Brutal reactions to five men dying in Titanic submersible

The tragic death of the five men in the Titanic submarine has revealed a very scary and raw reality.

Titan submersible passengers (L-R, top to bottom) Hamish Harding, in an image courtesy of Dirty Dozen Productions, ahead of the 4am start of the RMS Titanic Expedition Mission 5 on June 18, 2023. A portrait courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions of their CEO and founder Stockton Rush. A May 31, 2013, file photo of Paul-Henri Nargeolet, director of a deep ocean research project dedicated to the Titanic, in Paris. An undated image courtesy of the Dawood Hercules Corporation released on June 20, 2023, of Suleman Dawood and his father Shahzada Dawood, vice-chairman of Karachi-headquartered conglomerate Engro. The operator of the submersible missing near the wreck of the Titanic said on June 22, 2023, it believed that the passengers aboard the vessel "have sadly been lost." "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew," OceanGate said in a statement. (Photo by Joël SAGET and Handout / various sources / AFP

The five men on board the missing Titanic submarine have all been confirmed dead, but if you checked online you’d see that the tragedy is up for debate.

It cost over $300,000 to even get a spot on that submarine and the men that died were affluent and powerful.

British businessman Hamish Harding was a billionaire, Pakistani investor Shahzada Dawood was a multi-millionaire and he brought along his son Suleman. Paul-Henri Nargeole was a French mariner/billionaire and Stockton Rush was the CEO of OceanGate, the company that ran the risky submarine expeditions and he was also a millionaire.

Their top-dollar submarine excursion is the perfect example of the kind of over-the-top experiences insane wealth can buy you. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the five men to see the wreckage of the famous Titanic that sank in 1912. So yes, they were the 1 per cent, but they also had families and loved ones and as far as we know, they were objectively good people.

The five men that died had families and loved ones and as far as we know, they were objectively good people. Picture: Joël SAGET and Handout / various sources / AFP

When OceanGate released a statement confirming their deaths, it called the men “true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure”.

It may seem like an undisputedly sad story but according to the internet, it isn’t quite that simple. Instead, their deaths have become a cultural and political talking point.

Originally, when the men were missing in the submarine, the information that was released explained that they had 30 hours of oxygen available to them — so they needed to be found quickly for the men to have any hope of survival. A TikTok that now has 1.4 million views features a woman supposedly referencing that fact.

“It’s crazy to think we might only have another 30 hours or so of being able to make fun of the people on the submarine,” she quipped.

@ginnyhogan Time running out #fyp#submarine♬ original sound - Ginny Hogan

When that TikTok was posted, there was still hope that the men would be found, but even in the aftermath of their deaths the internet remains callous. Online, people seem to be ignoring that people have died and instead are concentrating on what their deaths and privilege say about modern society.

“At the end of the day, the Titanic Missing Billionaire Submarine story is a perfect distillation of 21st Century capitalism: A small group of very rich people assume a clearly irresponsible risk. It goes predictably wrong. Scores more in public resources are used to save them …” one person tweeted.

That tweet now has over a million views.

“Why are we stressed about rich people lost on a joy ride in a goddamned submarine? Over 45k Americans die annually because they don’t have health insurance so how about we shut the f**k up about the submarine,” another tweeted.

“A few rich people dying in a submarine captivates the entire world, but 30+ Million people dying of Covid in only 3 years with millions more becoming Disabled with Long Covid every year is easily swept under the rug and totally disregarded by most of society,” another person wrote.

The Titan submersible is shown launching from a platform. Picture: Handout / OceanGate Expeditions / AFP

“Can we put the same amount of energy, money, and resources into finding all the missing kids that get kidnapped and used for sex trafficking as we just did for a few missing rich people in a submarine? Asking for a friend,” someone else tweeted.

The internet has become a cesspit of people comparing tragedies and asking others to measure what is worse. It is a real-life Sophie’s Choice playing out.

It has brought to life the brutality of meme culture and nothing is off the table. The Logitech controller that was used in the vessel was flooded with joking reviews on Amazon.

“I got this to pilot my submarine and now I’m lost,” someone wrote.

Locally, Sydney’s Newtown Affirmations Instagram posted a photo of the four men in the submarine with the caption,

“POV you posted a 1x1 metre room on Inner West Housemates,” it read.

Popular memes that have made their way around the internet include: “Why eat the rich when you can simply make the rich eat each other.”

“Marked safe from dying on a submarine on the ocean floor because I’m poor.”

“Me looking for a billionaire’s body so I can get his wallet.”

“Billionaires sink to the body of the ocean. Is this wealth redistribution?”

Perhaps the only thing sadder than the deaths of the five men is the internet’s reaction to it.