I am not a Pirate

I am not a pirate. I don't do piratey things. And I've never been to Boston in the fall.

Unlike espionage, no one has accused me of being a pirate. It is merely something that I think on from time to time.

I've been active in the militia for just over a month. I've been on at least half a dozen sorties, in three different ships. I've participated in the destruction of 21 ships. The thing that strikes me is, I've not lost a ship, yet.

That tells me two things: Wars in 0.0 are much harder than militia activity; and I don't solo. And that is the point. I've always been in fleets. In the militia, the fleets very quickly fill two squads. I've always been in a you-will-be-called-primary Blackbird with at least a dozen other ships around me.

That gets me to piracy. I can't think of a reason to solo, unless I wanted to be a pirate. And I don't want to be a pirate!

My view of piracy is incomplete, and I mean no offense to pirates. Some of them are actually very nice people. But my view of the pirate life is that they prey on the weak. They don't defend. They don't seek profit. They don't have an objective beyond explicitly or implicitly ruining someone's day.

I just don't get that. If a capsuleer thinks he is so big and badass, shouldn't he stake a claim in 0.0 and defend it and make his mark? I'm probably very wrong, but it just feels like pirates enjoy being king of the hill, as long as it is a little hill.

I know that not everyone that solos is a pirate. There are capsuleers in the militia that solo. I recently refitted my Jaguar, and I can so see the potential for that ship to be a great solo platform. I see that same potential in the Wolf, the Rifter, the Stabber, the Vagabond, and plenty others. But I'm not in it for the kills.

I want to move the map. This is a misgiving I have with the militia fleets. They blob up and pick off stragglers and do little to really inhibit the Amarr's ability to make war. They also don't concern themselves with turning over 'plexes and pushing the border.

I could solo in militia, but I feel I could do more in a fleet. I feel we could do more than I could.

Lastly, I do want to point out that bounty hunting would be a fair solo activity. That activity, however, would likely require a lot more time than I feel I have.