Avast Ye Mateys

Remember when the worst thing you had to worry about on a cruise was how much you ate at the midnight buffet?

"Pirates seize French ship off Somalia"

Luvly.

I'm guessing these pirates don't resemble Johnny Depp doing his Keith Richards impersonation.

I'm kind of surprised they use the term "pirate" in the news. Where it's technically accurate, isn't there a synonym that would do a better job of conveying the seriousness of the incident?

Can you hear/read the term "pirate" and not have a ridiculous image of a pirate leap into your head? Admit it. You hear it and you get the complete shtick with patch, blowzy shirt, pantaloons, boots, probably even a parrot on the shoulder, don't ya? All complements of Disney.

That's the kind of thing you can't shake. No matter what you do. "Pirate" will always equal this image in your brain. If you get picked for a jury and the defendant is a pirate, you'll have to disqualify yourself because you can not develop a realistic, unbiased impression. You are stuck with the mythology. Then, again, who wants to be picked for a jury anyway? Bah.