‘Pirates’ Connotes Acts of Fancy, Not Illegality

It might be helpful to stop referring to people who put illegal copies of movies on the Internet as “pirates.”

These people are not comical refugees from a Disneyland ride who cry “Arrgh, matey!” and swing from the yardarm with knives in their teeth. They are not romantic historical figures, jauntily afloat on the bounding main.

They are thieves. Describing them as such might go a little way toward taking the fun out of being the first kid on the block to upload a stolen film.

Jim Houghton

Encino