Of all the heartbreaking and uplifting stories coming out of quake-hit Japan, the most talked about is the lack of looting even in the hardest hit areas.
We know that there is no looting in Japan because the media, who are painstakingly searching for images of looting among the devastation, are shocked to find that there is none.
Contrast that with the media coverage of the widespread looting in post-Katrina New Orleans that was split down racial lines. The media’s coverage of the looting in New Orleans was shamefully biased.
White looters were described as “recovering” basic items necessary for survival — such as bottled water and detergent, while blacks were portrayed as looters scavenging for beer and cigarettes.
The media never tires of reporting on the looting, pillaging and rapes that continue to plague the Haitian people.
But in Japan, where people generally look out for one another, the media is reduced to settling for images of “solidarity” among the Japanese people. “Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength…” writes a British reporter. “This is quite unusual among human cultures,” he adds.
It’s also quite unusual for the media to notice.
Photo by GETTY IMAGES
