Rich Vs Poor people's lives - Titan submarine at the Titanic

[dks]

I was thinking of this for the past few days, but I will quote this, form a columnist I do not usually agree with ( https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/22/the-greek-shipwreck-was-a-horrific-tragedy-yet-it-didnt-get-the-attention-of-the-titanic-story )

" While it’s only natural to be glued to the Titan story, it’s far from the only recent maritime tragedy in recent weeks. And yet it’s absorbing a disproportionate amount of the world’s attention, empathy and resources. Last Wednesday, one of the worst tragedies that has ever occurred on the Mediterranean Sea took place: a fishing boat carrying about 750 people, mainly Pakistani and Afghan migrants, capsized on its way to Italy. There were 100 children below deck in that ship. One hundred children. The exact number of fatalities is unclear: so far we know that 78 people have been confirmed dead and as many as 500 are missing. Those are heartbreaking numbers and yet hundreds of dead and missing migrants have failed to garner anywhere near the amount of attention from the US media as five rich adventurers.

I’m not saying there hasn’t been any coverage of the Greek shipwreck. Of course there has. But it pales in comparison to the attention that’s been given to the Titan’s disappearance. The rescue efforts also couldn’t be more different: a frantic rush to save five wealthy people versus a shoulder shrug at the idea of 100 children dead at the bottom of the sea."

I dive, and would accept to dive at the titanic wreck in a second, even now, but the money and interest around the Titan, taking into account that many, me included and the US Navy allegedly, did not have many hopes for them to be found alive is shocking, to me.


Any thoughts?

[Old Boy]

We are screwed up unfortunately.

I did a submarine tour in Disneyland way back when. Cramped, knee to knee with strangers, puddles of water on the floor, with floating statues as the attraction through the porthole. Never again.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I agree with you.

I really don't want to say any more, as I might instigate some taboo comments, but I will say this- the media is greedy, manipulative, and extremely biased.

Def

[comis]

I watched a documentary called Social Dilemma, and this sad story in Greek somehow reminds me of that.  Ultimately the AI/media/apps/tech are designed to maximize profit, meanwhile a whole generation has been brought up thinking this inequality/indifference is just the norm, leaving the world more fragmented than ever.  Thank you for bringing this up, they all deserve more attention.

[nate j]

I think there are several factors at play here, and they don’t necessarily boil down to “rich people’s lives are more important than poor people’s lives” or “media = evil”.

The primary focus of today’s media is writing stories that will maximize clicks, and thus maximize advertising revenue.  This really isn’t a new idea, in the sense that most people who are in any sort of business are in it to make money, and want to continue to be able to operate at a profit.  It also isn’t fundamentally different from a print publication trying to figure out how to increase its circulation.

A degree of novelty is usually necessary in order for a story to be newsworthy.  Hence the old adage that “man bites dog” is news, but “dog bites man” is not news.  This is why most vehicle accidents do not make the national news in the US (unless they are unusually large, involve a famous person, or are especially noteworthy for some other reason).  It isn’t that the loss of life in these less-reported accidents is any less tragic; it’s simply that they occur too frequently to be considered nationally newsworthy.  Likewise, the sinking of a migrant boat is unfortunately common enough not to illicit anything more than passing interest.  In contrast, the loss of a submarine exploring the wreck of the Titanic is quite unusual.

Finally, there is the draw of a story about hope, in which the ending isn’t yet known.  People followed the story of the search for the Titan because they had hope (however slim) that the people on board might be recovered alive, and they wanted to know how the story would end.  This is the same phenomenon observed when miners are believed trapped underground, and rescue efforts are well-documented in the media until either the miners are rescued or all hope is given up.  (It should be noted that these miners are generally poor or working-class folks, neither wealthy nor famous.) Contrast these scenarios with the migrant boat situation, in which there never was any hope of recovering alive anyone who went down with the ship, thus no rescue effort for the media to document.

[Sos24]

The priorities of the US media is baffling to me. 

I remember many times in the Navy either getting called for some kind of boat emergency.  We were not allowed to take on people unless a safety of life emergency, but we did sometimes send over engineers to help with mechanical issue or provide some food.  Once in a storm, we thought we were going to need to take on people, but a Greek vessel arrived before the vessel started sinking.

[SteveC]

I think there are several factors at play here, and they don’t necessarily boil down to “rich people’s lives are more important than poor people’s lives” or “media = evil”.

The primary focus of today’s media is writing stories that will maximize clicks, and thus maximize advertising revenue.  This really isn’t a new idea, in the sense that most people who are in any sort of business are in it to make money, and want to continue to be able to operate at a profit.  It also isn’t fundamentally different from a print publication trying to figure out how to increase its circulation.

A degree of novelty is usually necessary in order for a story to be newsworthy.  Hence the old adage that “man bites dog” is news, but “dog bites man” is not news.  This is why most vehicle accidents do not make the national news in the US (unless they are unusually large, involve a famous person, or are especially noteworthy for some other reason).  It isn’t that the loss of life in these less-reported accidents is any less tragic; it’s simply that they occur too frequently to be considered nationally newsworthy.  Likewise, the sinking of a migrant boat is unfortunately common enough not to illicit anything more than passing interest.  In contrast, the loss of a submarine exploring the wreck of the Titanic is quite unusual.

Finally, there is the draw of a story about hope, in which the ending isn’t yet known.  People followed the story of the search for the Titan because they had hope (however slim) that the people on board might be recovered alive, and they wanted to know how the story would end.  This is the same phenomenon observed when miners are believed trapped underground, and rescue efforts are well-documented in the media until either the miners are rescued or all hope is given up.  (It should be noted that these miners are generally poor or working-class folks, neither wealthy nor famous.) Contrast these scenarios with the migrant boat situation, in which there never was any hope of recovering alive anyone who went down with the ship, thus no rescue effort for the media to document.

Well said Nate ! 

[nate j]

Well said Nate !

[Adam5]

I agree with every thing you wrote, Nate 

[dks]

There is apparently a big discussion in Pakistan where two of the persons killed in the submarine and a few hundreds of the migrants came from on the amounts o fmoney being spent on the recovery of the bodies from both incidents, now that it is accepted that they are dead.

[SteveC]

There is apparently a big discussion in Pakistan where two of the persons killed in the submarine and a few hundreds of the migrants came from on the amounts o fmoney being spent on the recovery of the bodies from both incidents, now that it is accepted that they are dead.

There's not going to be any bodies in the submersible implosion.

[Alan K.]

Rich people live exciting and interesting lives. People admire the rich but are also resentful of them and something like the sinking of an excursion sub that people paid $250,000 to be on is as interesting as any other ways that rich people die, such as private plane crashes, driving race cars, and mountain climbing.  I might get hit by a truck while crossing the street, but I'm safe from liquifying in an imploding excursion submarine or asphyxiating on Mount Everest.  Those are a rich man's ways to die.  Falls under the heading of play stupid games and win stupid prizes.  Any poor idiot can drown when an overloaded boat sinks, so that simply is not interesting.

[Aloha]

I agree with you.

I really don't want to say any more, as I might instigate some taboo comments, but I will say this- the media is greedy, manipulative, and extremely biased.

Def

 

Nate