Titanic vs Little Bighorn

[joewiggs]

Life is "scary." It is also a brilliant, exciting, and joyful experience that holds so many wonders that we are all blessed to experience it. Nothing is more magnificent than the miracle of nature, from the tiny bumble bee hoovering over a blossom to the nobility and grandeur of a Blue Whale streaming through the ocean blue.

All life is a miracle within a miracle and the experience of it is worth the price of the ticket. It is when we are abruptly and without warning snatched away from life that "others" who survive experience the ache, mystery, and dread of an unannounced departure.

[strange]

Here's something I wrote thinking back to this old thread.

Custer and the Titanic (or “Titanic vs Little Bighorn”, alternate title)

When I was listening to some documentaries about the Titanic and
refreshing my mind about it, I noticed some very fascinating
similarities between the ship’s sinking and the military disaster at
Little Bighorn.

It should be noted before we begin that Custer was leading an army,
whereas Captain Smith and Ismay took their risks while being engaged
in civilian transport. Smith and Ismay do not need to take risks, but
a soldier has to juggle and arrange his risks everyday when he goes
out to fight. Keep that in mind.

The striking of the iceberg, the sinking, and the many deaths were
very freakish things. There were a number of peculiar events that
allowed the first thing to occur. The water was unusually still and
this eliminated the ability to spot an iceberg in the way that was
usually done by watching the water thrash around the ice. The tip of
the iceberg was also an unusual color, and it was flat, and there was
fog, and all these things made it much harder to spot. Oh, and the
watchman misplaced his binoculars.

In Captain Smith’s experience at sea, he would have expected to be
able to spot an iceberg and move away from it, but these happenings
all came together to stand in the way of what was typical. The ship
was also supposed to have been reinforced to withstand collision, and
it was supposed to have special compartments that kept flooded places
from spreading. But there’s a catch to the ship’s invulnerabilities
in that it was all designed for HEAD ON collision. They killed their
ship by trying to avoid the iceberg.

It was everyone’s expectation that the ship would never sink, or that
help would arrive in time to relieve them if it did. In fact, there
was also a light that was seen in the distance.

Contrary to what we see in films, the Passengers were very well
organized and not panicked. They believed in the strength of the ship,
or the arrival of another ship, or a ride in a lifeboat. They also had
manners that kept reasonable heads among them right up until the time
when they finally DID go nuts in the water (as nearly anyone would in
such harsh environments).

The ship actually did not have suction when it went under. The last
man was able to step off into the water without even getting the top
of his head wet. This was the fear of the crew members who were
commanding the lifeboats. They were afraid to go back too soon for
fear of getting suction, and they were afraid to go back later and
face the now very desperate people who struggling for life in the
water. A lot of the people who were recovered from the water were
fellow crewmen.

Only one or two lifeboats went back, Molly Brown had to do a mutiny on
her boat to get hers to go back, and then another boat had the decency
of going back after unloading survivors to one of the tied vessels.
These were the heroes of the day.

In this realm of experience telling us the wrong things, the 7th
Cavalry had experience to tell them that Indians would scatter. When
this did not happen, it freaked out Reno and made him think he was
getting trapped. Most of Custer’s plan was formulated around cutting
off all exits, this was partly Terry’s orders and it was also an
attempt to modify the tactics that worked for him at Washita.

Similar to the Titanic increasing their plight by trying to turn the
ship, Custer would have also gotten better results if he had done less
maneuvering. He divided several times, he worked a lot of formations
to try and prepare to receive reinforcements when they should arrive
(which they never did), and he desperately tried to save Yates.

The abandonment of the people on the ship or in the water reminds me
of a certain officer who abandoned soldiers in the timber and then
another officer who would not reinforce Custer as he was ordered.
Meanwhile, Molly Brown reminds me of Godfrey and Weir doing their best
to fight the Indians or march to the relief of their commander.

In the presence of light, there will often be shadows. Villains
emerged, particularly in the form of J. Bruce Ismay most of all. He
was the chairman of White Star Line, and the man who named it the
“Titanic”. He is also one of the very few men to catch a lifeboat
(reserved under orders for women and children first, and with very few
exceptions to the rule of that day). The ship only carried fewer
lifeboats because Ismay apparently felt it made the ship look too
cluttered, and also because he didn’t think they were needed, given
the superiority of his vessel.

Absolute faith in technology and experience can lead to disaster.
Custer abandoned the sabers because he wanted to travel lighter,
faster, and more discreetly. Custer may have also had his eyes on the
20th century that was right around the corner and he may have likewise
figured the saber to be clunky and outdated. But then again, he also
turned down a gatling gun.

Custer went down with his men, similar to Captain Smith going down
with the ship. Although, unlike Captain Smith, Custer was making a lot
of decisions and his finger prints are all over this battle for as
long as the fighting went on whereas Smith was recorded to have been
far less involved.

Captain Smith sorta just nodded to everyone’s recommendations. He may
have been breaking down, knowing he might be in legal trouble over the
disaster if he survived, and then contemplating his demise when the
end was looking bleak for everyone and he didn’t feel like getting on
a lifeboat.

It was a cruise ship, not a warship. I’ll be the first to admit that
civilian life leaves plenty of people vulnerable. A soldier, on the
other hand, awaits action. Therein lies the difference between these
two events. Who handled themselves better? Who was more justified in
their actions? Who was more professional in their conduct?

[joewiggs]

Dr. Strange, your wisdom belies the tenderness of your youth. your comparison of two, seemingly unrelated, historical events is simply magnificent.

The indomitable Titanic sank, the most renown Indian fighter was defeated. Complicated, sometimes inexplicable, and fatal circumstances stances gathered together at one moment of chance to bring about two national disasters.

I never envisioned such a possibility in all my life until you produced this thought provoking summation. Great job!