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:
Woundlicker,
just to set the record straight, the blog is Donna’s but this article was Oxy’s work.
Yes, I agree that this article brings us full circle to understanding the damage that spath cause in the world at large. So many people think that “love fraud” is about a woman scorned. Not the case at all. It’s about the dysfunctional characters causing havoc in our society. It just so happens that one characteristic of these spaths is the need to prey on people’s emotions and therefore they all commit love fraud to some extent or another. Love Fraud is another red flag that you are dealing with a psychopath, a human being without scruples, no loyalty, no sense of responsibility and no empathy for anyone but themselves.
Thanks, Sky…I agree with you and Woundlicker that getting the word out is doing God’s work….and this guy is “famous” but he is not a “serial killer” of the type that goes out and stalks people or breaks into their houses, he is just without conscience, without remorse, without responsibility, without a lot of the things that makes a person, man or woman, “good.”
It is when the chips are “down” that we can see what someone is made of. Anyone can “be good” when things are going right, but to “be good” when the world falls apart….another story entirely.
A psychopath can “keep up a front” or mask when things are good and there is, excuse the metaphor, “smooth sailing” but when things are Bad, they fall apart, drop any pretext of assuming their responsibilities and jump ship like a rat! Of course they were a rat all along, it was just not so obvious before he “fell into a life boat by accident.” I could have found something to doubt about all the other things he was accused of doing but not that lie! LOL I actually did LAUGH OUT LOUD when I read that excuse. Psychopathic.
Oh, my apologies. I am not a bit surprised Oxy wrote this article! It’s brilliant. Great job as usual!!
Ox;
First thing I noticed about him was a wide face. Over the summer, we talked about a study correlating wide faces to dishonesty and unethical behavior!
http://www.livescience.com/14909-wide-faces-predict-unethical-behavior.html
The second thing I noticed was his immediate blame shifting to rocks that were not on charts. This is a hallmark trait of sociopaths. OTOH, he strikes me more as a narcissist than a sociopath, although as you point out there is no black and white only a continuum.
On second though, his lying is very sociopathic. Also, his fleeing the ship may not have been an act to save is own hide, rather, the spontaneous act of a sociopath when confronted with an “unscripted” situation, typically one that is unmasking.
Under this theory, this disaster unmasked Schettino as an incompetent captain and he fled not to save himself, but because he was unmasked.
Blue eyes, wow, that was an interesting article on wide faces. I have noticed a definite similarity between the ex spath I had the misfortune of knowing, blechh, and other psychopaths. He had a very large head and looks not only like this Schettino b-wipe but could be the twin of a convicted child molester who lives in my neighborhood (right next door to an elementary school….how does that happen?). There are others I will notice on the news who also have commited crimes who look like the ex spath, (also proud owner of a long criminal record including sexual predator).
With so many similarities, there must be something deeper to consider. Profiling is dangerous, but how can I have a knack now for being able to pick a sociopath out of a crowd? And this is no joke- I always get a ‘pig’ quality about them. That’s an insult to pigs, I know.
woundlicker;
It was learning of a physical trait — the stare, that first led me to believe I had been involved with a sociopath. In fact, I remember him staring at me from across the room and I went over and introduced myself to him.
When I saw the article on wide faces, I was nearly floored as my ex-spath has a very wide face. Now, not all people with stares (or intense eyes) are sociopaths, nor are all men with wide faces dishonest, but it is something to consider.
There is at least a third external manifestation of sociopathy called the “vocal effect,” meaning sociopaths tend to have monotonous way of speaking. This is also a characteristic of my x-spath.
Thus, my x-spath exhibited all three external physical manifestations of sociopathy of which I know.
Perhaps this belongs in a different thread but speaking of wide faces, that description aptly fits Newt Gingrich, who I am convinced is a sociopath.
I have definitely experienced the stare. I recall when I first read about it my jaw dropped. I thought the ex spath was the only one with that “look”. It scares me when I think of his face now. Big, giant head and creepy intense stare, yikes.
I am going to look up the “vocal effect” right now. I’m sure this will be interesting…
BBE
Yes, about Newt. Did you read the article in the NY Times today? It spells it out rather clearly in my humble opinion.
When he was 19 he married his high school math teacher.
Who does that.
He is said to trade in his wives like he trades ideas.
It is said that is highly grandiose.
He apparently cheated on every wife with the following wife.
He dodged wife #2’s accusations about the open marriage by blaming the media. Is that gaslighting?
I think he’s a spath, and at a minimum, very bad news.