Titanic: How can a disastrous ship be celebrated?

Gerald · 05-31-11, 03:37 PM

More than 1,500 people died when the Titanic sank. So why is the centenary of its launch being proudly celebrated in Northern Ireland, asks Tom de Castella.

No other ship comes close to rivalling the gigantic shadow cast by the Titanic. A hundred years after its completion, it's still the most iconic vessel to have set sail.

Its tragic maiden voyage has become shorthand for catastrophic hubris - the "unsinkable" ship that hit an iceberg and sank, causing the deaths of 1,503 passengers and crew. And yet in one corner of the UK, the Titanic is a byword not for disaster but a source of pride and nostalgia.

When its hull was launched at Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard on 31 May 1911, it was the largest ship in the world, measuring 886ft (270m) long.

And in Northern Ireland that's where the story ends, says Mick Fealty, editor of the news site Slugger O'Toole.

Rather than a maritime disaster, the Titanic is an engineering triumph. There's a common Belfast joke, says the Irish writer Ruth Dudley Edwards, that taps into this feeling: "It was fine when it left us."

Behind the joking there's a serious point, Fealty says. The shipyards in those days employed tens of thousands of workers while Belfast also had the world's largest rope works and the huge textile machinery firm Mackies.

"The pride is about looking back to the golden days. The Titanic was the pinnacle of Belfast's industrial glory," he says. This was in the days before partition when the majority Protestant city wore industrialisation as a badge of pride, differentiating itself from the agrarian, Catholic and rural south.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13593391

Note: 31 May 2011 Last updated at 10:53 GMT

Oberon · 05-31-11, 03:39 PM

I'm getting married on the 100th anniversary of her sinking. Thank God I haven't booked a cruise across the Atlantic as a honeymoon.

Jimbuna · 05-31-11, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oberon

I'm getting married on the 100th anniversary of her sinking. Thank God I haven't booked a cruise across the Atlantic as a honeymoon.

Classic

05-31-11, 06:53 PM

http://www.theonion.com/audio/titani...-member,18731/

http://www.theonion.com/articles/new...-of-view,5754/

http://www.theonion.com/articles/april-16-1912,10645/

Platapus · 05-31-11, 07:17 PM

Perhaps commemorate would be a better word.

vienna · 05-31-11, 07:19 PM

It's interesting, the mythos surrounding the Titanic; many people still believe it's the largest ship ever built and set sail. When I first visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, I was surprised to hear the tour guide say the Queen Mary was larger than the Titanic. I knew there were larger modern ships (a glance out at the nearby port proved that point), but I thought ships, particulary passenger ships were attenuated in size following the sinking of the Titanic until the WWII era. By the way, after seeing a lot of tankers, container ships and the like when I was growing up, I found the Queen Mary to be rather small...

BossMark · 06-01-11, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oberon

I'm getting married on the 100th anniversary of her sinking. Thank God I haven't booked a cruise across the Atlantic as a honeymoon.

Congratulations on you wedding

Feuer Frei! · 06-01-11, 02:52 AM

Commemorate. Celebrate.
Whatever word you chose.
Two words as to why:
Human Nature.
/thread

Gerald · 06-01-11, 07:13 AM

Takeda Shingen · 06-01-11, 07:17 AM

Too soon.

Gerald · 06-01-11, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

Too soon.

"Too soon",for what

...I see

Penguin · 06-01-11, 10:07 AM

To me the Titanic desaster represents more the end of an era. The era of blind faith in technology, that technology can beat nature, that technological progress is unlimited and that it will eventually lead to progress for humanity. Especially as said desaster happened on the dawn of WW1 where (industrial) technology was massively used to kill each other in a previously unimaginable scale.

AdeptCharge · 06-01-11, 10:27 AM

To answer thread title = Ahem, with the smashing of a bottle on the titanics hull, prior to launch.

Herr-Berbunch · 06-01-11, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oberon

I'm getting married on the 100th anniversary of her sinking. Thank God I haven't booked a cruise across the Atlantic as a honeymoon.

I do hope you are not flying, either!

Hey, honey, is this York?

Oberon · 06-01-11, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

I do hope you are not flying, either!

Hey, honey, is this York?

Hey, I resemble that remark!

05-31-11, 03:37 PM	#1
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	Titanic: How can a disastrous ship be celebrated? More than 1,500 people died when the Titanic sank. So why is the centenary of its launch being proudly celebrated in Northern Ireland, asks Tom de Castella. No other ship comes close to rivalling the gigantic shadow cast by the Titanic. A hundred years after its completion, it's still the most iconic vessel to have set sail. Its tragic maiden voyage has become shorthand for catastrophic hubris - the "unsinkable" ship that hit an iceberg and sank, causing the deaths of 1,503 passengers and crew. And yet in one corner of the UK, the Titanic is a byword not for disaster but a source of pride and nostalgia. When its hull was launched at Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard on 31 May 1911, it was the largest ship in the world, measuring 886ft (270m) long. And in Northern Ireland that's where the story ends, says Mick Fealty, editor of the news site Slugger O'Toole. Rather than a maritime disaster, the Titanic is an engineering triumph. There's a common Belfast joke, says the Irish writer Ruth Dudley Edwards, that taps into this feeling: "It was fine when it left us." Behind the joking there's a serious point, Fealty says. The shipyards in those days employed tens of thousands of workers while Belfast also had the world's largest rope works and the huge textile machinery firm Mackies. "The pride is about looking back to the golden days. The Titanic was the pinnacle of Belfast's industrial glory," he says. This was in the days before partition when the majority Protestant city wore industrialisation as a badge of pride, differentiating itself from the agrarian, Catholic and rural south. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13593391 Note: 31 May 2011 Last updated at 10:53 GMT __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

05-31-11, 07:17 PM	#5
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,362 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	Perhaps commemorate would be a better word. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

06-01-11, 02:52 AM	#8
Feuer Frei! Navy Seal Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Valhalla Posts: 5,295 Downloads: 141 Uploads: 17	Commemorate. Celebrate. Whatever word you chose. Two words as to why: Human Nature. /thread __________________ "History is the lies that the victors agree on"- Napoleon LINK TO MY SH 3 MODS

06-01-11, 07:13 AM	#9
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	__________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

05-31-11, 03:39 PM	#2
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	I'm getting married on the 100th anniversary of her sinking. Thank God I haven't booked a cruise across the Atlantic as a honeymoon.

05-31-11, 06:53 PM	#4
Randomizer Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	http://www.theonion.com/audio/titani...-member,18731/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/new...-of-view,5754/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/april-16-1912,10645/

05-31-11, 07:19 PM	#6
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,711 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	It's interesting, the mythos surrounding the Titanic; many people still believe it's the largest ship ever built and set sail. When I first visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, I was surprised to hear the tour guide say the Queen Mary was larger than the Titanic. I knew there were larger modern ships (a glance out at the nearby port proved that point), but I thought ships, particulary passenger ships were attenuated in size following the sinking of the Titanic until the WWII era. By the way, after seeing a lot of tankers, container ships and the like when I was growing up, I found the Queen Mary to be rather small...

06-01-11, 07:17 AM	#10
Takeda Shingen Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 8,643 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	Too soon.

06-01-11, 10:07 AM	#12
Penguin Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Rheinische Republik Posts: 3,322 Downloads: 92 Uploads: 0	To me the Titanic desaster represents more the end of an era. The era of blind faith in technology, that technology can beat nature, that technological progress is unlimited and that it will eventually lead to progress for humanity. Especially as said desaster happened on the dawn of WW1 where (industrial) technology was massively used to kill each other in a previously unimaginable scale.

06-01-11, 10:27 AM	#13
AdeptCharge Torpedoman Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 111 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	To answer thread title = Ahem, with the smashing of a bottle on the titanics hull, prior to launch.