If you are selling software to make a living that strawman just took money out of your pocket. If you are surfing broadband in your parent's spare bedroom it's different.
That is a metaphor that only obscures the real issue, because the money was never in your pocket to begin with.
If you're selling software for a living and you don't have a reasonable strategy for coexisting with the inevitable pirates, then you're doing it wrong. If piracy will make or break your business model, you are doomed.
I'm not taking any position on whether that's right or wrong. It's simply a fact.
