Pirate mania

Somalian Pirates

What in the name of the Pirates of Penzance is going on with the Somalian pirates? Until a few weeks ago, many of us didn't know much about pirates until we heard about the Navy Seals successful rescue of Captain Richard Phillips.

To many of us, our knowledge of pirates was limited to either the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Pirates of the Caribbean. Depending on when you were born, the definition of the word pirate may differ. 

Ask my youngest son about pirates and he will mention the people who illegally download movies or music. To him, pirates raid the pockets of artists by not contributing to their royalties.

For the baby boomer, a pirate may stir up old memories of the late Errol Flynn or the guy with the long beard, eye patch and a parrot on his shoulder. Unfortunately, this depiction either came from the imagination of a Hollywood executive or some obscure episode of Scooby Doo. 

Pirates were once depicted as being swashbuckling and romantic. At the least, they resembled the likes of the Flying Dutchman, who haunts Sponge Bob and the residents of Bikini Bottom. It's a different pirate world when CNN and the major news networks are interviewing pirate experts. 

The old pirate stereotype has been replaced with the Pirates of Somalia. There are no eye patches, parrots or bottles of rum. The replacements are smaller, darker and prefer to rob their victims with an AK47 instead of a sword. 

For years, the pirates of Somalia have been robbing and raiding ships along the Somali coast. Unfortunately, becoming an attorney or a doctor isn't in the cards for many of these young men. Many of these former fishermen have padded their resumes with plundering and pillaging. 

Based on world events, pirates take what they want and kill whoever gets in the way. They have hijacked ships and other vessels they perceive to carry anything valuable. There is nothing romantic or idealistic about being a pirate. 

Piracy is nothing but terrorism on the high seas.