The final third of the movie, certainly felt that way?
The 'empathy' Factor didn't work, btw. But reading through some of the older (probably ported IMDB) threads, I see a lot of (worryingly) uber-liberal posts that somehow try to defend the pirates' actions.
These people (with this kind of rationale) are far scarier (not to mention, dangerous) than the criminals they're defending?
Agreed. The moral equivalency I see in some of the posts here is amazing. 'Innocent' people whose only crime was being 'unlucky in the birth lottery'. That is some of the nonsense I have read on this board.
These pirates may have been unlucky; they may have been born into unimaginable poverty. But they were still engaged in an act of piracy on the high seas, and that is why they were killed. They could have just taken the $30,000 and escaped with their lives. But their greed got the better of them.
I felt sorry for the youngest one. The rest deserved what they got.
shareI sort of did. Frankly we really should support missionaries who go to help people in that poverty stricken part of the world. What they did was wrong. But they felt there was no other way for them to support themselves. That surviving pirate who went to prison for 30 years, that was probably the best thing that ever happened to him considering his circumstances.
shareI sort of did. Frankly we really should support missionaries who go to help people in that poverty stricken part of the world. What they did was wrong. But they felt there was no other way for them to support themselves. That surviving pirate who went to prison for 30 years, that was probably the best thing that ever happened to him considering his circumstances.I felt sympathy for the Somalis as well, but as you say, what thy did was wrong and I saw a lot defending them. One even made the absurd comment that I referred to above that their only crime was being 'unlucky in the birth lottery'. This is nonsense. He was convicted of crimes related to what he did to Phillips and his crew. share
What I see here are people taking yet another manufactured opportunity to pile on so-called "uber liberals." People want to create a conversation about what it's like to live in an impoverished county. So the black and white wrong wing types want to claim the high moral ground. "They're just criminals and the liberals love them." Such bullshit.
shareWhat I see here are people taking yet another manufactured opportunity to pile on so-called "uber liberals." People want to create a conversation about what it's like to live in an impoverished county. So the black and white wrong wing types want to claim the high moral ground. "They're just criminals and the liberals love them." Such bullshit.Nonsense.
I'm saying it's not even worth debating. Somalis are in a shitty position and the US gets to patrol the World. My point is people look for these false equivalencies. That Somalians may be pushed into criminal behavior is an observation, not an endorsement. Maybe this is a rare opportunity to put yourself in someone else's shoes and wonder what motivates these people to do these things. We need not wonder what anyone else's motivations are? They are simply working and getting fat checks for it. So what's wrong with having empathy with poor Somalians? Like I said, no one can seriously endorse piracy, but you can at least look at things from a different perspective.
shareWould you be greatly surprised to know that I don't disagree with much of what you say? I understand what motivates the Somalis here; I really do. Perhaps if I were born into that situation I'd do the same thing.
But, and I believe that you understand this, as much as I sympathize with their situation, the US government can't tolerate piracy on the high seas and the kidnapping of innocent people. What I was objecting to was the false moral equivalency.
Living in extreme poverty in a third-world shithole sucks, but it doesn't give anyone the right to kidnap, terrorize, steal, and threaten lives. Those assholes forfeited their rights the moment they set out to capture the ship. The Navy was fully justified in taking them out. My empathy is for the innocent men in the ship's crew who went through a hellish experience at the hands of criminals.
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