How the missing Titanic sub 'devolved' into an ugly 'culture war' battle: conservative

22 June 2023

On Thursday morning, June 22, the search continued for a missing submarine that was exploring the wreckage of the RMS Titanic — a British passenger ship that was on its way from Southampton, England to New York City in April 1912 when it sank after hitting an iceberg. The U.S. Coast Guard, along with Canadian authorities, had a great sense of urgency because oxygen in the submarine was close to running out.

The submarine, called the Titan, had five passengers (including British explorer Hamish Harding) and disappeared on Sunday, June 18. According to The Guardian, the Titan (which was operated by the British tourism company Oceangate) had the ability to be submerged for up to 96 hours.

In his Daily Beast opinion column, Never Trump conservative Matt Lewis expresses major frustration over the politicization of The Titan.

"Of course, the missing Titanic sub discourse devolved into a culture war s*** show in under two minutes flat," Lewis laments. "Everything is part of the culture war now. Why should this be any exception?

Lewis is critical of both the left and the right in his column.

The columnist argues, "Instead of tragedies being unifying events, as might be the case in a healthy society…. they must now be filtered through the hierarchy of victimhood…. Determining the hierarchy of victims requires multiple political debates and considerations, including, from the left, white privilege, income inequality, donations to Republicans, affiliation with Elon Musk — and, from the right, the perils of affirmative action. That's right, apparently, the OceanGate Titanic CEO told an interviewer he didn't want to hire a bunch of '50-year-old white guys' to operate his subs because they aren't 'inspirational.'"

Lewis adds, "It's wildly premature to speculate on whether this had anything to do with the current predicament, but that hasn't stopped the conjecture."

The sinking of the RMS Titanic occurred 111 years ago, and its wreckage still lies at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. The number of passengers was estimated to be around 2240, and more than 1500 of them died. The tragedy has been famously depicted in various Hollywood films, from the 1997 epic with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to a 1953 production with Barbra Stanwyck and Clifton Webb.

Lewis argues that it is "ghoulish" for right-wing pundits to reflexively blame the disappearance of The Titan on affirmative action, but he also slams the left for using the event to attack "white privilege."

"In most other circumstances," the Never Trumper writes, "five human beings trapped in a watery grave would be either cause for sympathy or action. This is true irrespective of whether there are other, simultaneous, tragedies happening that might also demand our sympathy and attention. Yet, today, the lives of the five are viewed by many as an opportunity to dunk and score partisan political points."

Read Matt Lewis' full Daily Beast opinion column at this link (subscription required).

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