By Joyce Alexander, RNP (retired)
The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia wrecked a few days ago and early reports said that it had hit some rocks. Quickly though, reports came out that the captain, Francesco Schettino, had driven the ship closer than normal to those rocks on the way out of port in order to show off the ship to the residents. An article from the New York Times gives more details.
More bodies found on ship, as transcripts reveal rebuke to captain
Interviews from some of the over 4,020 passengers of the liner stated in news reports that it was “like the Titanic.”
Only shortly after the shipwreck it was determined that the captain had left the ship early on, and also that he had been seen drinking on the bridge with a young, attractive woman at the time of the crash, and that he had been drinking at dinner before the crash. This indicates to me that the man may have been drunk at the time he made the decision to go closer than was safe to the reef.
Rescue crews had reportedly told the captain to “go back to the ship” and at that time they were in command with the authority to demand that he return. He didn’t return and was subsequently branded a “coward,” as well as taken into custody by authorities for not doing his duty in the time of the wreck. I have a feeling this man’s professional life as a sailor is over, and that he will become an international pariah.
Videos taken showed the passengers lined up, going down the side of the overturned boat on one rope, like a line of ants going to a food source.
The captain finally came up with a story that he somehow believed would show that he was not at fault for leaving the ship early (excuse me if I laugh). He said he had “accidentally fallen into a lifeboat while trying to help rescue efforts.” This single statement, to me, branded the man a psychopath. Dr. Robert Hare said in his book, Without Conscience, that the psychopath’s brain doesn’t work like other brains when it comes to lies. They will tell a lie when there is evidence to show it is a lie right in front of them, they will tell a lie that is so unbelievable that no one would believe it, but they do not “get it” that their lie is totally unbelievable.
Of course a psychopath would also put his own well-being above those of his responsibility, such as the passengers, and would desert a sinking boat on the first available lifeboat. Capt. Schettino leaving first, by itself, would not brand someone a psychopath, when maybe they would only be a coward, or so terrorized that he became unglued and deserted the sinking ship. But being told to “get back on the ship!” and refusing to do so does seem to indicate that he was either totally unglued or had no concern for the passengers.
The other things that the captain did that were irresponsible, like drinking at dinner, and drinking at the time of the crash with the rocks, and steering the boat close to the rocks so that he could show off, all of those things might have just been a day of poor judgment, and would not necessarily make me brand someone with the term psychopath. But those things, in concert with the unbelievable lie, make me think that this man has not only no conscience, but that his brain is unable to distinguish a believable lie from one that is so unbelievable that only a psychopath would tell it.
I’m not sure that there is a lie that would be believable or that would not damn any captain who deserted his ship like Capt. Schettino did. However, a man who was not a psychopath, who had simply panicked and deserted his ship, who otherwise had a moral compass, would show some remorse for what he had done. He would at least show some shame at having failed in a pivotal moment in his life, in which he should have showed some courage and concern for the more than 4,000 lives in his charge.
I think that anyone can “fail” in a moment of horrible terror, in combat or accident. The overwhelming terror of something like a ship capsizing, the panic of the passengers, and possibly also the man being drunk, could account for him deserting the ship early and refusing to do his duty, or letting go of his responsibility. But the unbelievable lie is the one thing, that taken with all the others, that makes me think this man is truly a psychopath.
Here’s another article about the captain by a former commander of the U.S. Coast Guard on CNN.com:
While I was having a lunch, a thought crossed my mind that perhaps sociopathy is far, far more common than even those with knowledge of the disorder realize? First, let me define “sociopath” as manipulative, lying individuals who are without remorse or empathy, but from a criminal perspective, they are non-violent, although they may be white-collar criminals. “Psychopaths” remain as defined by Hare.
Given that sociopath political leaders are applauded (Gingrich), various pedophile sociopaths are defended (Sandusky, numerous priests), sociopathic sports coaches become idolized (Bryant, now Belichick) and with most religions are based upon male dominance, could sociopathy be the norm for leadership and not the exception?
BBE,
yes, I think you are correct.
There are so many different ways to define a spath succinctly.
One way is to say that a spath is someone who desires power without the accompanying responsibility that goes with power.
That describes most politicians. They make the decisions and then blame shift for the resulting economic or social failures of the countries they lead. All spaths want to shift blame, refuse responsibility, and scapegoat others.
I allowed my spath to decide where we would buy a house (with my money), and how we would earn a living. It was a mistake, but in my defense, I was very sick all the time because he was poisoning me and I thought I was safe in relying on him to take care of me until I got well. Decades later, we were deeply in debt.
He was railing about not having enough money and said it wasn’t fair that he was the one who had to work. I said, “spath, everything we’ve ever done has been your choice, your decision. You know I’m too sick to work. Why are you complaining now about the state we are in when YOU are the one who brought us here?” At the time, I didn’t know he was poisoning me, so it is even more absurd to consider his complaint about me not working. Their crazy WTF? behavior is a direct result of them twisting and contorting reality in order to avoid responsibility. Only a spath would poison his wife so she can’t work and then complain because she doesn’t work. WTF?
Sort of describes our economic climate, now that I think about it.
Our political system has gotten so bad Richard Nixon would beat either Obama or Romney in a landslide.
More later…
Hi Ox. That was his excuse, huh? He fell into a lifeboat? Seriously? It does sound like the kind of lie a psychopath would tell. Gosh, they are so overrated as ‘smart’ when we all here know how freaking stupid they are.
I don’t know if he is a psychopath, but I totally agree that this “excuse” was psychopath level of lame, which is suspicious.
Hello, by the way. Nice to see you again 🙂 Hi BBE. Hi Skylar!!
😀
Panther, as more information comes out about him he is going up in “points” for psychopath, driving too close to the rocks just to show off like a child, having an affair with a girl half his age, who was on the bridge at the time, married, drunk…jumped ship with a BIG FAT LIE that no one would believe. LOL If he isn’t one, he is high in points! LOL
The point I tried to make with this article was to show that we can SEE the RED FLAGS in all kinds of behavior, even in the news…and we are NOT clinical psychologists having to make a diagnosis that will stand up under cross examination in a court of law, we are simply women and men who are trying to see how people’s behavior can SHOW what kind of person they are…and consequently do we want to associate with, or invest with, that kind of person…or ride in their car or their cruise ship.
If a person drives and drinks…I do not want to be around them or for sure not ride in a car with them unless I AM DOING THE DRIVING! If someone is irresponsible in any way do I want to have a relationship with them and trust them? Hardly!
They don’t have to be a full fledged psychopath to get a PASS ON BY from me….your new boy friend’s “mental break down” is enough for me to say “so long sweetie, I’m sorry as heck that you are mentally ill, but I am not married to you, we have no kids because I sure don’t want any with someone with your DNA and your problems” BYE BYE!!!!
Yeah, there are red flags with this guy for sure. Drinking and driving. It’s a boat, right? I think a lot of people drink while driving boats. I don’t really know boating culture, but that was just my impression of it. Yet, he was working, responsible for the lives of many people (hundreds?) and apparently got drunk enough to almost kill them all.
Ox, I don’t like the mental break down situation one bit, but bailing on him is just so cold. I myself am suffering from severe C-PTSD, and if people just walked out on me, I’d be left with no one at all. That would really suck. I bet if anyone in this group were hospitalized, and someone else from this group lived in the same town, they’d visit them in the hospital and be supportive. With family, it’s even more so. With romantic partners, it’s somewhere between family and friends, I think. I don’t want to be entirely selfish here. Can’t I be self-sufficient and take care of myself without being selfish? Isn’t it possible to still be there for him until he gets better, but not to the point that I neglect myself?
Panther….”bailing on him” is NOT “cold” it is good sense…you have only been with this man for a little while it isn’t like a long term thing, and maybe the reason he has “no one” is because he has used and abused them all up…..
He obviously DEMANDS that you put him before yourself, even to the point that you are HUNGRY? So this is a “nice guy”? NOT!!!! This guy may not be a psychopath but he sounds very selfish to me. Not the kind of person I want in my life.
Having PTSD doesn’t have to make you an arsehole and it sounds like his “mental melt down” has given him an excuse (note I said excuse not reason) to be a demanding arsehole!
Dump him…that would be my move, but you are the one who has to decide what to do, because YOU get the consequences and it seems like so far it ain’t working well…
Ox;
IMHO persons such as yourself would probably recognize a sociopath far sooner than most psychologists, as they unfortunately pretty much stick to the book and Hare places far to much emphasis on violent and criminal behavior and a parasitic lifestyle.
Henry, what do you mean by “they don’t even smell, they are odorless?” The breath and sometimes skin of mine smelled like decay, or a stuffy room whose windows hadn’t been opened for a season. I guess that cld have been a feeling I had that I trasmuted into smell. But last night I dreamt about him for the first time and he had BO!
“The former admiral of the Coast Guard said that the system that promoted a man with such obvious character flaws needs to be seriously overhauled.” That’s the same thing we say to ourselves after the sociopath experience!
This discussion as to whether the cptn sunk the ship for the thrill of witnessing the chaos or whether it was an accident resulting from showing off, plus being drunk, made me think of the Alec Baldwin character in the film “Malice” (but less smart). Anybody remember that movie? Nicole Kidman is also in it. Only now do I realize the Alec Baldwin character was a sociopath. And that line during his deposition, “I AM GOD!”
parallelogram – I was just half way joking, however some of us agree that our spath did not have a distinctive smell or body odor. But EB’s smelled like dog pooh, so she says