Week 1 in Sociology

This week in Sociology, an activity that stood out to me was the "Abandoned Ship" activity. I participated as an elderly man in my late 60's and on my way back to New Jersey after a one month tour of Spain. I suffered severely from arthritis and was not capable of walking without a cane. We were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in a week and had 8 children and 29 grandchildren that all lived in New Jersey as well.

Me and my wife were the first people to be thrown off the boat, which angered me in the moment because I obviously wanted to survive and participate in the activity. In another respect though, we are always taught to respect our elders, which is the exact opposite of what everyone else on that boat did. There was a sort of mob mentality, and the sooner you threw someone under the bus everyone agreed, because as far as they were concerned, it was one less person to compete with.

The people that survived were the ones that had sailing experience and were more or less healthy. A pregnant woman and her husband were kept onboard purely because they were carrying another life. 

If I had played a different role, I probably would've thrown the elderly couple off first as well. The man's poor health would provide a burden for others on the boat, there's a chance he could die on the journey (in which case it's a waste of a spot), and he's been alive the longest. I would keep the youngest people on board because they have the most life ahead of them.

In life, we are taught that it is adults' job to watch out for kids and that kids should always be conceding to adults. This way, both parties are taken care of. But in a case like this, survival instincts kick in and all bets are off. The only important thing is that your name is not on the chopping block, and staying quiet ensures that you could probably go unnoticed until you were in the final 9 that would make the voyage. 

This activity really stuck with me because it showed how when the stakes are low, we stick to the social construct that we are supposed to be selfless and take care of each other, but when the going gets tough, we abandon everything we have been taught and it's every man for himself. It becomes less about who is a good person and more about who provides the biggest asset, or in some cases the smallest disadvantage.