Na, not racism, just a fact of life in the United States. The majority of looters in EVERY such case in my lifetime have been black. Its been caught on video time and time again. In this case there are a load of videos showing throngs of african americans charging out of stores with stuff thats not even survival related. They are filling bags and trash cans with jewelry, clothes, electronics and other stuff and then just floating away with it. heh. Im not sure where they think they are going to keep it but.....
Its just a fact that the inner cities in america are largely full of poor black people. *Some* of them will jump at the chance to loot when the situation presents itself. The downtown area of New Orleans is overwhelmingly black, who would you expect to be looting in these areas? The chinese?
I was in the WTO riots in seattle 7 years ago. I walked around all night just to watch it and the only looting I saw, sometimes 5 feet from me, was on the part of black americans. Even though the population of blacks is low in seattle and it was obvious to everyone who was doing the looting they wouldnt mention it on the news or in the newspapers. Rather than being "racist" people were so hypersensitive to the issue they simply wouldnt mention the word 'black' or 'african-americans'.
There were some in Seattle though who said the media was racist for only showing blacks looting. Heh. I was there, it was the blacks. The white anarchists from Oregon were breaking things and going crazy during the demonstration but then crowds of black youths would run in with bags. The anarchists were rightfully singled out (being white and crazy) as trouble makers but it was left unspoken that it was the black americans who were looting and mugging people.
Our prisons are full of black people for a reason and its not current racism but the legacy of racism from the past. Its the fact that they are poor, undereducated, have an anti-education (white) culture and that criminal activity is the path that many choose. Thats just how it is, it isnt racist to say so or even to film it. There is even a quote from a black man who was watching the looting in New Orleons who said something like, "Its hard to get angry at them, these people are so angry at society they feel this is there chance to get back".