Fight or flight?

I wanted to raise this topic after hearing a radio phone in this morning in the UK which centred its' discussions on the actions of the Italian skipper who left his cruise liner with many passengers and crew on board. In spite of being ordered by the coast guard to return he refused.

My question is in spite of all of the conjecture as to why the ship was in the location that led to it capsizing, in spite of the fact the senior officers on the bridge carried out an order thy could have chosen to refuse, what is it about this man that caused him to flee? As the Captain of a sinking ship he surely knew the doctrine of the sea and the rule a skipper is always last man off a sinking ship!

Is his action to flee individual makeup, racial, a training issue (one would sincerely hope not as he is in his mid 50's)?

There are also stories that many other men also ignored the code of the sea we all grew up hearing of 'women and children first'. Is this indicative of a moral shift amongst humanity over the last 60 years? From the media reports the flight instinct took hold of many many people.

In World War two my grandparents generation showed repeated bravery on both sides of the argument in taking arms for whatever it was they believed in. Soldiers fought when they knew personally they would most likely die, women toiled in fields and in factories to support their men, showing a cute bravery too.

I ask you to consider and honestly say which part of the equation you fall on as we try to determine if society and humanity has truly become more self serving than previous generations.

Coupled with this there is a report today that says millions of people died In Africa last year due to the international community dallying on the provision of aid. I say in the past humanity would have acted first and counted the bill afterwards. It is not part of the flight or fight argument but is supportive of an erosion of true community at the core of all humans.

For me fight, I sure as hell would have stayed on that boat to the gritty end if I had been the skipper. I also know I am community minded at the level of my fellow man and do not ever seek to gain an advantage to the detriment of another, maybe I'll post an anecdote or two if this thread gains any interest.

In the meantime let's have your thoughts and any tales of previous actions to back your position. Please be truthful for I and I hope all thread readers will not judge, I just want a discussion about the overall change in humanity not individuals opinions of others actions.

This seemed quite philosophical in outlook, but mods if it is in the wrong place please shift it

[removed unnecessary quote of entire opening post]

There is a question of Why are u taking the job u do,before u do it? Is it the money,or because u love to do it,or both...? I think this captain went for the first answer...or.... He just saved the company which was in minus,with insurance that they will get.... This is logical answers i can possibly have about the case.
But of course we will never know all things that went down.

I worked long in Coast Guard(not in US),and i chose the job because i wanted to help as much as i could,money was secondary reason. By signing contract of some jobs u are going to do,u should know u can be signing your death warrant,question is....Are u going to accept it when time comes,or,u will turn head and go away...

We are being conditioned.

When I was growing up people would get involved. Certain behavior was not accepted and that was that. Then we were taught to 'not get involved' Later, don't get involved - you could get into trouble yourself. Police commenting on heroes would just about come out and say 'don't try this at home.'

Our society became insular and now no one does anything. Many on ATS believe they are doing their bit by being here. The powers that be are very happy that we all discuss as opposed to take action. We will still be at our keyboards as they drag us to FEMA camps where for once we will all meet and discuss things face to face. Oh, yea, they win - we lose.

P

He was in the wrong job. Heroism or not. A simple sense of obligation should have dictated that he stayed.

I believe I would have stayed due to feeling obliged to. Recognition of the responsibility of that role would prevent me from seeking to achieve it in the first place.

Its ironic that the type of people least suited to responsibly discharging the really important roles in society are those who actively seek those roles out due to lust for status and/or financial gain.

I've been in a situation and didn't run. My father was and old timey doctor -- the biggest lesson he ever taught me was that in a very stressful situation the only useful thing is to control your panic and fears and do the job.

Growing up in the 50s we new a lot of soldiers and heard a lot of stories. The guys I heard stories about were the other kids dads. They just did the right thing.

I have been tested through two drownings and a house fire. It's not heroism it is the right and responsible thing to do. I say the captain was a coward. I guess that makes me a liberal nancy boy.