So much for women and children first: Italian cruise disaster shows men need to be reminded of the rules of gallantry

Submitted by anthony on Mon, 2012-01-16 19:17

Article here. Excerpt:

'Some people love to laugh at Victorian values. The favourite target is 19th century attitudes to sexual morality, which are routinely labelled as hypocritical.

We are frequently reminded that the Victorians were so prudish that they used to cover up their piano legs. This is rubbish, perpetuated by people who don’t know that covering up the piano legs was actually a Victorian joke about sex. Believed originated by the author Captain Marryat in 1839, taking the rise out of Americans.

Also close to the top of the favourites chart for those who love to ridicule the 19th century are military values. Victorian generals and admirals, we know, were incompetent aristocrats, officers were bullies, and soldiers were brutal and ignorant. Think the vicious history of callous imperialism, think the appalling racism that the British spread around the world.
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Self-sacrifice on the Birkenhead scale is probably beyond the bounds of possibility in the modern age. But the unfortunate passengers of the Concordia hoped for the crew to do their job, for women and children to be helped to escape first, and for the captain to think of himself only after doing his best for everyone else.'

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As follows, we'll see if it gets posted...

"There is another way to interpret the Birkenhead crew's behavior: it's called professionalism. 'Women and children first' was not the rallying cry in that case. It was about getting the passengers off the ship safely. Then seeing that trying to get so many soldiers and sailors off by boat would be a dismal failure resulting in capsized lifeboats (thereby all but guaranteeing the deaths of those on them), the commander told the troops to stand fast, then take their chances swimming. It was a no-win situation. But it wasn't about 'women and children first', nor should it be. It should be about 'passengers first', and as far as the sexes thereof go, people ought to be considered equally valuable as human beings regardless of age or sex-- though I will say this: any adult of either sex who tries take a seat on a lifeboat from a minor, esp. one under age 15 or 16, is behaving immorally. But as for gender, both sexes are equally valuable."

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Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2012-01-18 00:30