As someone who plays in a lot of different roles (trader, pirate, military, etc.) I can tell you that you don't have any reason to feel bad if you pirate using RP, rather than just saying "Give me 2 million or die".
When I'm playing as a trader or miner I actually enjoy being pirated, as long as it's done well. Otherwise it can get awfully boring.
On the other hand, when playing as a pirate I usually have an awful lot of fun and get a good response from people. I've even had people who couldn't afford to pay me come back and give me the money later.
