9 ms·
As a first step, let's stop calling them "porch pirates". Call them a "thief". And, yes, some thief stole something from my porch 2 weeks ago. I asked Amazon
by coreyp_1 4y ago
As a first step, let's stop calling them "porch pirates".
Call them a "thief".
And, yes, some thief stole something from my porch 2 weeks ago. I asked Amazon to deliver it on a Thursday when I knew I would be home to get the package. It was delivered on Monday instead. Guess who wasn't home to get the package? Yes, I got a refund, which I'm thankful for, but it was still a huge inconvenience for me and it took money out of someone's pocket!
Thief. Not a "porch pirate". Thief.
- lost_tourist 4y agonah matey, I'm still calling them porch pirates, and I'll still send videos of them in.
- bombcar 4y agoBut porch pirate sounds so alliteratively fun! What's annoying is that Amazon has started delivering with their own companies; it is relatively easy to tell UPS/FedEx/USPS to mark your address as "always signature/handoff required" and they'll not deliver if they can't contact you - the smaller companies are hit and miss.
- tedunangst 4y agoWhat do you think pirates do?
- itsyaboi 4y agoSing cute shanties and engage in cheeky hijinks, if we completely ignore the parent comment.
- serverholic 4y agoWe have a tendency in our culture to soften words. Thief has more emotional impact than “porch pirate”.
- happytoexplain 4y agoI agree that "pirate" isn't an appropriate word in this case (though "porch pirate" is very specific and brief, at least), but I would say that we have a tendency in our culture (perhaps all cultures) to bend words in any direction based on our biases, whether that means making them softer or harsher.
- serverholic 4y agoI would agree with that. For example some people want to redefine rape to include sex you regret, and violence to include saying naughty things.
- mc32 4y agoIt's a costume people wear on Halloween and a mascot for some professional sports teams. People don't associate them with high seas cut-throat pirates with poor hygiene.
- at_a_remove 4y agoI think we all understand what pirates did, historically, and the relevance now. You know it, I know it, the poster knows it. Pirates stole. Also pillage, murder, and rape, but that hardly fits the Disney model nor does that concern us now. The poster is objecting to the cutesy alliterative framing of theft as "haha, porch pirates gotchya!" Porch pirate sounds much more innocuous than "Someone stole from my property."
- WalterBright 4y agoPirates are romantic figures in popular culture. Think of all the pirate movies. And International Talk Like A Pirate Day. There is no International Thief Day.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- rufus_foreman 4y agoWatch sports for free?
- NaturalPhallacy 4y agoI think "porch pirate" is just a subset of thief. It's not a lesser crime, just one that's just more specific.
- khazhoux 4y ago> Thief. Not a "porch pirate". Thief. No one has ever argued it's not blatant theft. "Porch pirate" adds precision missing from the general term "thief." I immediately knew what this article was about just from the title.
- p1mrx 4y ago"Package thief" is similarly precise.
- khazhoux 4y agoThe UPS worker that takes my package could steal it. The warehouse worker could steal it, or the delivery driver. "Porch" indicates exactly the form of theft: unattended packages in front of people's residence. I'm really confused why the term is bothering people?
- jollyllama 4y agoOk, how about "porch thieves?"
- WarOnPrivacy 4y ago> Ok, how about "porch thieves?" "Detroit woman says her ENTIRE front porch was stolen right off her house" ref: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9207915/Woman-Detroit-says-ENTIRE-porch-stolen-right-house.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9207915/Woman-Detro...
- p1mrx 4y agoProbably because "pirate" has many neutral/positive connotations, including swordfighting and sharing movies.
- WarOnPrivacy 4y ago> I'm really confused why the term is bothering people? I think it's adjacent to "Stop Liking What I Don't Like". Maybe like: 'Stop Not-Demonizing What Makes Me Angry'.
- WalterBright 4y agoI've discovered that when people brag about stealing, they get upset when I just say they're thieves. They prefer to think of themselves as pirates or rebels or some other word that has some cachet. The same goes for stealing. They'll call it justice, or liberating, getting paid, payback, whatever. They don't like the word "stealing". Usually, they'll stop bragging to me about thieving and stealing after that.