The World Rallied to Find Missing Titan Sub but Ignored Shipwrecked Migrants

[Nevilledog]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-world-rallied-to-find-missing-titan-sub-but-ignored-shipwrecked-migrants/

Global media have been obsessed with the search for the missing submersible Titan, four of whose five occupants spent $250,000 each to get close to the famous wreck of the Titanic. In Germany, where I live, the German Press Agency (dpa) described the underwater voyage as a “modern adventure” that became a “life-threatening nightmare.” At Spektrum der Wissenschaft, we wrote about a “race against time.” And our English-language sibling publication, Scientific American, covered the “perils of deep-sea exploration.” The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed a number of forces for the search, the British government has offered to help, and France has sent a special ship.

The submersible’s disappearance is a tragedy for its occupants and their families. But why do we give these missing people so much more sympathy and attention than the hundreds of migrants who have died in the Mediterranean in recent days? Why does the fate of a few people who volunteered for an intrepid adventure touch us so much more than that of thousands of desperate people who chose to escape war and poverty? We look at the missing submersible and look away from the capsized lifeboat.

One likely answer: The fate of daring millionaires seems closer to us than that of people fleeing a war. One story smells of adventure, curiosity and luxury; the other smells of fear, despair and misery. If the businessmen are rescued, they will return home to their mansions and villas. With the migrants, on the other hand, new questions arise, including which emergency accommodation they will be taken to and at whose expense. Others wonder whether they shouldn’t be sent straight back to their home countries, which they have just left under nerve-racking duress. You might see yourself in one of these two vessels, if you only had the money. You hope to never be in the other, not for all the money in the world.

Shouldn’t suffering through no fault of one’s own trigger a stronger reflex to help than a disaster born of the thirst for adventure? Not necessarily. As studies from social psychology show, our sense of empathy for others can overwhelm us. We often ignore people’s pain to release ourselves from feeling responsible. In the case of the migrants, one could almost speak of an emotional numbing process. When the influx of migrants into Germany was about to peak in 2015, its then chancellor Angela Merkel made entry into the country easier. She was celebrated for her welcoming culture—until the mood suddenly changed and nearly reversed. The German population felt overwhelmed, as did our political parties. The asylum seekers were criminalized, fueling public resentment against them. Now no one hesitates to discuss the need to monitor European borders more closely.

*snip*

[TreasonousBastard]

1. I read about the overloaded boat as I was reading about the Titanic party.

My thoughts meshed with, I assume, millions who worried about a vessel of migrants sinking and asking why we couldn't "afford" to spend money saving them like we spent money on a few rich guys proving nothing,

[Deuxcents]

2. I ranted about this a couple of times already..😤

[Alexander Of Assyria]

5. Thank you...ranting about the lack of interest by the West is shameful.

Never…never ever get used to it, despite medias best attempts at ignorance,

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. The migrants did not die from a lack of international support

The actions of the Greek coastguard before the boat capsized are under scrutiny; but after it did, all the ships in the area diverted to look for survivors. No one was ignoring them.

People seem to be mistaking "coverage in the media" for "actions to save lives". The uncertainty about the submersible went on for 4 days. so you saw a lot of coverage. When the boat capsized, they knew where it was, so the search happened quickly.

[TreasonousBastard]

14. There is as also that largely mythical "law of the sea" which says....

when something dreadful happens, you help.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Which is what happened, for both the migrant boat and the submersible

There's a video here - from about 1:50, you can see about 10 ships converge on the place where it sank.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65942426

[JoeOtterbein]

3. K n R ! Thanks for posting!...

...(tears)

[Alexander Of Assyria]

4. Drowning billionaires much more newsworthy than drowning children and refugees in general...

The west and its media is fixated on the antics of the rich, embarrassed by the sheer scope of the cruelty to the poor seeking refuge.

The West lacks empathy or interest… this is a Greek tragedy that also doesn’t involve white folk at all.

[Recycle_Guru]

6. so enraging. these are editorial and policy choices

to ignore those suffering due to war amd lionize billionaires for their excesses

[Bettie]

23. The people who own the media have a lot more

in common with the billionaires on the sub than they do the refugees.

[Tetrachloride]

7. Economic infrastructure, food , water, safety of North Africa, the Sahara is the fundamental

problem to the south.

Libya and Algeria.

Pakistan and more.

[JI7]

10. How about religion. Israel is also in that area

Why did some african nations kick them out Israel from attending some event ? Israel has been able to deal with many challenges affecting these areas . Why not learn from them ?

[Tetrachloride]

19. The money of Israel and military isn't available to the migrants

Regrettably, no concise answers

[JI7]

21. Pakistan recieved lots of US money during the time we

were in afghanistan and even before during the cold war.

Egypt also recieves large amounts of money from the US.

[Tetrachloride]

22. Indeed. In discussion with a person of the region this past 10 days,

the economic hope of residents is declining. The outside is peaceful. Food security and medical security are highly uneven.

I regret for privacy reasons to not quote the exact message of what I heard.

I am a past acquaintance of a migrant who survived while others drowned.

I am told that i indirectly supported a homeless migrant teenager for a few weeks. .

[treestar]

8. It wasn't a mystery

No one failed to care because of the situations. It is that people are intrigued by a mystery.

The rescuers were completely different people too.

[JI7]

9. This is such bs. How about the Thailand Boys that were trapped in the cave ?

the world supported them.

In this case there was a chance these people might be alive .

The migrant boat had too many people but they did not want help as they wanted to get to Italy . The boat mainly had Pakistanis and Egyptians . Those are not warzones although they do have problems with religion being a big one.

Also I have said that things like giving rights to women and lgbtq is one big reason things are better in "the west" than these religious countries but get accused of wanting to impose western ideology in their "culture" .

And there actually have been problems with the migrants . Religion being a big one and the ones from Muslim countries being mostly male while the ones from Ukraine are women and children .

And none of the women and children on that boat survived. They were pushed below by the adult males .

[tosh]

11. I'm not the "global press"

but I spent more time following the heartbreaking story of these migrants, many who survived but 3 times more who were lost, than this other story of privileged rich people taking risks and losing.

The captain of the mega yacht who assisted in the rescue comes across as a righteous human being. May he live a long and happy life.

[JI7]

12. Also the Submersible is being talked about by many but many are not sympathetic

to the 4 older guys that died. There is mostly sympathy for the teenager . People are actually mostly negative towards the 4 older guys.

Being talked about doesn't mean people care about them more.

[malaise]

15. M$Greedia is owned by corporate billionaires

That is all

[hlthe2b]

17. Still, a Mexican Silver Entrapreneur heard the call and brought his mega mega yacht to save 100

poor souls. He'd gotten the call 20 minutes away. Out of this distressing story that was so ignored early on, I do find that to be positive to highlight. Not that I'm a fan of the uber-wealthy by any means, but at least this ONE had a conscience.

[NowISeetheLight]

18. Reality

The Titanic story was sensational... migrants suffering is a daily event. Sadly that's they way it is today.

[treestar]

20. Also happening in different parts of the world

with different responders. The US was involved in one and had no reason to be involved in the other.