Wednesday, August 1, 2012

On A Sinking Ship It Is Everyman (Not Woman) For Himself

A scene from the 1997 film 'Titanic' directed by James Cameron Photo: Reuters

Every Man For Himself On Sinking Ships -- The Telegraph

As torrents of freezing water gushed onto the Titanic, its male passengers selflessly shepherded women and children to the few available lifeboats in what was described as a typically British act of chivalry.

But although their gallantry was hailed as an example of a moral code shared by all mariners, a new study suggests the situation on board the Titanic, where female survivors outnumbered men three to one, was something of an exception.

Although convention dictates that men should step aside and put "women and children first", history shows that the male attitude is better summed up as "every man for himself".

Read more ....

My Comment: And then we have stories like this one.

1 comment:

marine paneling said...

In such studies, I believe we cannot totally know all the reasons why there is a higher survival rate of men during such disasters. So, I think it is not completely fair to say that it is due to their ungentlemanly ways. Can men and women not work hand-in-hand to save each others’ lives? In this situation, I think children should be given the highest priority, instead.