What's Necessary During Chaotic Times

A little over a month ago, the Costa Concordia, an Italian Cruise ship, sailed too closely to shore, hit a sandbar, and proceeded to capsize. The passengers on the ship panicked, a normal and expected reaction to such an event. However, instead of being guided by the captain and his crew, passengers were instead left on the ship in chaos, as the captain and some of his crew escaped safely to shore on life boats, and the crew that was left on board were too inexperienced to handle this kind of emergency and/or didn't even speak Italian.

But the passengers remaining on the ship struggled to reach their life boats. With so much crew missing, everyone had trouble getting on life boats in an organized and safe fashion. In the process, 25 passengers died. Now, the captain of the ship has been charged with manslaughter. It was his and his crew's job to remain on the ship in order to protect the lives of the passengers. However, most of the crew fled the scene as soon as they could, only worrying about saving themselves.

This situation reminds me specifically of a passage from "White Noise."After the declared necessary evacuation of Blacksmith because of the Airborne Toxic Event, Jack and his family quickly pack up some of their belongings and flee their home. While on their way to a safer place, Jack notices how the police have halted all traffic coming in the opposite direction back towards Blacksmith. He calls this an "encouraging sign," explaining that "what people in an exodus fear most immediately is that those in positions of authority will long since have fled, leaving us in charge of our own chaos." (117).


I agree with what Jack says here. We feel some sort of comfort knowing that our authority figures have uncomfortable and scary situations under control. When a little kid is upset, they cry for their mommy. Once mommy comes and is calm, suddenly everything is comfortable and ok again.

What the passengers on the Costa Concordia lacked was their "mommy" of sorts. Once the people they depended most on had gone, everything seemed that much more out of control and scary. At that point, the passengers were impossible to console. It was necessary that each person fend for themselves, and it became a savage fight for survival. Unable to think clearly and rationally, it was every man for him/herself. Staying alive in any way possible was everyone's only thought.

If the captain would've remained on the ship to fulfill his duty of guiding his passengers to safety, he would be facing not only less severe charges, but also less severe criticism from the public. It should've been his first priority to help these people, and he failed to do so. He failed to provide the necessary comfort and guidance that human beings under his watch require in order to avoid chaos in similar situations.