> I was responding to dethstar's comment, which indicated that "some people" don't think the lives of people should be taken even if they're attempting to pirat

> I was responding to dethstar's comment, which indicated that "some people" don't think the lives of people should be taken even if they're attempting to pirate a ship. But that's true, and it's not based on humanitarian grounds, but pragmatic ones -- if we arm the crews of cargo ships and adopt a policy of killing people who try to board on the high seas, the pirates will simply shoot back sooner, board by force, and kill the crew as a precaution. I speak as someone who had an armed standoff with pirates in the Indian Ocean, far from land, during my around-the-world sail (http://arachnoid.com/sailbook http://arachnoid.com/sailbook). As the pirates came alongside I didn't shoot, I only showed my gun, and the pirates had to decide whether they wanted to try to board a boat under gunfire. If I had started shooting instead, that would have invited instant retaliation from the armed pirates and I would have lost. A small example but a relevant one.