Sinking ship

Glen Drew
Week 6
I agree with Cardozo's argument. No one has any special privilege or power to sacrifice people's lives without their consent. In a sinking boat, it's every man (woman) for themselves. You do not throw off half the passengers to save your own neck. The sailors that acted harshly and threw passengers off the boat should be court-martialed and demoted.
The sailors have a duty to save as many passengers as possible. If anything, the sailors should have drawn straws to see who would sacrifice themselves for the passengers. The sailor know the perils of the sea and they are supposed to be strong, upstanding men. A defense for following orders should be brought up in a military court and not a civilian one. They should not be called sailors if they throw passengers off of the boat.
The circumstances surrounding the sinking boat were very grave, but there is no excuse for sacrificing innocent people if it's not absolutely necessary. Some homicide is justifiable, like self-defense or defending your country. Yet the sailors were not being attacked or at war. They simply acted hastily to save their own necks. The big question: Why weren't any sailors sacrificed? This fact alone proves to me that the sailors should be punished somehow.
The facts remain clear that sailors sacrificed the lives of the passengers they were supposed to be protecting. The sailors are better trained and probably more physically fit to survive the harsh conditions of the sea. The passengers were killed unjustly and some of the sailors should be punished for their harsh and selfish actions.