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Health & Fitness

Goodbye Pirate Fest

One resident reflects on pirates pillaging Port Washington for a weekend.

We survived another Pirate Festival here in Port Washington.  I can hardly believe it.

One word to describe my feeling is relief. Never in my life have I witnessed a complete waste of resources and energy. As my husband, 7-year-old son and I strolled the lakefront festivities Saturday evening, I was appalled by the behavior of these so-called "pirates."

Grown men and women dressed up in hideous clothing and acting nothing like real pirates of the 1500s. Do they not realize that Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional Disney character? The scandalous dress of the "wenches" simply pushes feminism back another 50 years. How can we women claim "equal-pay -for- equal -work,"  but when the weekend rolls around we dress like objects for men to ogle at?

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How can Pirate Fest claim to be a "family festival" when 99 percent of the women pirates are dressed like prostitutes?

What about the drunk patrons spilling beer and using profanity that would make a sailor blush? I so appreciate the "pirate" who took it upon himself to shout unsolicitated phrases and anecdotes to those walking along the marina. Or the man passed out on the lawn of with beer cups strung around him. What a great teaching lesson for my son — the effects of alcohol on a warm day. I hope he isn't still lying there.

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What is the correlation between Port Washington and pirates? I have read the history of Port Washington. There is no evidence that pirates stepped foot on our fair city. Yet the city finds it acceptable to display pirate flags on every light post downtown. Why are we celebrating this disgusting lifestyle? Are the Common Council and the residents of Port Washington aware that there are still pirates around today, particularly in the Pacific and Indian Oceans?

Worldwide losses from piracy are estimated at between $13 billion and $16 billion per year. Modern pirates, like those of centuries ago, kidnap, murder and mutilate their victims, to say nothing of stealing their ships and cargo. Yet we, the residents of Port Washington, waste a ton of taxpayer dollars celebrating pirating. Celebrating decadence and destruction and claim it is a "family-oriented."

Good riddence Pirate Fest!

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