a presence at every major US emergency, within hours, unlike the bureaucrats you pay $75,000 a year and more. Try finding the rest of the corporations taking your money, other than Tide detergent.
If you want to keep the peace tell your business men and corporations that in an emergency, don't to refer victims to the bureaucratic Red Cross. The Japanese didn't.
SPQR
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