An undated photo shows a tourist submersible belonging to OceanGate beginning to descend into a sea. | Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
The tragic presumed deaths of the five passengers aboard a subversive nautical vehicle en route to view a historic shipwreck’s remains have given way to some choice commentary on social media.
In one glaring example of that truth, a meme was going viral after it was reported that the Oceangate subversive tourist submarine likely imploded under the pressure of the deep ocean water, instantly killing the crew and passengers who were traveling in an effort to see the Titanic’s wreckage on the sea floor more than 24,000 feet off the southeastern coast of Canada.
The meme, divided in half by a horizontal line, emphasized a contrast in responses to seacraft sinking.
In the first half was an image resembling the rescue effort to save the Oceangate subversive crew. Multiple helicopters and boats can be seen mobilizing to save the men on board, each of whom paid $250,000 and signed extensive waivers acknowledging the prospects of death.
The other half, though, shows a scene that mirrored the tragic scenes of migrants crossing the ocean in a sinking boat. Only in that image, there was no rescue effort. There were no rescue boats. There was no sense of urgency depicted in the other half.
The meme carried a title at the top that bears just five words: “The Rich” is printed over the first half; “Vs” is over the horizontal line; and “The Poor” is printed over the second half.
The meme, posted around 12:30 p.m. ET, had more than 34,000 likes and more than 8,000 retweets — an example of how quickly it was being shared on Twitter and likely other social media platforms.
The Twitter account that posted the meme added in a subsequent tweet: “Above image: a comparison. The Titan sub has the label ‘the rich.’ Many emergency vehicles try to save them. The boat filled with refugees in Greece is labeled “the poor,” and it has no vehicles trying to save those aboard.”
Oceangate lost communication with the subversive within a day of its launch on Sunday. It only had 96 hours of air for its passengers to breathe. An international coalition including the U.S. Coast Guard quickly offered their rescue services. It was announced on Thursday afternoon that the crew all likely died.
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