Maxwell Rifon Rhetorical Analysis

9/13/17 Advanced

In the article, You are being lied to about pirates, the author Johann Hari works to wipe
the reader clean of misperceptions of what it means to be a pirate. The first two paragraphs
serve to peel back the curtain on the minor absurdity that is the new War on Pirates declared
by the British Royal Navy, and how the public and/or reader may have preconceived notions of
what a pirate is. Multiple times the author pokes fun at the stereotypes associated with pirates,
and reframes them as other humans deserving justice rather than the caricature menace
painted by the state.

Paragraphs three through five bring historical context to the discussion, providing the
background to pirate cultures inception. In paragraph three the reader is presented the results
of working at sea legally as a merchant or navy sailor often being cramped, half starved,
painful, and at the financial mercy of unfair employers. Paragraphs four and five show the
egalitarian pension of those who mutinied against the standard treatment of crewmembers.
Hari shares that pirates would elect their captains after a mutiny as well as making decisions as
a collective and fairly distributing the bounties they capture. And to an even higher degree,
their equal treatment of escaped African slaves set them further apart from the social structure
of the Royal Navy that they fought to escape themselves.

Paragraph six links together the historical context and more modern events. Hari helps
to frame the historic pirates of yesteryear as people fighting for survival by quoting the last
words of William Scott. Mirroring such despair, the reader learns of how nine million people
have been plunged into starvation and darkness resulting from the collapse of the Somalia
government.

The final sentence of paragraph six through paragraph nine provides the modern
context of environmental abuse that the Somalians are faced with from the outside world.
Foreign ships began polluting waters (poisoning the Somali population) and overfishing the
ecosystem that supports the delicate lives in Somalia. These innocent people have been
battered by government collapse, and now are having the resources keeping them alive drained
and destroyed by shady individuals. There is no regulation of these actions by external
governments, and so the perpetrators of these heinous crimes have been going completely
unchecked by anybody.

Paragraph ten introduces the natural formation of a national defense team whose aim it
is to prevent these bad actors from further harming their homeland. The Volunteer Coastguard
of Somalia essentially disrupt polluting and fishing activity up close and personal, using piracy as
a means of taxing those taking from their resources. Following this, paragraph eleven begins
the juxtaposition of these two parties when a quote from the Somali Coast Guard (labelled a
pirate leader) paints the foreign bad actors as the real sea bandits in the situation. This then
draws back to the relevant William Scott quote on fighting for survival, saying he would
understand. Paragraph twelve furthers this topic, explaining how such response is
understandable and something that can go unpunished, but also clarifies that when it
interrupts legitimate trade it becomes legitimate crime in the eyes of the state.

The final paragraph furthers the juxtaposition that was more explicitly formed in
paragraph eleven. The righteousness of action is called into question when a quote sets the
scene for Alexander the Great putting a pirate on trial for keeping possession of the see. The
pirate very succinctly observes how he and the emperor are no different in action, as Alexander
the Great was so called due to his success in conquering many lands. Rather the only difference
is the size of their fleets, the bigger of the two resulting in the title of emperor for Alexander.
This paragraph finishes with the words our great imperial fleets sail but who is the robber?.

We can see that Hari wants to break the notions created by state produced propaganda
to allow the reader to find some empathy with the Somali citizens. The stereotypes that pop
into ones head when faced with the term Pirate can result in immense separation between
the reader and who they imagine to be the pirate. You dont necessarily think of a pirate as
human first, rather you may assign the character traits and forego critical analysis of their rights
or interests. By forfeiting the ability to think of a pirate as a person, it becomes much harder to
understand their side of this fight. To bring the reader back to reality from the cartoons in their
head, Hari utilizes historical context very well.

When outlining the uprising of pirate culture the author explains just how poorly
merchant and navy sailors were treated by their employers. This results in a narrative that
could relate to the modern day for many, working very hard in subpar conditions and being
cheated out of what they feel is a fair wage. Continuing this bid towards egalitarianism and
fairness, sharing that pirates accepted escaped slaves paints them antithetically to the evils of
our past. Even if there was no real connection between the reader and the historical narrative,
it is clear to see that pirates stood a foot above the rest when it came to moral decisions. This
makes it easy for almost anyone to begin siding with the originating pirates, as most everyone
would agree that all humans deserve equal treatment irrespective of their race, color, or creed.

Hari quickly progresses to show why the Somali Volunteer Coast Guard (AKA Somali
pirates) have bloomed as a result of the Somali population being jabbed into a corner. Once the
government collapsed, the people were left defenseless to external forces abusing their seas as
dumps and as food sources. This superbly draws back to the inhumane treatment of historic
sailors by sharing the very human side to these people who are painted as villains. Theyre not
all rogue gangs looking for free loot, rather they can be seen as defendants of their country
levying a tax on those abusing their land and waters.