The Lifeboat

[erwin]

I read this excerpt in the book "The Pig that wants to be eaten."

"Right", said Roger, the self-appointed captain of the lifeboat. "There are twelve of us on this vessel, which is great, because it can hold up to twenty. And we have plenty of rations to last until someone comes to get us, which won't be longer than twenty-four hours. So, I think that means we can safely allow ourselves an extra chocolate biscuit and a shot of rum each. Any objections?"

"Much as I'd enjoy the extra biscuit," said Mr Mates, "shouldn't our main priority right now be to get the boat over there and pick up the poor drowning woman who has been shouting at us for the last half hour?"

A few people looked down into the hull of the boat, embarrassed, while others shook their heads in disbelief.

"I thought we had agreed," said Roger. "It's not our fault she's drowning, and if we pick her up, we won't be able to enjoy our extra rations. Why should we disrupt our cosy set-up here?"

There were grunts of agreement.

'Because we could save her, and if we don't she'll die. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Life's a bitch," replied Roger. "If she dies, it's not because we killed her. Anyone for a digestive?"

So, I'm curious, and would like to ask all you guys some questions.

1. What do you think of Roger's behaviour, and would you do the same thing in his position?










This excerpt is a metaphor : The boat represents the affluent West and the drowning woman those dying of malnutrition and preventable disease in the developing world. There is enough food and medicine for everyone, but others would rather enjoy luxuries and let others die rather than forfeit their 'extra biscuit' to save them.

2. Do you think this metaphor is accurate? Why or why not?

3. Would you do the same then?

I thought this was quite thought provoking, and wanted to know you guys and gals' viewpoints on this.

[Virisin]

If the lifeboat represents the west (George Bush and co.) then I'd sacrafice myself to tip the whole boat so we all drowned.

[Fizban]

I would stand up, announce that it was my boat. Then I'd throw all the rest 0f the stupid rich folks off, save the screaming maiden, ravage her, and then toss her overboard too!

[kitolani]

1. What do you think of Roger's behaviour, and would you do the same thing in his position?

Roger's behavior is common here out west, especially in seats of authority. A person in his position should be concerned for those outside the boat if he had the privilege of being in the boat himself, as I'm sure he'd want sanctuary from the waves if the tables were turned and the woman stood at the helm.

2. Do you think this metaphor is accurate? Why or why not?

It's accurate in illustrating the reader's view on the western dynamic... A view that I share in many ways, but have to point out that if one of the people in the comfort of the boat fell out for some reason, although part of the intial crew, they'd have been left to die as well. There's not just a general lack of concern for the people on the outside, but for those on the inside too.


3. Would you do the same then?

Heh, no. Selfishness is as dangerous to the captain as being in the water, with only one difference. The woman in the water has the chance to survive, where Roger and every fat face that didn't stand up for the woman, will ultimately have to submit to universal justice. Eventually, somebody is going to stand up and knock the captain out of his seat in order to bring some sort of sanity to the situation. *peers at America*  The heart of the revolutionary would see the evil destroy itself, leaving the boat, the rations AND the booze for the women outside of the boat.

[Iwku]

Very thought provoking Erwin. 

The first question sounded like a no brainer. Obviously everyone would try to rescue a drowing person. But when you put it in the context of the metaphor, the answer is very different.  Not just in terms of doing our individual part to help another country, but also turning our head to help one single homeless person in our own country.  Maybe the difference is that not helping the drowning person would mean their instant death so you have to react immediately; whereas the starving country or the homeless person is not such an immediate concern of death and the decision or reaction can be put off. There's tons of TV drives to donate to the starving people in other countries and with little public response; but looked what happened when that tsunami hit a third world country or 9-11 .... tons of public response.

Anyway, the scenerio reminded me of something I once read in a student union building office.  Probably, most of you have heard it before, but for those that haven't...

"First They Came" - poem by Paster Martin Niemoller, 1976

When the Nazi's came for the communists
I remained silent
I was not a communist

When they locked up the social democrats
I remained silent
I was not a social democrat

When they came for the trade unionists
I did not speak out
I was not a trade unionist

When they came for the Jews
I remained silent
I was not a Jew

When they came for me
There was no one left to speak out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...

[Iwku]

This isn't answering your specific questions, but it's related.

On the news tonight, they were talking about a website (google: free rice). It's a word vocabulary game and for each correct answer, 20 grains of rice is donated to help end world hunger.  It's not much but everything helps.  And the game is kind of fun. It's multiple choice (4 possible answers for each word) and the words get harder if you guess them correctly.

[Molly]

Yeh, it's a fun game.
You rise a level if you get all words correct in one round, and the words are repeated later, so you actually improve your vocabulary while earning rice for the hungry.

I beat Hesara to the highest level, and am still preening about that.
But then again neither of us have English as first language.

[Fizban]

Hmm, I'll give it a shot. With as educated as America seems to be for the most part you'll probably both beat me even though English is my first and only language.

[Fizban]

Nevermind, that got boring fast, but hey there's 500 grains of rice to end world hunger.

[fatedcauze]

For the one who mentioned Bush get a clue. He would rather give the whole lot of supplies and the boat to the drowning women and let the people in the boat fend for themselves.

The US gives billions and billions of dollars a year in aide to other countries, meanwhile we suffer with a junk economy. I have been looking for a job over a month now, why? because we would rather help the people in India or China by outsourcing work there.

I take major offense that some people make comments like the one made about Bush, He will go down as the worst leader in world history that is for certain, but don't you dare group everyone in this country with him. It's the peoples tax money in this country that is bailing out hundreds of countries in this world.

Politics should not be mixed with a fun game. watch what you say, that excerpt had nothing to do with politics until you made that comment, next time keep it to yourself.

[kitolani]

The US gives billions and billions of dollars a year in aide to other countries, meanwhile we suffer with a junk economy. I have been looking for a job over a month now, why? because we would rather help the people in India or China by outsourcing work there.

You honestly think we're outsourcing to India and China to help them and not out of greed? 

[Virisin]

Congratulations! You won the grand prize: Fuckwit of the year!

See me on the mud for details so I can kick your ignorant ass. 'Get a clue'.. You effing moron.

[erwin]

Originally, the excerpt was talking about the majority of well to do countries in the West (not just US), and that if most people gave up even 1% of their income, that could make a lot of difference in the other poorer, less well-to-do countries.

*But, as there are many people on the mud with different nationalities, countries of origin, perhaps it would be better to post links stating evidence (or cite facts) for each generalization.

Eg, a link to show that "The US gives billions and billions of dollars a year in aide to other countries, meanwhile we suffer with a junk economy. I have been looking for a job over a month now, why? because we would rather help the people in India or China by outsourcing work there." is justfied.

I myself honestly would like to know more, instead of just looking at opinions and generalizations, and I am curious to know how much the US does spend on aid on foreign countries per year, that percentage of their budget, and the unemployment rate of the US, as well as other minor details as well

[Estidn]

Right now our economy is shit because of the upperclass wanting to become richer and outsourcing jobs. I can sympathize with that guy a lot cause. Bush isn't doing anything to help us or make us better. You have to remember Bush is giving tax breaks and helping with the upper class which isn't a very large percentage of Americans. I know because my father was worried he would lose his job three time in the past two years. He's been with the company since he was eighteen and has the third most seniority. Now I'm not saying I've had a rough life or things are unbearable. But we've sure had to cut back because of the Bush administration. Gas here is at 4.10 and I live almost 30 miles away from work. Business is bad at work, I'm a waiter and Friday nights are starting to look a lot like Tuesdays. My weekly income from tips working four days a week dropped from about 500 to 300 bucks a night. Gas is probably close to 100 bucks a week. And i'm driving a 3.1 liter v6 not a 5.0 liter stang. It isn't all peachy here.

[Virisin]

I'm not saying it is, but saying it's because Bush gives too much away in aid is ridiculous.