By now you probably have heard about the OceanGate submersible implosion and the tragic death of the 5 men onboard. But, there’s another heartbreaking story that happened the week before-a migrant boat with hundreds of people onboard capsized-killing the majority of people onboard including a large number of children. Yet, the response to these two stories were strikingly different. The Titanic Tourists who included two billionaire passengers were searched for with a surprising intensity that wasn’t replicated for the migrants especially in light of the lack of news coverage about the story.
In fact, shockingly, captains who tried to save the migrants and provide assistance on scene may be prosecuted and jailed for trying to help. What also struck me about both stories was the lack of empathy for both the Billionaires and the migrants but for completely different reasons. In this episode I’m exploring the topic of empathy-why does it seem like we don’t have empathy for rich or poor people?
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There were the memes, the countdowns and more as morbid curiosity had people around the world wondering what would happen next? The billionaires were also on an adventure that would end…badly. And it seemed like no one really cared either way for either group. There was a distinct lack of empathy for what was a terrifying situation. In this episode of Michelle is Money Hungry I’m taking a deep dive into this this story that I can’t get off my mind and reflect on why we want to metaphorically eat the rich and hate on the poor.
Every time I get into a vehicle, I know that I have a way out. In fact, every single time we board a plane the first order of business that the team focuses on is sharing how to safely get out. If you’re on a bus, there’s details on the windows on how to pop out the window by pulling a red lever. Same goes for riding a trail. What I can’t get over is that the tourists on the submersible had no way to get out of the vehicle. In the days after the implosion I had so. many. questions.
- How did Cardi B become the voice of proper social decorum as one of the billionaire’s stepsons attended a Blink-182 concert, tried to hook up with an Only Fans model and got outed by EDM Twitter for being wildly problematic. The EDM community thread is wild. By the way, Cardi B was right to call him out.
- Who would look at an Xbox control maneauvering a submersible 13,000 feet underneath the sea and not get the fuck out and say “Nope” this feels wrong.
- How was it that hundreds of people died and that there was NO significant news coverage of the disaster until a week after it happened? Even though it has been reported that this is the highest death toll in modern times for this type of accident.
- How was it that so many people backed out of the trip because the had questions (rightly0 about safety. Especially given recent footage that shows water droplets at the top of the inside window seal of the submersible in an earlier trip.
- How was Stockton Rush’s wife the great great-grandaughter of passengers who perished on the Titanic?
Were we being punked? Ultimately, I was struck by how ghoulish the conversation became with news programs showing countdowns of when the air would run out. There almost felt like there a sense of glee.
When had we become so cruel?
It turns out that we’ve always been this way. Here are some headlines that came out directly after the Titanic disaster:
- TItanic Tragedy was Criminal and Needless
- Bitter Censure of the Californian (Ship) Failed to Respond to (Titanic) Distress Signals
- It was Kind of the Titanic to Provide a Ballroom for the Mermaids (The Wilkes Barre, PA Evening News April 25, 1912)
Then, there was Black Twitter. The memes and tweets were brutal. I asked myself what was going on from a money and class perspective?
Right now the United States is going through some things. But, most noteably there’s a palatable anger against billionaires by many. We regularly hear about Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and RIhanna. I’ve even personally asked the question “Are Billionaires Evil? Even if They’re RIhanna” You can listen to that episode-I’ve included a link in the show notes.
In a time when labor union activity has picked up, astronomical amounts of wealth is being earned via the labor of others or in some cases without the labor of human labor-People are getting angry.
Americans are fighting for:
- Equitable and fare wages
- Healthcare
- Accessible and affordable education
- Housing that you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for.
$250,000
Meanwhile, Billionaires are spending $250,000 to check out a watery grave. Let’s be clear. As a person on TikTok pointed out-to a billionaire that $250,000 is the equivalent of about $30 bucks. But, it doesn’t matter.
As people struggle to pay rent, access transportation and receive student loan forgiveness it feels like the lighthearted pursuits of the rich often feels like a slap in the face.
In the past year I’ve paid attention to this increasing tension between the working class and the billionaires who employ many of them. A partisan Supreme Court that feels like it prioritizes business instead of the people. And the prevailing belief that billionaires benefit through business models that cause harm. Such as the family that was instrumental in causing the Opiod epidemic but won’t be held accountable beyond the initial settlement that they were fined.
Are we wrong to expect more from those who have been given so much?
The Migrants
Then there is the story of the migrants seeking a better life somewhere new. Isn’t that in some ways an adventure too? They are willing to take risks that many don’t or won’t. Can you imagine what it must be like to go to a country that is new to you, speak a different language and start over personally and professionally.
Those of us who aren’t billionaires took notes as military assets and well known experts were deployed to assist with the retrieval of the submersible. Uncomfortably, we would discover that the US Military was aware that the vehicle had had suffered catastrophic failure days before as the search continued on. Many of us realized that if the same happened to us, no one would care.
The working poor seem to only be valued for their work output and valued by their family friends. There is a movie that I think about from time to time called “In Time” staring Justin Timberlake. In the movie, citizens work for more time. Literally, time. They are granted endless youth and stop aging at 25…but, if they run out of the time they accrued-that’s it. The scenes where the people are working is what I think about the most. Souless places where joy is hard to find. Meanwhile, the Billionaires hoard time by billions and billions of minutes. They are practically immortal. They’ve gamed the system and the expense of others and it feels like they will always prosper based on how the system is set up.
This movie resonates with me. Time is the one thing that I always crave. Time to relax, to enjoy life, to be still. The movie drives it home that work equals more time but the simple pleasures such as paying for a cup of coffee will take that precious time away. But as things get more expensive-so does time. It also feels (in the movie) like the rich don’t appreciate the gift of time and take unnecessary risks. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
Sometimes that how it feels now. I don’t expect the anger to go away anytime soon.
Next Episode
How to Find An Extra $500 For Your Upcoming Student Loan Payment
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