U.S. To Pirates: "Son, You Dun Goofed."

[REIMktg]

I know this belief will probably be unpopular but I have a hard time condoning what the Somalian pirates are doing. They have no economic opportunity at all, they have foreigners fucking up their coastline, living standards are shitty, and there really is no way up.

So in Somalia these pirates are generating wealthy which is trickling down to stimulate the Somalian economy and increase their living standards. They donate lot's of their booty to improve the living conditions and coastline quality to help fishers, and incredibly poor areas have been far more prosperous as a direct result of piracy.

I'm not trying to say that it's ok to kill innocent people or to steal (and I certainly believe that piracy is a bad thing), but if you lived and grew up in Somalia would you be any different? Would you be content living in a hopeless economic nightmare or would you try to do the only thing you could to move your way up?

Don't hate the players, hate the system.

The thing is that everyone in a situation like this takes the easy way out. What they should be doing is developing centers of power in their villages, expanding, and then taking over their country for "good". There is no reason they live like this.

Opportunity could exist in their country. But it needs to be cleaned up first. All industrialized democracies have had to go through the same growth.

If these entrepreneurial rebels turned their efforts toward building instead of destroying then something would change. I guess they never read Atlas Shrugged.

 

[Andrew Scherer]

What they should be doing is developing centers of power in their villages, expanding, and then taking over their country for "good". There is no reason they live like this.

that is a logical thought

but this is africa we're talking about here

is there any country in africa that isnt fucked up?

 

[b_sun]

I'm ignorant about Somalia, and thought there was a president with a phone. lol

Watch or read about Black Hawk Down. Lawless nation run by warlords and full of savages.

 

[JakeStratham]

Watch or read about Black Hawk Down. Lawless nation run by warlords and full of savages.

Great film. I didn't realize the environment was like that everywhere in Somalia. I knew it was dismal, but I had also heard there were businesses thriving, including cell phone carriers.

Ultimately, I'm ignorant about the place. I had glanced through the government info in the CIA file, but only casually.

 

[amateursurgeon]

Watch or read about Black Hawk Down. Lawless nation run by warlords and full of savages.

Actually - a friend of mine worked as for an aid agency there as regional coordinator for a number of years, and did his phd thesis on it. They're not savages.

It is anarchic, but it works fine for them outside of the rebel or government controlled areas. The tribes look after their own interests pretty well, even if they were aggressive to outsiders (much the same as most nation-states).

Piracy was fairly non-violent for a while. It wasn't in the pirates' interests to hurt the crews of ships, they were just after the ransom from the insurance company, and a well-treated crew is worth more money.

The recent problems have come with the influx of radical Islamists who have muscled in on the action. They got control of one of the major Somali towns and held the pirate leaders hostage until they agreed to give them a cut of the action. Now they are offering pirates a bounty for western infidels in yachts so they can behead them or whatever sick shit it is they do.

 

[Jizzlobber]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C2_hfrPkDg"]YouTube - Goalkeeper CIWS Gun System[/ame]


^^^This on every US vessel. Problem solved.:xomunch:

 

[jeffrey]

that is a logical thought

but this is africa we're talking about here

is there any country in africa that isnt fucked up?

Mexico isn't much better bro.

Oh and to answer your question South Africa has some extremely nice places.

 

[ebtek]

I know this belief will probably be unpopular but I have a hard time condoning what the Somalian pirates are doing. They have no economic opportunity at all, they have foreigners fucking up their coastline, living standards are shitty, and there really is no way up.

So in Somalia these pirates are generating wealthy which is trickling down to stimulate the Somalian economy and increase their living standards. They donate lot's of their booty to improve the living conditions and coastline quality to help fishers, and incredibly poor areas have been far more prosperous as a direct result of piracy.

I'm not trying to say that it's ok to kill innocent people or to steal (and I certainly believe that piracy is a bad thing), but if you lived and grew up in Somalia would you be any different? Would you be content living in a hopeless economic nightmare or would you try to do the only thing you could to move your way up?

Don't hate the players, hate the system.

pretty sure this argument could be used in many contexts.

like the guy that robbed the convenience store to feed his starving kids.

 

[amateursurgeon]

THIS^^^

And the last part is the most important. A lotta tough talk goes on here, but I (and any other combat vet here) will tell you:

The ability to stand fast and return fire is NOT something most people are born with- it's trained into you, or I should say the natural instinct to flee and hide is trained OUT. But your average merchant seaman or passenger definitely does NOT have it.

PS - LOL at the guy who thinks a few RPG's on the coastline would be effective. May as well toss firecrackers at a mountain, mate... Think cruise missiles, and start counting the collateral damage in thousands of people.

There's also more practical reasons for not tooling up every merchant sailor.

Explosive Weapons systems + oil tanker = massive fail potential

 

[070707]

Watch or read about Black Hawk Down. Lawless nation run by warlords and full of savages.

My uncle and his buddy were part of Black Hawk Down... the buddy got fucked up real bad when an RPG blew up behind him. Both don't speak of it...

 

[medicalhumor]

Sounds like an opportunity for some group to start up a Protection Service. A private fleet of heavily armed ships to accompany merchant ships and other vessels through these areas that are infested with pirates.

 

[Avalanche]

They were christian missionaries or something, they had the good book to protect them....

Or being protected wasn't their concern

 

[xentech]

I know this belief will probably be unpopular but I have a hard time condoning what the Somalian pirates are doing. They have no economic opportunity at all, they have foreigners fucking up their coastline, living standards are shitty, and there really is no way up.

So in Somalia these pirates are generating wealthy which is trickling down to stimulate the Somalian economy and increase their living standards. They donate lot's of their booty to improve the living conditions and coastline quality to help fishers, and incredibly poor areas have been far more prosperous as a direct result of piracy.

I'm not trying to say that it's ok to kill innocent people or to steal (and I certainly believe that piracy is a bad thing), but if you lived and grew up in Somalia would you be any different? Would you be content living in a hopeless economic nightmare or would you try to do the only thing you could to move your way up?

Don't hate the players, hate the system.

[x] applicable to most bad shit in teh world
[x] stupid

 

[Andrew Scherer]

Mexico isn't much better bro.

The half million US retirees would argue with you. Mexico is a big country, it's not just one big fucked up border.

Oh and to answer your question South Africa has some extremely nice places.

No doubt I'm sure South Africa as well as most of Africa is a beautiful country.

But I was mostly referring to the crime rate.

Like

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSqeOy6bwto"]YouTube - Jhb criminals Maleven. A Real South African Criminal.mp4[/ame]