I, for one, have NEVER understood while we as a nation think it is "cute" for children to dress up as pirates, go to movies and root for the pirates vs. the king's men , etc.
Pirates =murderers, rapists, robbers,thieves of the worst kind; the proper end for these pirates is feeding the carrion birds while dangling from a dockside crane arm.
Because if it's a choice between outlaws and english royalty, americans choose outlaws. It's our tradition.