Looting of museums, banks, shops, factories--South Central LA writ large

[Major Variola (ret)]

What is up with looting hospitals?  I can see
grabbing the fun meds, but the rest of it?   Who
do they think they're screwing with this? 

Looting govt offices is just payback, like bombing an IRS office.

Looting merchants is just lowlife theivery, like Los Angeles, unless
the merchants were state-licensed or pro-state,  in which case payback 
may also
be involved.  (E.g., Bombing Fox News vs. Starbucks or Walmart)

(There was also a racial motivation in LA, as some smaller
merchants were Korean and the rioters were Negroes, and
the riots themselves were racially instigated.  I haven't
heard of similar Sunni/Shiite differences motivating Iraqi
rioters; I don't know if they can tell each other apart
by sight, or by language.)

At least the Marines actually have ammo in their weapons.
The LA Nat'l Guardsmen didn't.