The Titan Disaster: Mythological Karma
Hmmm, is the mythological overtone of theTitan disaster the story behind the story?
The desperate search for the Titan submersible,which descended into the Atlantic Ocean with five occupants to view the wreckof The Titanic, was the leading news story this week. Search and rescue crewsfrom Canada, the United States, Britain and France – with ships, airplanes andremotely controlled vehicles (ROV) – participated in the search and rescuemission.
As you probably know, the search hasended as debris found in the search area matches the Titan construction. Theassumed fate of the Titan is a catastrophic loss of air pressure resulting in animplosion.
A controversy raged on social media,while the search was underway, concerning whether or not we should sympathizewith the five occupants. Four were billionaires who paid $250,000 each for theprivilege. The fifth was the billionaire CEO of the company who operated thevessel. A few examples culled from Facebook:
Richidiots do something stupid by spending an exorbitant amount of money to gosomewhere dangerous where human beings aren’t meant to go, all because theywant to see a century old shipwreck that means absolutely nothing in the grand schemeof things, and now find themselves in peril. Play stupid games, win stupidprizes.
I can’tbelieve how quick people are to celebrate the gruesome deaths of thosebillionaires. Think for a second about what you’re doing. They haven’t evenbeen confirmed dead, so don’t jinx it. Wait to celebrate until we know forsure.
There’s a small group of homeless peoplein my town. I give them food when I can – money is tight. Maybe billionaires shoulddo that over creating tax shelters or building subs.
The question of the day is: Should we feelsorry for the wealthy people who paid handsomely for the privilege of being inthe Titan for the ill-fated voyage or declare that their wealth and indulgentlifestyles sealed their fate?
From my perspective, any loss of life istragic no matter the circumstances. I cannot get totally on board (excuse thepun) with the They got what they deserved point of view. The five peopledied a horrible death the likes of which we can only imagine.
On the other hand, there is merit to argument that it was a blatant example of rich people indulging their whims while the growing number of poor people struggle to survive. The one million dollars that the four billionaires collectively paid to be on the Titan could have made an immeasurable difference in the lives of countless poor and disadvantaged people.
In Greek mythology, the Titans were ageneration of pre-Olympian gods who betrayed their father. They were subsequentlyoverthrown by another generation of gods and vanquished from the UpperWorld. Accordingly, the fate of the occupants of the Titan can be seen asmythological karma at a time when the gap between the wealthy and the poor is steadilywidening.
As the saying goes: Karma is a bitch!
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their father.
