So much has already been written about the Titanic disaster. What could I possibly add that would be of passing interest to anyone. All I can do is try.
Society today has gone stark raving mad. Apparently the worse thing a person can be today is a white heterosexual male. We seem to be held responsible for all the ills of the earth. Yet practically no credit is acknowledge for the our positive accomplishments. “The evil men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones”. Shakespeare knew what he was talking about.
In 1912 women did not have the vote, many professions were still closed to them. On the Titanic There were smoking rooms for 1st and 2nd class men…only. There were reading and writing rooms for the ladies…only.
Men were men, women were women and the vast majority seemed very happy with this arrangement. Of course if men ruled it came with great responsibility. Men were expected to die so that women and children might live. To be labeled a coward especially by a woman would for a normal man be a fate worse then death.
Out of 1,316 passengers 511 were women and children. There were 711 survivors total, of which 353 were women and children, 146 were male passengers. 212 out of 913 crew of which 23 were women also survived. Class also had a big impact as to who survived and who didn’t.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that Captain Smith totally botched the situation. Hindsight being 20-20 perhaps I’m being to harsh. Capt. Smith career he had never experience anything close to what had happened. Of course many factors led up to the disaster, but I’ll confine myself to after the iceberg was struck.
Titanic was state of the art for its day but it lacked one vital component. A public address system to enable the captain to address the entire ship. As soon as Capt. Smith learned that the ship was doomed he should have issued explicit orders that all lifeboats needed to be filled to capacity with women and children only and class should not be any consideration. Appeal to the men their duty as men to save their wives and children. Issue firearms to his officers to prevent panic. Everyone of them could have been saved. Of course it didn’t happen that way. But I don’t think women were bitching about male oppression at the time.