
The 4,300-passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast on Friday.
When Costa Concordia capsized off the Italian coast Friday, passengers described mass chaos: men pushing past children in attempt to board lifeboats first, men and women fighting over lifejackets, and elderly women being left to fend for themselves.
Newly-released infrared film footage shows crew members securing their own lifejackets before passengers were even notified of the ship’s sinking status. Since the death toll has risen to 11, the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, has been subjected to mass criticism for refusing the Italian Coast Guard’s orders to assist in the evacuation, then ”tripping” and “accidentally falling” into a lifeboat.
But according to the (very ambiguous) laws established by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, none of the above scenes described are illegal.
Beliefs that “women and children go first” and “the captain goes down with the ship” are mere social conventions mainly upheld by Americans and Brits. In most European countries, these notions do not exist.
Men who boarded lifeboats before women during ship evacuations in the 19th century were deemed “cowards” by society, and after being publicly shamed a few times by news reports, they adopted the prioritization of women and children. Writers of the times called this act “pure manhood.”
Daniele Perruchon, a 68 year-old woman who was aboard the Costa Concordia when it capsized, says she saw no examples of this manhood from fellow passengers.
“At no time did anyone come and help us,” Perruchon, who was traveling with an 80 year-old friend, said. “We felt abandoned. So much for women and children first.”
Our chivalrous conventions–even those regarding life-and-death situations–are falling to the wayside, leaving us to wonder: Is the entire chivalry concept a thing of the past?






