Did any of you see Captain Phillips? I saw the movie yesterday and I was left with the thought that the U.S. used overkill when dealing with the Somali pirates.
If you’ve never heard of “Captain Phillips”, the movie, it’s about Somali pirates hijacking an unarmed American freighter. Two smalls boats take off from the Coast of Somali and head for a freighter passing by. The freighters name is Maersk Alabama. The radar operator discovers on the radar that two boats are following the ship. The captain’s notified and he keeps a watch on the two boats. The Captain notifies the people in the boats that he knows they’re in the water and they should stay away from the ship. One of the boats sees how big the ship is and turns around. They don’t want anything to do with the big ship. The other boat continues following the Alabama. They’re not afraid. The small boat runs into trouble with its engine and cannot follow the ship. The captain and the crew relax, thinking that the Somalis are not coming after them. The Somalis get the engine fixed and catch up with the Alabama. And I don’t want to give the plot away and what happens, so I’ll stop here. By the way, there are only four skinny Somalis on the boat.
What follows is a show of power by the U.S. government. The U.S. uses a freighter, airplane, helicopter, paratroopers, the latest technology and all the arsenal it has to defeat four skinny Somali men.
When I first heard of Captain Phillips’ hi-jacking I was on his side. When I read that he’d been free, I cursed the Somali pirates. After seeing this movie, my sympathy went to the Somali pirates. What the Somalis did was not right, but the show of power by the U.S. was definitely overkill. They used so much power against four skinny men that it made me sick. In my opinion,the U.S. didn’t need to use a freighter, airplane, helicopter, paratroopers, etc. It was overkill.
Now that I’m a target of the U.S. government, I can feel for those who have very little power in this world. And the Somalis are very poor people. They really have nothing. At one time, they stayed alive by fishing. They were fishermen. But now all the fish are gone. Taken by rich nations. So many Somalis have become pirates to stay alive. Most of the money the pirates get does not go to them. It goes to their elders. The elders take the money and use it to enrich themselves and the poor Somalis get nothing. It’s not right what the Somalis pirates do, as one of the pirates says in the movie: We have nothing. We’re not in America. In America, you have a choice (I’m paraphrasing this. I don’t remember the exact words).
I recommend you see the movie. The acting is spotty sometimes. Some of the actors can’t even say their lines right. But it shows just how powerful the U.S. really is. After seeing this movie, I cringed at its power. I realize how strong the U.S. is, and it can step on anyone at anytime, including us targets.
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