Science Forums 2

[CraigD]

Coberst’s points about the power of framing – choosing ones metaphor – to achieve a political end, such as with “The war on terror”, are, I think, well made. and the consensus view of most political experts and social scientists, much as described by Lakoff.

However, sometime popular and political speech uses a term specifically intended to describe a profession or activity. Thus, when Coberst writes

Originally Posted by coberst

We have a similar problem with the use of the word “pirate” when speaking of the bandits taking control of ships and their crews and then demanding ransom from the ship owners.

I see no problem, as “pirate” has a well-defined popular and legal definition of “one who seizes ships at sea and sells or ransoms them and/or their cargos and crew.” The wikipedia article “piracy” gives, I think, a well-accepted definition:

Piracy is a war-like act committed by a nonstate actor, especially robbery or criminal violence committed at sea, on a river, or sometimes on shore, either from a vessel flying no national flag, or one flying a national flag but without authorization from a national authority.

Incidents such as the recent Maersk Alabama hijacking by Somali pirates fit this description so well it’s difficult for me to imagine a more apt alternate term.

Originally Posted by coberst

How do we now take the romanticism framed in the word “pirate” from these thugs who are really just common criminals?

I don’t believe many people have difficulty distinguishing real world such as the Alabama hijackers from fictional pirates depicted in book and movies, but rather accept the common description of them as economically impoverished people from a failed state.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the lack of sensationalization and accuracy of reporting of recent incidents out of Somalia by major the news organizations. They’ve served well, I think, is dispelling misconceptions people previously unfamiliar with Somalian piracy. The subject is a complicated one, difficult to summarize in short news articles, but I think the media has for the most part done well in not descending to pointless name calling or blame laying, while print journalism and various encyclopedic sources such as the above wikipedia link give, for the most part, good and accurate more detailed information.

Coberst’s use of the word “thug”, however, is IMHO an example of the ill-chosen name calling I’ve just complemented the mainstream media for avoiding. Specifically, the term “thug”, which is derived from Thuggee, a violent religious cult believe to effectively ceased to exist by the late 19th century, informally refers to robbers who are unusually violent and/or murderous. Although the present-day meaning of the term has come to mean any unusually brutal criminal, in its older use, it referred to a specific kind of crime in which victims are murdered for their possessions, which are kept of sold by the robbers.

Somalian pirates, depending as they do on the perception of that ships, cargos, and crews will be returned unharmed in exchange for ransoms, have a reputation for treating their captives well. In nearly all cases, they do not steal and keep or sell the ships and cargos they seize, but return them and their crews after receiving a cash ransom.

Likewise, “terrorist” is a poor term for a Somalian pirate. Again taking a definition from a wikipedia article

Terrorism is, most simply, policy intended to intimidate or cause terror. It is more commonly understood as an act which (1) is intended to create fear (terror), (2) is perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a materialistic goal or a lone attack) …

As Somalian pirates appear to without exception have materialistic, not idealistic goals, and depend on the belief that if you pay a demanded ransom, you have nothing to fear, the term terrorist appears completely inappropriate for them.

The problem of Somalian piracy will not be solved, IMHO, by reframing them as “thugs and common criminals” rather than “pirates”, but by changing socioeconomic conditions in Somalia so that Somalis can make a decent living in pursuits other than actually being pirates or supporting or tolerating pirates. The problem is, in my and the opinions of every reasonable person I’ve heard, due to conditions that prevent Somalis from making their livings legitimately.