Barbelith Underground > Conversation > What have Pirates got to do with it?

Historical ninjas were basically the world's first professional espionage agency. Assassination was actually the smallest aspect of their gig. Information gathering and theft were their specialty; they were hired by daimyo (only the Emperor was permitted to keep full-time ninja in his service) to obtain strategically valuable information and to engage in unsavory activities that the bushido code would not permit them to do openly [kidnapping, blackmail, theft].

Mythical - up and to this day - ninjas are trickster figures. In Japan since the Edokka, ninja have been folk heroes seen as a point of opposition to the [potential] tyranny of the samurai class, in a similar vein to the Suikoden. In modern consumption, they embody the ultimate in stealth and self-control, as well as martial prowess, and are oddly enough often confabulated with elements of samurai culture. They thus embody a mass of contradiction and a locus for wish-fulfilment constructs revolving around, so to speak, the perfection of violence and the social aura/power provided by that.

Historical pirates were little more than normal sailors, and often began their career in piracy operating under the aegis of some national affiliation - such as Francis Drake or Captain Kidd. The reality of pirate life was largely the tight order and grinding routine of ship maintenance. The nation-unaffiliated freebooters of the Caribbean led an incredibly tenuous life oscillating between the threat of starvation during prolonged journeying and destruction at the hands of a patrolling navy.

Where ninja embody control in mythology and folklore, pirates have been painted as figures embodying a sort of ultimate freedom, existing beyond pale of economic and moral limits. The awe inspired by figures like Blackbeard lies in their image as individuals [seen as] capable of anything at any moment. Atop the Hotspur/Boy's-Own-Adventure aspect of free travel and exploration of the unknown/uncertain, the inidividual pirate is seen as adrift in possibility and free of social constraints. Hence the contrasting image of open/emotive/passionate Errol Flynn contrasted with closed/constrained/cold British Naval officers....

I'd say Barbelith has both pirate and ninja aspects, and while the anarchic/pirate aspect is more vocal, both archetypes strike a chord with the general revolutionary/rebellious vibe of the board.