1st March 2007
Pirates call for end to discrimination
Henry Morgan, the pirates' representative, yesterday |
Henry Morgan, head of the newly formed Nautical New Age Travellers' Association, called on governments "from Port Royal to Portsmouth" to enact legislation that would ban what he called images that perpetuate a negative imagery of piracy.
"We are lucky to live in an age where it is rightly frowned upon to give impressions of Asians with 'ahhh so', yet even in polite circles, it is deemed acceptable to say 'yarrr', 'arrr Jim Land' and refer to 'landlubbers'," said Capt Morgan.
Blackface
"The same people who would never dream of wearing blackface think it suitable to wear a tricorn hat, hook and eyepatch to a party.
"This has got to stop, to avoid future generations believing it acceptable for such a clichéd view of pirates to continue," he concluded.
He also poured scorn on such works as Treasure Island and Muppets Treasure Island, saying that they should "go the way of Uncle Tom's Cabin" for the false image of piracy they created.
Yellow liver
Although he said that, as with any culture, there were some rum characters, they should not lead to a tarnishing for the rest and wants pirates to be included in new anti-discrimination laws.
However, the International Society for the Prevention of Abuse to Cabin Boys hit back at the pirates, saying that they were "scurvy dogs" and that they would "sooner take a lick o' the cat" than be gagged on their freedom to speak out against pirates.
The Daily Mail has already launched a campaign to ensure that pirates do not get council homes if resettled on land.
"We are lucky to live in an age where it is rightly frowned upon to give impressions of Asians with 'ahhh so', yet even in polite circles, it is deemed acceptable to say 'yarrr', 'arrr Jim Land' and refer to 'landlubbers'," said Capt Morgan.
Blackface
"The same people who would never dream of wearing blackface think it suitable to wear a tricorn hat, hook and eyepatch to a party.
"This has got to stop, to avoid future generations believing it acceptable for such a clichéd view of pirates to continue," he concluded.
He also poured scorn on such works as Treasure Island and Muppets Treasure Island, saying that they should "go the way of Uncle Tom's Cabin" for the false image of piracy they created.
Yellow liver
Although he said that, as with any culture, there were some rum characters, they should not lead to a tarnishing for the rest and wants pirates to be included in new anti-discrimination laws.
However, the International Society for the Prevention of Abuse to Cabin Boys hit back at the pirates, saying that they were "scurvy dogs" and that they would "sooner take a lick o' the cat" than be gagged on their freedom to speak out against pirates.
The Daily Mail has already launched a campaign to ensure that pirates do not get council homes if resettled on land.
