The Titanic

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

Spot on. It's quite ironic that the wreck they were going to see was also a tragedy made a hell of a lot worse born out of man's arrogance and the passengers belief in the lie that the ship was unsinkable.

I don't know. I'm not expressing scepticism. I genuinely don't know. I haven't read books on the Titanic, reliable or otherwise. Like everyone else, I've just seen the two films (by the way, in some ways, the earlier version, A Night to Remember, is better than the DiCaprio/Winslet romance pic). If there is any truth to the claim that the captain gave the full steam ahead order in seas where icebergs had been reported by other ships, that seems to me to be criminally irresponsible. Did that happen, though?

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Do some not realise non wealthy people take risks and adventures all the time on a daily basis ? skiiing, climbing mountains , rock climbing, sky diving, bungee jumping - the list is endless - the constant need to point out they’re wealthy is a look of bitterness and jealousy imo.

Bingo, people from all walks of life take risks for excitement adrenaline and experience. Risk taking and recklessness is a human trait that some have and some do not.

This peddaling by some that apparently have no sympathy for their plight or the implication by some on here that dare I say it, they somehow deserved it as they were rich? is the politics of envy and extremely sad.
A person's wealth is irrelevant in these circumstances.

Its looking like we need some kind of miracle in the next few hours sadly.

 

[Lavinda Past]

I can fully understand why someone would want to undertake this experience but it seems thirst for adventure skewed any rational thinking about personal safety.

That doesn't detract that they are humans now facing likely death and anyone publicly stating they have no sympathy for their predicament is really sad and not a good look imo

I have to say that, in this case, I find my sympathy limited to the families and friends of those facing seemingly certain death, and to anyone risking their own lives in the rescue/recovery operation.

 

[mosssideblue]

I have to say that, in this case, I find my sympathy limited to the families and friends of those facing seemingly certain death, and to anyone risking their own lives in the rescue/recovery operation.

They should all have sympathy imo

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Can I just say, as someone who has tried potholing you're fucking mental. :-)

Dont think it helped that the first time I went down one it was a Grade 4 and it put me off for life.

Your post actually reminded me of Titan, which is where I would absolutely draw the line. I know a few people that have scaled this (personally knew the lad who is credited on this image). Titan was only re-discovered in 1999 and is pretty much underneath that big mountain next to Speedwell Cavern

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Because they’ve got more money than sense.

I think wealth that is accumulated through one’s personal achievements and endeavour (or self-perception of the same) makes people believe their own publicity to an unhealthy extent and leads them to think they are (to some extent) invincible.

I think the wealthy passengers on this trip, accompanied as they were/are by the CEO of the boat-owning company, must have assumed it was perfectly safe. That, the amount they paid (which will have served to reassure them), and that unconscious sense of invincibility would have conspired to dissipate any doubts they may have harboured.

It’s not entirely analogous, but to some extent, we all take a leap of faith, albeit a regulated one, when we step into a taxi or a bus.

Assessment of risk can get severely compromised by hubris and, crucially, the end product of the risk you are undertaking to get there. I took bigger risks than I normally would when travelling to Istanbul, because there was a CL final that I had a ticket for at the other end. Those risks could have turned out to be reckless in hindsight, but I took them nonetheless. It was a calculated risk, but one that could have gone wrong.

These people will have gone through the same thought process, albeit with a tragic outcome. The allure of seeing the Titanic, plus their sense of invincibility because of the trajectory of their lives, and the reassuringly expensive price they paid to embark on this undertaking, all combined to make them lose any sense of judgement about the risk they were taking, which objectively speaking, and with the benefit of hindsight, now seems utterly reckless, but plenty of others have done the same trip and will have thought the risk (which must have been broadly the same) was completely worthwhile.

As much as we try to kid ourselves, and the ultra-wealthy will do this more than most, we aren’t really in control. We are all one throw of the dice from our life turning on its head, as I’m sure all of these poor souls, assuming they are still alive, now fully appreciate, if they did not when they got into the manifestation of hell in which they are now reposed.

 

[aguero93:20]

Cost of climbing a 5000 foot mountain is free, thousands of people do it every day.

Lol

 

[fulabeer]

 

[LangleyBlue1970]

I think wealth that is accumulated through one’s personal achievements and endeavour (or self-perception of the same) makes people believe their own publicity to an unhealthy extent and leads them to think they are (to some extent) invincible.

I think the wealthy passengers on this trip, accompanied as they were/are by the CEO of the boat-owning company, must have assumed it was perfectly safe. That, the amount they paid (which will have served to reassure them), and that unconscious sense of invincibility would have conspired to dissipate any doubts they may have harboured.

It’s not entirely analogous, but to some extent, we all take a leap of faith, albeit a regulated one, when we step into a taxi or a bus.

Assessment of risk can get severely compromised by hubris and, crucially, the end product of the risk you are undertaking to get there. I took bigger risks than I normally would when travelling to Istanbul, because there was a CL final that I had a ticket for at the other end. Those risks could have turned out to be reckless in hindsight, but I took them nonetheless. It was a calculated risk, but one that could have gone wrong.

These people will have gone through the same thought process, albeit with a tragic outcome. The allure of seeing the Titanic, plus their sense of invincibility because of the trajectory of their lives, and the reassuringly expensive price they paid to embark on this undertaking, all combined to make them lose any sense of judgement about the risk they were taking, which objectively speaking, and with the benefit of hindsight, now seems utterly reckless, but plenty of others have done the same trip and will have thought the risk (which must have been broadly the same) was completely worthwhile.

As much as we try to kid ourselves, and the ultra-wealthy will do this more than most, we aren’t really in control. We are all one throw of the dice from our life turning on its head, as I’m sure all of these poor souls, assuming they are still alive, now fully appreciate, if they did not when they got into the manifestation of hell in which they are now reposed.

All I can do is applaud that post. Articulate, explanatory and an all-round cracking read.

 

[Dubai Blue]

I think wealth that is accumulated through one’s personal achievements and endeavour (or self-perception of the same) makes people believe their own publicity to an unhealthy extent and leads them to think they are (to some extent) invincible.

This is an excellent point. It's not that a load of crazy, reckless people become rich, it's that the process of becoming rich often turns them that way. That and the fact they can afford to keep pushing their own perspective of risk to higher and higher levels.