Originally Posted by PersonaNonGrata

These photos are some of the most enlightening I have seen to illustrate the extent of the damage. It is just unbelievable.

I was watching a story on ABC's national news about how immediately after the earthquake, people were working together to sort through the damage and how there has been no looting, people standing in orderly lines waiting for their turn to buy food, and people voluntarily going without to help others. They explained it as a Japanese philosophy of "being one". It is really humbling to see it in action in the face of utter devastation.

It reminded me of things that have happened here in the US and peoples' reaction to them. I thought about the Rodney King riots and the widespread looting, property damage, and attacks on people. I thought about Hurricane Katrina and the looting that took place even by so-called police officers, the rapes and murders in the Superdome, and the insurance and aid fraud that ensued. It all makes one think.