Changing Man

Somali pirates hijack ship, British guards escape.

I do not want to become all piracy, all the time, but this headline struck me. This is a huge concern for me, the guards jumped into the sea to avoid THEIR JOBS. I would assume that they had been paid well to secure the ship, then, when I read further down in the article, I see: “…three of our unarmed security staff were rescued…” and I need to wonder why the darn men were unarmed. Still, they should have tried to “…repel all borders…” (Buck Rogers, the movie) instead of jumping ship. This reminds me of a BBC report I heard some years ago.

The report was taped, I hope, and the reporter was hiding in the bushes in a Somali refugee camp. During the report this reporter began to hear commotion, then a woman screaming in his vicinity. Instead of taking his support staff, who were admittedly in the bushes with him (probably a camera man) and trying to save the woman, he was going on and on about how sad it all was.

What has happened to Man, capital M? There was once a time when our own safety was secondary to the safety of others, now, it is save out own necks first. Think about the reports from Virginia Tech, when that lunatic was able to simply walk up and down aisles shooting kids because all they did was lie under the desks, only the older man had the guts to try to bar the door while his students escaped, losing his life in the process. One gets the feeling that these student all felt it was the responsibility of the ‘other’ to save them, not their own.

So I am mad, I am mad that men trained to secure a ship jumped over board instead of securing the ship, I am mad that people no longer stand up for things, and then I remember that some do.

Thanks to all who serve this great nation, keeping it safe so I can rant on this silly blog!