Now is that with a big G or a little g?

NBC's Dateline this Sunday related the tale of the MTS Oceanos' final voyage.  Full video available at NBC's site here.  In August of 1991, after taking on water in 30-foot seas the ship's generators were shut down to prevent them from shorting and starting a fire. Without power, the ship was left at the mercy of a significant storm in shark-infested waters.  Over 500 passengers were then abandoned by most of the crew, leaving the guitar player from the band and the cruise director effectively in charge.  The cruise director related the story of her first meeting the captain before the cruise.  The captain, one Yiannis Avranas, insisted that she address him as "God" (I presume the big G).  Egotistical jackass thoughts aside, once the story was told I began to understand where he was coming from. 

That ship was entirely the captain's domain.   He was responsible for the condition it was in, what direction it would take, and how far it would go.  If there were flaws, it was his responsibility to fix them before the passengers showed up.  It would be unreasonable to expect passengers to be ship builders or sailors.  Yes, they needed to understand what the safety procedures were and to take reasonable care of what personal dangers that they could reasonably discern, but the overall state of the ship before their arrival and during their trip was the captain's end of the deal.  They paid their fare.  They were expecting to enjoy themselves and leave their general welfare in the hands of the captain and his crew.  Ship starts sinking, yadda-yadda-yadda, the crew is gone with the better life rafts, since they knew how to operate them.  The captain is catatonic and then disappears.  He is next seen pushing his way through the other passengers to be evacuated via helicopter, supposedly so he can "help" run the evacuation from the safety of dry land.  He's had his suffering and he's all done now.  He states later, "When I give the order abandon ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave. Abandon is for everybody. If some people want to stay, they can stay."  How conveeenient, as The Church Lady would say.

The most of the follow-up stories that I could find from that time point out that the captain really had no legal responsibility.  Time Magazine related "Avranas' 'crime' was failing to fit the mold of tradition".  Apologists know no shame.

No doubt, this analogy has its flaws, but it is something to consider.  Maybe from a Judaic perspective...

Comments

[Alpha]

Dragging up post-modernism, isn't it part of the zeitgeist to part ways with tradition? Get it on with the Jews, I say. They may have the world's most traditional-inspired-instructed religion, but they don't play by tradition's rules, and good on 'em for it. As far as Avranas' crime, he was still on the ship long after his mates had take off in the life boats.

Moses should have added an eleventh commandment: Thou shallst go downeth with thy shipeth, Capn'.

Anyways, his big mistake was turning off the motors. Keep your motor runnin', head out on the highway, lookin' for adventure...... fergot the rest. I'm real tired.... :) I was born, born to be wild...... I saw Steppenwolf in college. The lead singer was/is about 6'7" tall. He had on black leather pants and when he'd step around or between the mic in cadence with the song, it was something to see. Give him a life boat this instance!

[Sleuth]

Alpha,

At the risk of you having already decided never to return to this site again, I ask: just say if you're still looking in occasionally and I'll write a proper comment for you.

[Sleuth]

An address to the author: tis' a shame not more people are here to comment on your fine articles. I am only not discussing the affair from what I can make of a Judaic perspective because I fear, as in the post above, that no-one will join the discussion or ever even read my words.

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[Church Bonds]

Lets take off the G and let him be "od" (odd)