https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/looti ... d/1045915/ABC 7 notes that the California Penal Code has a specific definition of "looting," and it applies only in situations of individuals stealing items while taking advantage of some type of disaster — not as part of some organized theft.
According to the code, looting is a "theft or burglary ... during a 'state of emergency', 'local emergency', or 'evacuation order' resulting from an earthquake, fire, flood, riot or other natural or manmade disaster."
The problem with applying it inappropriately, says Lorenzo Boyd, professor of criminal justice and community policing at the University of New Haven, and a retired police officer, is that it can have racist connotations.
"Looting is a term that we typically use when people of color or urban dwellers are doing something," Boyd told ABC 7. "We tend not to use that term for other people when they do the exact same thing."
https://abc7news.com/retail-theft-smash ... /11263189/
Ok, now hold on a second. Does this also mean that when the media focuses on black-on-white crime - stories that they would otherwise ignore if the races were different - that such covering of these stories also "can have racist connotations"?
And btw, I don't care what the California penal code has to say about what legally classifies as looting. Looting also has a general-use definition that includes "to rob especially on a large scale and usually by violence or corruption" (Merriam-Webster). That is precisely what happened in California.