There's some sort of fad on the internet for jokes about pirates, and frankly it's just irritating. Pirate jokes get old really fast, because really they're all based on the same over-the-top stereotype, and they have no range, so as an internet meme where everybody suddenly thinks they're a comedian (including me) it got unbearable after the first day. The really annoying thing is the people taking this to a whole new level, the Pastafarians, have done so based on one of those strange, ignorant myths based on romanticizing history. Their mockery of unscientific religious arguments notes an inverse correlation between pirates and global warming, and assumes a causal relationship. The thing that's annoying, even as a joke, is this myth that there are no pirates. Maritime piracy is at its highest level ever, and while they didn't step right out of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, you can't say there are no pirates in the same way that you can claim there are no Teutonic knights in plate mail armor, covered wagons, or leprechauns (I have it on good authority they've all been killed by the IRA). And you would think people would know this, we think there are terrorists hiding in every bowl of rice, but nobody associates the word pirate with the real thing anymore?
Also on the subject of piracy, there are pirate radio stations currently operating in the Quad Cities along the Mississippi who are claiming they have a legal right to operate without a license. Apparently, in time of war, restrictions on broadcasting are eased so as not to interfere with the need to disseminate information in emergencies when our normal broadcast infrastructure is vulnerable to our enemies. This does provoke some serious questions about what it means to say we're at war, and whether we can selectively invoke wartime regulations and traditions. God bless you, Quad Cities area, for bringing us politically active pirate radio and the most disgusting town on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment