Albert Camus and Cruise Ship Crime

Have you ever wondered what a philosopher from the mid-1900s thought of modern-day social epidemics? Albert Camus was an author, philosopher, journalist, playwright and director, and political activist (Aronson 1). Camus denied he was a philosopher; he declared his ideas and didn't argue them, barely believed in rationalism, used metaphors, was invested in personal experience, and questioned the meaning of life (1). Camus believed life had no purpose and that there is something deeply absurd with the human quest to find meaning (philosophy talk 1). Camus was also an atheist; he believed that there was no refuge in the illusions of art or religion (1). Craziest of all, Camus was deeply afraid of automobiles, believed in freedom, and was a heavy drinker, which points to Camus thinking that cruise ship crime was an epidemic.

Albert Camus had Motorphobia, meaning he was terrified of an automobile; instead of taking a car somewhere, he would always take the train (Pearce 1). Ironically Camus died in a car crash after a friend persuaded him to take a vehicle (1). Camus was found with an unused train ticket in his pocket when he died (1). "the most absurd way to die is in a car crash," Camus stated (1). Camus would take a boat to avoid being in an automobile. His fear of automobiles would lead him to think a boat would need to be a safer alternative to a car and that cruise ship crime was indeed an epidemic that needed to be fixed.

Camus Believed in freedom. "Absolute freedom mocks at justice. Absolute justice denies freedom,"—Camus Stated (The Rebel 1). Cruise ship crime came with the issue of the FBI not being able to investigate altercations or crimes that were happening onboard due to laws that prevent police from having jurisdiction while ships are on international waters. With issues like Janet Powers, when she confronted a neighbor about making noise in the hall. Then the other passenger smashed her head into the wall leaving her unconscious. The altercation got swept under after the Puerto Rican police told Powers they had no jurisdiction to leave the passenger who assaulted her without proper repercussions. Camus would have believed that Janet powers would have every right to be able to have the FBI investigate this issue. Many problems like this continue to happen, and people continue to be victims of crime at sea, but still, the laws of crime on cruise ships have yet to change. Camus would have thought this was an epidemic that needed to be solved for the safety of passengers taking cruise ships to destinations.

"Freedom is the right to never have to lie," stated Camus (Relics 1). In 1999 Royal Caribbean hired two law firms to investigate the crime going on onboard the cruise ships. During the investigation, there were tons of sexual assault cases being found that were being covered up by the Royal Caribbean cruise line. The lawyers figured this was happening due to crew members not being scared of the repercussions of being arrested or convicted of the crime. According to the commanding officer at the naval training station, the worst thing that could probably happen if a crew member was caught committing a crime of sexual assault was they would be fired and sent on a one-way flight home. After the law firms reviewed the cases, they created a system that would be set in place to prevent more sexual assault cases from happening. Unfortunately, when Royal Caribbean received the reports, they didn't implement any improvements. Instead, they lied to the public and said the crime on the cruise ships was very "rare." Camus said, "Lying is not only saying what isn't true. In fact, it is incredibly saying more than is accurate and, in the case of the human heart, saying more than one feels. We all do it every day to make life simpler. (1) Camus believed lying was a way to cover up problems to make life simpler. Camus would have thought the Royal Caribbean cruise line should be held responsible for their lies when lying to the American people when it comes to something that could negatively impact them and their safety.

The most crime taking place onboard cruise ships sexual assault. A sexual assault case on a Mediterranean cruise ship happened. When the victim was trying to seek justice, a legal affairs officer said, "There is no international law that covers this situation at the moment" (Malkin 1). This issue of international law leads to many sexual assault predators getting away with the crimes they are committing on board the ship. Camus became a part of the #MeToo movement when French actress Catherine Deneuve quoted Camus saying, "between justice and my mother, I chose my mother" (Policy Studies 1). "Camus was not opposed to justice, not to men, but patriarchal 'violence,' if not 'terrorism.'" (1). Camus would have believed that women should be able to seek justice for what has happened to them and that so much as having "jurisdiction" should not come in the way of being able to seek justice.

Camus would have agreed that the best solution for crime onboard cruise ships would be to have more police officers onboard and a better justice system for cruise ship crime. Camus believes in safety and freedom, and when it comes to cruise ship crime, both passengers' safety and freedom are being jeopardized. Camus would have thought that cruise ship crime was an epidemic that needed to be solved.

Works Cited

Aronson, Ronald. "Albert Camus." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 13 Dec. 2021, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/.

"Camus and Absurdity." Philosophy Talk, https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/camus-and-absurdity.

"Freedom Is the Right To." Relics World Quotes, 14 Nov. 2019, https://www.relicsworld.com/albert-camus/freedom-is-the-right-to-never-have-to-lie-author-albert-camus.

Malkin, Elisabeth. "Report of Sexual Assault on Cruise Ship Shows Gaps in International Law." The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Apr. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/us/cruise-ship-crimes-laws.html.

Pearce, Ed. Albert Camus, 1 Jan. 1970, https://encyclopaediaoftrivia.blogspot.com/2013/11/albert-camus.html.

Policystudies, Nazand Begikhani. "Rape and Sexual Harassment: What Justice for Women?" Comment and Analysis, 5 Feb. 2018, https://policystudies.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2018/02/01/rape-and-sexual-harassment-what-justice-for-women/.

"The Rebel." Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7622701-absolute-freedom-mocks-at-justice-absolute-justice-denies-freedom-to.