Shame

The cruise ship accident off the coast of Italy is a human tragedy. It is also an example of the ever-faltering sense of leadership and courage amongst public figures. The now infamous Captain, Francesco Schettino, is like the many Wall Street CEOs, financial regulators, and congressmen who don't understand that a good leader suffers when his company does poorly. The difference is that Schettino's gross negligence of his duty was caught on tape. While no one is being held accountable for the global financial crisis, Schettino is headed to prison.

The transcript released yesterday between Schettino and a wonderfully clear-eyed Italian Coast Guard Commander named Gregorio De Falco is harrowing and disturbing. Rarely do you encounter such a brutal example of someone so utterly unwilling to see and admit his shameful behavior. Here is one harrowing excerpt:

Schettino: "So, at this moment, the boat is tipping..."

De Falco: "I got it. Listen, there are people coming down the rope ladder from the prow. You go up that ladder, get on that ship and tell me how many people are still on board and what they have on board. Is that clear? You need to tell me if there are children, women or people in need of assistance. And tell me the exact number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Schettino, you may have saved yourself from the sea, but I'm going to make you pay, I'm going to make your life miserable. Get the (bleep) on board!

Schettino: "You realize it's dark and here we can't see anything..."

De Falco: "And what? You want go home, Schettino? It's dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the rope ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what they need. Now!"

Schettino forgot the basic rule that a Captain is a Captain because he is willing to do everything to protect his ship and his passengers, even if that means he goes down with his ship.

[caption id="attachment_3884" align="alignnone" width="287" caption="Schettino"][/caption]

His shamelessness recalls Monday's "Quote" of the Week, where Manu Samnotra spoke to the importance of shame. Shame, the feeling of shame, recalls us to our belonging to a human community. The danger Arendt points to is that modern bureaucratic systems can dampen our sense of shame and our feelings of responsibility. When that happens, we lose sight of our capacity for evil and our human responsibility to resist that capacity.

Click here to read the full transcript.

Click here to listen to the audio of the conversation.

-RB