Copyright infringement and theft are not the same thing

Not exactly, but most people realize that there's some significant overlap between the two and that distributing copies of works that you don't have to right to is diluting something of value from the creators of those works.

the difference is as meaningful as the difference between murder and rape

I don't know why you thought that comparison would help your stance here...I don't know which one is murder and which one is rape, but neither one is okay.