Cowardly Lioness
I didn't catch this article when it first came out, but after hearing about some people complain about Kristen's actions I had to look it up. I must say that I was mortified and disgusted by her actions as well. I can only say that in her defence that during a stressful and frightening time of possible death that people do horrible things in the name of self preservation. When I took a swimming rescue course in high school, the one thing that the instructor made perfectly clear to us is 'when approaching a drowning victim, stop way out of arms reach and talk to them to calm them down and do not approach until they stop thrashing'. Now, when I first heard this I made the usual "yeah that makes sense. Wait for the person to drown and then save them. Kind of like waiting for a house to burn down in a fire and THEN walk in with a bucket of water and throw it on the ashes". Then it was explained that people when drowning and facing life and death, people won't act like they do in the movies (thrash their arms and then calmly lay back when someone grabs them) but instead will panic and grab the first boyant thing that is close to them and cling for dear life. This usually ends with the person out there to rescue them to be held underwater til they drown and then the drowning person paddles to shore on the now dead rescuers lifeless body. Sounds horrible doesnt it? but, when faced with life or death, that is what happens. You struggle for self preservation.
At first glance when I read this article about her actions I was horrified that this girl could have done such a despicable thing to another human being. But then again, one has to realize that people react in different situations. You and a friend go into a fun house, you see the things and laugh at them cause they are cheesy, while your friend isnt either as observant or as brave as you and panics. In this situation, since there was no life or death, you laugh at your friend, make fun of how they clung to you, pushed you, rushed through the fun house or did many other acts of cowardice while you watched. Problem with this sinking ship is that Kristen acted out of a form of cowardise at the moment. She saw a threat, saw an escape, took the escape using brutal force and then self preserved her life and her friend with a life jacket. Strange how we could put this sort of action in a controlled environment and video tape her reaction and laugh at her response if it was on Survivor, Big Brother, Fear Factor or Amazing Race...but put them in a real life situation and her actions are not acceptable.
All I can say, is that I hope that either the Greek authorities, or the individuals that she assaulted, press charges in their country and she gets some form of punishment for her actions. Because if she had said "I don't remember what happened, I just grabbed a life jacket and ran. I didn't know it was in someone elses hands" then that would show she wasn't in her frame of mind of her actions and should be given some slack in her accountability. However, she says she talked to the man, when he refused, she balled up her first and hit him, took his jacket and then went looking for another man and did the same thing. Obviously she was in her mind enough to recognize her actions and she could have stopped 'balling up her fist'.
Either which way, her actions were dispicable and a definite cowardly way to react. If I was her grandparents, after reading this article and hearing her actions, I would definitly ban her from coming on a cruise with any of the family members. Not out of shame but out of self preservation. Cause if the ship the whole family is going down, then Kristen might just slug out grandma or grandpa cause she is young and only 16 with her whole life ahead of her and grandma and grandpa are in their 70+ and obviously have little left in their life.
Teen recounts ship sinking
By Ajay Bhardwaj, SUN MEDIA
Kristen Strilchuk vows she'll go on another cruise this summer even as she relived a harrowing four-hour rescue from a Greek vessel that sank off the coast of a Mediterranean island last week.
"It's a one-time thing," said the 16-year-old. "I enjoy travelling and I'm not going to let one thing stop me from doing what I love."
The Grade 10 Tofield high school student was one of 21 Alberta students, five chaperones and 1,900 others rescued from the sinking Sea Diamond.
"A door came flying off and it was coming for me," recalled Strilchuk.
Toilet paper and other debris went rolling by as she climbed the stairs to the upper deck moments after she and her friends heard a loud sound like the boat had scraped the ocean floor. When they reached an upper floor, Strilchuk said she found patrons calmly eating a meal.
"Nobody believed us," she said.
A few decks away, David Friedenberg and two friends were in their cabin when the ship began "tilting worse than it usually did," he said.
A crew member raced through the corridor and ordered everyone to grab a life jacket.
Friedenberg, a Grade 11 student at Tofield high, grabbed his life jacket and raced with friends to the eighth deck, he said. He left everything else behind.
"It was scary at that point," he said. Once on the top deck, crew members were screaming, cellphones were ringing and nobody seemed to know what was going on, said Strilchuk.
"It was really unorganized," she said.
Strilchuk and her friends had no lifejackets and saw a man clutching a lifejacket. She pleaded with him to hand it over.
"He was holding it and he was 40 years old and we were kids," she said, describing how she made a fist and walloped him in the face and took the lifejacket for a friend.
Moments later the feisty teen smoked another man and took his lifejacket for herself.
Strilchuk said she was thinking of her family, how much see missed them and how badly she wanted to see them.
An announcement told passengers to go to one side of the ship to balance the weight of the listing boat.
There, Strilchuk and her friends found Friedenberg and other friends, she said.
In broken English, a crew member tried to explain to passengers that when they jumped from the ship, they were to keep their legs together and hold their lifejackets down, said Friedenberg.
Finally the group was walked through the restaurant where broken plates and glasses lay all around. They had to hold on to railings because the ship was tilting so badly, said Strilchuk.
The students then got into lifeboats. Once they reached shore, they called family to let them know they were all right.
The students arrived at Edmonton International Airport yesterday morning.
Undaunted by her Greek cruise experience, Strilchuk says she'll go on a July cruise for her grandparents' 50th anniversary.
At first glance when I read this article about her actions I was horrified that this girl could have done such a despicable thing to another human being. But then again, one has to realize that people react in different situations. You and a friend go into a fun house, you see the things and laugh at them cause they are cheesy, while your friend isnt either as observant or as brave as you and panics. In this situation, since there was no life or death, you laugh at your friend, make fun of how they clung to you, pushed you, rushed through the fun house or did many other acts of cowardice while you watched. Problem with this sinking ship is that Kristen acted out of a form of cowardise at the moment. She saw a threat, saw an escape, took the escape using brutal force and then self preserved her life and her friend with a life jacket. Strange how we could put this sort of action in a controlled environment and video tape her reaction and laugh at her response if it was on Survivor, Big Brother, Fear Factor or Amazing Race...but put them in a real life situation and her actions are not acceptable.
All I can say, is that I hope that either the Greek authorities, or the individuals that she assaulted, press charges in their country and she gets some form of punishment for her actions. Because if she had said "I don't remember what happened, I just grabbed a life jacket and ran. I didn't know it was in someone elses hands" then that would show she wasn't in her frame of mind of her actions and should be given some slack in her accountability. However, she says she talked to the man, when he refused, she balled up her first and hit him, took his jacket and then went looking for another man and did the same thing. Obviously she was in her mind enough to recognize her actions and she could have stopped 'balling up her fist'.
Either which way, her actions were dispicable and a definite cowardly way to react. If I was her grandparents, after reading this article and hearing her actions, I would definitly ban her from coming on a cruise with any of the family members. Not out of shame but out of self preservation. Cause if the ship the whole family is going down, then Kristen might just slug out grandma or grandpa cause she is young and only 16 with her whole life ahead of her and grandma and grandpa are in their 70+ and obviously have little left in their life.
Teen recounts ship sinking
By Ajay Bhardwaj, SUN MEDIA
Kristen Strilchuk vows she'll go on another cruise this summer even as she relived a harrowing four-hour rescue from a Greek vessel that sank off the coast of a Mediterranean island last week.
"It's a one-time thing," said the 16-year-old. "I enjoy travelling and I'm not going to let one thing stop me from doing what I love."
The Grade 10 Tofield high school student was one of 21 Alberta students, five chaperones and 1,900 others rescued from the sinking Sea Diamond.
"A door came flying off and it was coming for me," recalled Strilchuk.
Toilet paper and other debris went rolling by as she climbed the stairs to the upper deck moments after she and her friends heard a loud sound like the boat had scraped the ocean floor. When they reached an upper floor, Strilchuk said she found patrons calmly eating a meal.
"Nobody believed us," she said.
A few decks away, David Friedenberg and two friends were in their cabin when the ship began "tilting worse than it usually did," he said.
A crew member raced through the corridor and ordered everyone to grab a life jacket.
Friedenberg, a Grade 11 student at Tofield high, grabbed his life jacket and raced with friends to the eighth deck, he said. He left everything else behind.
"It was scary at that point," he said. Once on the top deck, crew members were screaming, cellphones were ringing and nobody seemed to know what was going on, said Strilchuk.
"It was really unorganized," she said.
Strilchuk and her friends had no lifejackets and saw a man clutching a lifejacket. She pleaded with him to hand it over.
"He was holding it and he was 40 years old and we were kids," she said, describing how she made a fist and walloped him in the face and took the lifejacket for a friend.
Moments later the feisty teen smoked another man and took his lifejacket for herself.
Strilchuk said she was thinking of her family, how much see missed them and how badly she wanted to see them.
An announcement told passengers to go to one side of the ship to balance the weight of the listing boat.
There, Strilchuk and her friends found Friedenberg and other friends, she said.
In broken English, a crew member tried to explain to passengers that when they jumped from the ship, they were to keep their legs together and hold their lifejackets down, said Friedenberg.
Finally the group was walked through the restaurant where broken plates and glasses lay all around. They had to hold on to railings because the ship was tilting so badly, said Strilchuk.
The students then got into lifeboats. Once they reached shore, they called family to let them know they were all right.
The students arrived at Edmonton International Airport yesterday morning.
Undaunted by her Greek cruise experience, Strilchuk says she'll go on a July cruise for her grandparents' 50th anniversary.
posted by Capt_Canuck at 7:37 AM
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