Colonel Astor Tells A Lie
By Sarah-Marie Hoduski
He built what was at one time the world’s grandest hotel: The Waldorf-Astoria. He invented a bike brake. He was one of the world’s wealthiest men. He bred racehorses. He wrote a book on the era’s technological advancements. He wrote a science fiction novel on space travel. He once lent a yacht to the US Navy to use as a fighter ship. (1)
Colonel John Jacob Astor was also newly married and was returning to New York City with his pregnant wife of four months so that she could have her baby Stateside. Colonel Astor and his wife were traveling in the millionaire cabins as the wealthiest passengers aboard the Titanic.(1)
The Titanic was beyond anything the world had seen to date: “I was thoroughly familiar with pretty well every type of ship afloat but it took me 14 days before I could, with confidence, find my way from one part of that ship to another.” Charles Lightoller, Titanic Second Officer (describing his impression of the sheer size of Titanic) (2)
No one onboard anticipated the byword that the tragic sinking of the Titanic would become after it struck an iceberg and slowly sank into frigid waters.
Laughingly remarking, “I asked for ice, but this is ridiculous,” Colonel Astor faced the catastrophe of the Titanic. (3)
The exceptional courage of passengers in the face of death during the sinking of the Titanic is legendary— the crew was instructed women and children first. They passed out cookies and blankets to give further aid to those they were already exchanging their lives for.
“I particularly recall the British seamen were magnificent. They knew, of course, that they would lose their lives, but they calmly and carefully doled out blankets and biscuits to us as we got into lifeboat 9.” (4)
Colonel Astor in particular is remembered for his courage— and the lie he that he told.
Reportedly, after placing his wife into a lifeboat he instructed two passing women to take the last two spots on the little boat. He told them they were in no danger.
“We were walking by Lifeboat 4 as it was being loaded and Colonel Astor told Mother and me to get in, although he said there was no danger. We clambered through the windows (on the Promenade Deck) and entered the boat, finding that it had a couple of sailors,” said Jean Hippach. (5)
In the face of his certain death, Colonel Astor also took time to comfort a frightened child on Lifeboat 4. Charles Lightoller, the Second Officer who had exclaimed over the size of the Titanic was now directing the boarding of lifeboat 4.
Lightoller could not allow the boy to take his pet on to the lifeboat. The small child cried, “but was reassured by Colonel Astor that he would take care of the dog and the last young Carter saw of his beloved Airedale was John Jacob Astor holding the dog’s leash.” (6)
Afterwards, Colonel Astor was seen on board calmly smoking a last cigar.
“Survival on board the Titanic is famous for its gender bias: roughly three out of four women survived, and almost half of the children, but only around 20% of men and crew.” (7)
Today, we are impressed with the protective nature of men; their women and children first mentality is still the drill of the day. The military is 85 percent men. (8) The police are 87 percent male, (9) while firefighters are 96 percent male.(10)
However, today, many men are unaware that another ship sinks.
Women and children are the special victims of sinking ships everywhere. They have been torpedoed in the abortion wars.
Men are needed on the sinking ships: they have a huge role to play as fathers, as partners, as champions of the defenseless. Statistically, fathers and partners have the most influential voice in whether or not a woman decides to have an abortion.
Fifty-one percent of women say that problems in a relationship or wanting to avoid being a single parent motivated their abortion, while twenty three percent said they aborted to please their partner. That means seventy four percent of abortions are motivated by relationship status. (11)
These are daughters, granddaughters, spouses, girlfriends. And they need the men in their lives to reassure them that a lifeboat stands ready. That they are not in danger.
These women need to be reassured them that they will be protected in this brutal war against women and children. There is raging propaganda promoting the abortion cause, and the fallout from having an abortion is cataclysmic. For women: suicide rates escalate dramatically, psychological torment is endured, breast cancer rates double and on and on.
Men can make the difference. Men can make their partners and daughters feel safe. They will never need you more than when they are being pressured to have an abortion. Men can promote adoption so that women feel that their child has the best chance of success. Men can also demand that other men step up and care for their children and partners. They can counsel new fathers to be on what it means to be a man, someone that protects the weak.
Finally, men can share their stories. They can share about how women shouldn’t face propaganda from abortion giants that profit from their tragic losses, and about how the casualty list matters.
Colonel Astor spoke his lie to give comfort to survivors. Today, tell the truth about abortion so that there will be survivors.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18550_5-true-war-stories-that-put-every-action-movie-to-shame.html
- http://jason-manning.weebly.com/the-discovery-of-the-titanic.html
- http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-quotes.html
- http://jason-manning.weebly.com/the-discovery-of-the-titanic.html
- https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/mary-c-wellman-dies-at-80-was-survivor-titanic.html
- CHILDREN OF THE TITANIC Their story – Adams Memorial Library
- http://www.adamslib.org/titanic/Children%20of%20the%20Titanic.pdf
- https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2012/04/sea-disasters
- http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/24/us/military-women-glance/index.html
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Public/Private Sector Partnerships for Community Preparedness
- NFPA statistics – Firefighting occupations by women and race
- http://www.uffl.org/vol%209/strahan9.pdf
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