April 15th will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It might be a tad early to cite the date, but last week's capsizing of an Italian cruise ship brings her maiden voyage to mind. However, unlike the Titanic's evacuation, times have changed:
It was every man – and crew member – for himself.
Survivors from the Costa Concordia spoke angrily yesterday of the nightmare evacuation from the stricken ship as women and children were left behind.
In the terrifying moments after the giant vessel began to list, fights even broke out to get into the lifeboats.
Men refused to prioritise women, expectant mothers and children as they pushed themselves forward to escape. Crew ignored their passengers – leaving ‘chefs and waiters’ to help out.
In heart-rending footage, recorded on mobile phones, British children could be heard shouting ‘Daddy’ and ‘Mummy’ in the melee.
As she waited for a flight home from Rome, grandmother Sandra Rogers, 62, told the Daily Mail: ‘There was no “women and children first” policy. There were big men, crew members, pushing their way past us to get into the lifeboats. It was disgusting.’
Unlike the depiction in James Cameron's dreadful 1997 film, the social norms of 1912 held up under the pressure of the Titanic sinking. Seventy-four percent of women (but only twenty percent of men) survived the iceberg. I'm not suggesting everything was better in 1912, but I don't think today's society could reproduce casualty figures like that.
Thankfully, the Costa Concordia merely capsized and did not sink. Only six people have been reported killed with an additional 15 listed as missing.
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