P.S. ...: In times of crisis, let's stop defending the rights of milk cartons

During Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, various reports of airline price hikes emerged,including a report of a ticket from Miami to New York ballooning upwards of nearly 1000 percent its typical cost. For those who remained in the storm’s wake, as stores closed and employees fled or took shelter, access to resources grew scarce. These inevitable factors, coupled with our conventional understanding of theft, led to reports of looting both in Houston and across Florida — events met by law enforcement’s harsh response. In Texas, for example, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg maintained that looters of businesses would face felony burglary charges as well as increased penalties for misdemeanor charges. Under Texas law, sentences for robbery, burglary and theft become increased if committed in any county that is declared to be a disaster area. Troublingly, as shoplifting of items valued between $50-$500 is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas, under the additional penalty, offenders found guilty during Harvey may expect to face up to one year of jail time. Offenders found guilty of theft of goods valued under $50 with a prior conviction can face up to 180 days of jail time.

It is important to note that due to federal health and sanitation regulations, perishables — among the most commonly “looted” items — must be disposed of following a natural disaster, due to potential contamination. While Harvey victims with prior theft convictions facing 180 days of jail time over a can of soup or carton of milk may sound absurd on its own, victims could — and are — facing jail time over the "theft" of what is quite literally defined as trash.

Most political theorists of the past three centuries, ranging anywhere from laissez-faire libertarians to collectivists, have contended that in times of crisis, or in instances where basic need is at risk, societies have the ability to curtail “liberty” or “freedom” (whether it be of privacy, expression or the market) to promote the general welfare. Additionally, as one could interpret John Stuart Mill, Thomas Hobbes or even Machiavelli to each have argued, though in dissimilar ways, the virtue of 'freedom' cannot exist if individuals or societies are fundamentally unable to act in a way that best expresses their will. In short, if people are fearful or on the brink of dying or starving, the virtue of freedom is somewhat meaningless on its own.

Ironically, but importantly, those who were looking for last-minute flights prior to Hurricanes Irma and Harvey were often those who had little financial freedom to begin with, including low-income individuals whose jobs would not permit absence until immediate evacuation warnings went into effect. These same individuals are now those who probably can't afford to pay fines for petty theft or “looting” of perishables. As a result, these individuals will soon be those whose freedom is curtailed further, upon their detention in state prisons. In the case of Harvey and Irma, did states instead prioritize the rights of things — airline ticket prices and cartons of milk — over the rights of people?