Why We Need To Be Pirates Now
Today’s blog post was supposed to be about the inspiration behind Hell’s Revenge. But it feels self-indulgent to write too much about my book when there are riots and protests in over a hundred cities in the United States.
But Angélica is exactly the type of character I need right now. It’s easy for us to sit behind a computer and ignore what’s going on. That’s privilege, and it’s tempting. In times like these, I look not only to history but to literature for inspiration and motivation.
Hell’s Revenge is, at its core, a story about justice. In this story, piracy isn’t about looting treasure and drinking rum. It’s about standing up against the status quo and fighting the oppressor.
The police are shooting rubber bullets directly at peaceful protestors and journalists. They are tear-gassing crowds and throwing flash bangs before anyone throws a brick. And they are saying they’re only doing it once violence breaks out. But a quick search on Twitter reveals that is not the case.
I’ve watched videos of a police SUV mowing down protestors in NYC then calling it an accident. I watched them launch a paint canister at someone on his front porch. In Minnesota, they used live rounds last night.
And let’s not forget that a man was filmed being murdered, and a sham of an autopsy sought instead to discredit him. George Floyd should be alive.
Ahmaud Arbery should be alive. Breonna Taylor should be alive. Atatiana Jefferson should be alive. So many people should be alive.
In other countries, extreme force isn’t used on even the most violent criminals—and certainly not on innocent people. And we’ve seen that excessive force doesn’t have to be used. The police have brought in so many armed, white mass-shooters without so much as a bruise.
Also, it’s Pride month. As a proud queer woman, I want to remind you: we can be out because of a riot against the police. The Stonewall Riots are where pride began. Marsha P. Johnson, who started the Pride movement, was a black trans woman. You can’t support Pride without supporting rioting.
Historically, many people turned to piracy after a miserable life fighting for their governments. You hear tales about how brutal pirates were. But pirates were not the ones flogging their sailors until they bled for not working fast enough. Pirates were not the one torturing people by piling metal weights on their torsos and crushing them slowly.
Pirates wanted a chance to live a more fulfilling life, free of the oppression of the government. Navy ships were dictatorships, with the captains having all the power. Pirate ships were democracies. Captains were voted in and out regularly. And they didn’t have to wait four years to vote to oust a tyrant. Pirate ships were diverse, with crew from all over the world, working in harmony.
We need to be pirates. We need to live a better, more fulfilling life. And if it takes riots to prove it, then that’s just in the spirit of history. Stand up, fight back. Put your money where your mouth is. (See below for links to some places to donate.)
Legality doesn’t equal morality.
We need to take responsibility for the world we want to see. We need to take our fate as a country into our own hands. Do not go gentle into that good night. Listen to the voices of the unheard and fight for them.
Donate to some of these organizations:
Black Visions Collective (black/queer run)