San Francisco TV Reporter Cautions Against Use of Word ‘Looting’

In the wake of outbreaks of mass organized looting in the San Francisco Bay area, a new word has entered the taboo list for the woke liberal media: “Looting.” According to ABC7 News Bay Area TV Race and Social Justice reporter Julian Glover, it is wrong to use the word “looting” instead of “robbery” or “theft” because “looting” connotes “people of color.” 

Here is their television report on why it is the new no-no to refer to accurately report looting as such:

ABC7 News views this subject as so vital that they created a website to further explore it:

Bay Area police called the incidents at different retail stores over the weekend “looting”.

Similar crimes were committed in the aftermath of George Floyd’s protests. But are these crimes really considered looting?

Julian Glover, Race and Social Justice Reporter is available to provide context on looting.

Julian says, “As the Bay Area struggles with a wave allegedly organized smash and grab Robberies this Weekend,” Julian said.

The Louis Vuitton shop was robbed and taken. “The Burberry store in Westfield Mall was robbed and looted,” San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in Saturday’s press conference.

Chief Scott described the response of his department to an influx in organized thefts and burglaries that netted a quarter million dollars worth stolen luxury goods.

An official from San Jose Police Department provided an update to the media regarding thefts in the South Bay during the weekend.

We are referring to two separate incidents. This is not looting. This is organised robbery. It is organized robbery.

Camarillo refers to Saturday’s $40,000 theft from Lululemon Santana Row.

Hayward, Walnut Creek and Walnut Creek experienced similar crime this weekend. Suspected gangs ran riot through the shops, leading to massive losses.

However, the California Penal Code says that what we witnessed was not looting.

According to the penal code, looting is defined as theft or burglary during a “state of emergency”, ‘local emergency’ or an ‘evacuation or order’ that results from an earthquake or fire or flood or any other natural or manmade catastrophe.

While you may not love the idea of “looting,” Merriam-Webster defines it as “to rob particularly on a large and often by violence or corruptive scale.”

And now we come to the reason for the animus towards the term “looting”:

Looting, according to the penal code is “theft and burglary” during an emergency, local emergency, or evacuation order. This could be a result of an earthquake or fire, flood or other natural or human-made disaster.

To some, the distinction may be small, but Lorenzo Boyd, PhD, Professor of Criminal Justice & Community Policing at the University of New Haven, and a retired veteran police officer, emphasized that words matter.

Looting is the common term we use to describe people who are urban dwellers of color. Boyd said that we don’t use the term “looting” for others if they are doing exactly the same thing.

What happens if ABC7 News employees use the term “looting”. Can that cause termination?