It's a difficult question, this business of "shoot to kill" orders when an area is under martial law. It sounds like New Orleans is a jungle, and nobody is safe there. All semblance of law and order has broken down, and it's more-or-less an ongoing riot. I suppose it takes extreme measures to get that sort of thing under control. Still, when you have a "shoot to kill" order (which is about the same as what goes on in wartime), you have the probability that some of those soldiers and law enforcement officers are going to abuse that order and kill just for the thrill of it, or just because they're afraid or an an adrenaline rush. I suppose that's what happened at Kent State University, and in many of the labor struggles of the past.

I suppose you can dramatize the thing and say it's unjust to kill for stealing damaged goods or something, but that's not the point - the "shoot to kill" orders are meant to bring the riot under control, not to avenge the theft of a TV.

If you have a riot, what can you do? How do you make a place safe if violence is everywhere? I suppose we have to trust that there will be people who will keep the controllers under control. And if there are unjustified killings, there must be consequences.

-Joe Offer-