I really don't think the word Looting should be a point of contention. In my mind, it has always been a word associated with crime, and by your logic: "I hate the word 'shoplifting' - this is a crime." Looting is a specific word for a type of stealing and by using it in place of 'stealing' or 'robbery' or even 'breaking and entering' gives much better context to the associated 'mob mentality'. Just imagine the difference between the headlines 'Man arrested for stealing TV after breaking and entering a electronics store' vs 'Man arrested for looting an electronics store'. The two have very different contexts, and the latter much better conveys that there might have been other robbers and a riot going on. To others, I don't think 'Looting' is seen as a 'non-crime' because the word doesn't use specific law jargon, but rather because of ideological reasons 'Dey whites raziz' or 'The unprivilaged have a right to steal from the wealthy.'