Why We Fight

The question comes up over and over, whenever a high sec criminal engages in conversation with a member of the militia, or the larger "anti-ganking" community.

"Why do you bother saving the miner ( or hauler)?  What do you get out of it?"

THEM

Too many assume and derogatorily scream in local - "km whore" - Implying the whole enterprise is to get a cameo  appearance on a CONCORD kill mail.

Given that mercy and altruism in EVE are rare commodities, viewed more as an unusual phenomena like a white space buffalo, it is understandable that the high sec criminal mind does not understand.

Their incomprehension is also understood given their gank ships primarily come free from Goon or other corporate services.

To many gankers, losing ships is free, no risk, and exploding others' ships is pure profit.

Which is why they show no empathy toward their victims.  They don't feel any financial loss for their own activities, and cannot grok the pain and suffering anyone else might feel in losing their own ships.

Only the corporate CEO or Goon logistics need worry about how to pay for the criminal activities in High Sec Space, and how to deliver the 100-batch of gankalysts to their ravenous high sec criminal members.

US 

Militia members primarily come from the ranks of miners, haulers, mission-runners and industrialists who have worked hard and long for their ships and accomplishments.  Many ships they either built themselves, or worked hard to earn the ISK to purchase it, or excelled at one of our contests and won it.

The key difference between "us and them" is that we earned it, through an honest day's labor, the sweat of our own brow, the toil from our own hands.

EMPATHY

We understand and empathize with the loss that others feel when they fall victim to high sec criminals. 

ALTRUISM

We don't patrol space for profit.  We often don't know the pilots we save, but the feeling of accomplishment, of a job well done, is strong when the criminal flashes red, then green as his guns are neutralized by our EWAR, and he sits neutralized waiting for his self-determined fate at the hands of CONCORD, or is quickly dispossessed of his criminal ship, podded by our guns, and sent fleeing away.

OP SUCCESS

Our motivations are to do good, to do the right thing, to save capsuleers from High Sec criminals... To be the Hero, as opposed to the Villain.

There are no hats in EVE, and neither are there capes.

But know that militia members do wear a badge, and wear it proudly.