The Pirate Party (or more formally the Pirate Party of the United States), a new ‘political’ organization, has taken steps to become an officially recognized political party. The group is currently gathering statements of support from at least 2000 registered voters in the state. It has until February 2008 to collect this support, which will form its first step in becoming registered as a political body.Ray Jenson, the interim Administrator for the Pirate Party of Utah, says:

“This is a big step forward for our party. Utah is a perfect place to start. With the right people, we actually stand a chance at turning around the civil liberties situation by working on issues such as legal P2P filesharing.”

Well why Utah? Andrew Norton, a spokesperson of the Pirate Party, responded to say

“We feel that Utah is an ideal state to begin registration of the Pirate Party as a political body, Utah has a strong history of political diversity, and technological progress. … voters in Utah are now one step closer to being able to voice their opinions on the key issues our party stands for.”

This is perhaps the ideal opportunity for like-minded people to join together and discuss issues that they actually care about – perhaps a world apart from the politics of modern-day America where main aim is to garner votes and play ‘Politik’ rather than dealing with important issues. This could mean the Pirate Party gaining more votes than could be expected from a similar independent party.

Will they succeed in making a difference? Probably not. But then that probably isn’t their aim; simply getting ‘on the map’ and showing that groups people supporting this kind of ‘different’ movement do exist. It is vitally important that political groups recognize the existence of significant minorities and give them a voice. Rebellion might not be the correct word, but it’s clear the people want a voice.

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