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Originally Posted by gaea
Im so glad you joined this conversation and gave us some insight into Belfast, ironic if you think about it, the way you described Belfast closing up after the ship sank and now is suddenly being reborn around the same ship.
Im curious and maybe you can help, why the stigma for so many years? Its not like Belfast had anything to do with the iceberg or the fatalities. They had engineers beyond their time that built this great ship, they had technology and a greater understanding of how things worked and put it all together, that to me is amazing in itself the design the actual building the hard working crew and construction members. etc.
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The stigma was all too real for many years. Although the design and build of The Titanic was likely nothing to do with its sinking, many accusations were made at the time and in subsequent years.
The sinking of The Titanic was of great sadness for the City but it also damaged the City's pride. It is said to have mentally scarred the lives of many of those workers who, rightly or wrongly, felt partly responsible for the disaster. It is said that many took this sense of guilt to their graves.
It's only very recently that, as a people, we've embraced our Titanic heritage and, in part, it's because sufficient time has passed which fades the pain. In fact, I think it's largely because those who worked on The Titanic are now all dead and most of their sons and daughters are dead too so, which we can now celebrate / commemorate that heritage, we don't have the pain of some of our forefathers.
When The Titanic left Belfast in 1912, it was a confident and outward looking industrial powerhouse (Belfast was where the United States established their second overseas consultate / embassy).
However, it was also a time of significant sectarian conflict in the City between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Five months after The Titanic's sinking, more than 440,000 Protestant adults signed the Ulster Covenant at Belfast City Hall, effectively renouncing any form of Irish rule in Belfast, an incredible number given the adult population of the province was considerably less than one million.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaea
I would go to this visitor centre just to be near, i would want to walk the land and see all around maybe someday i'll make it over to Belfast.
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Yes, I'm rather biased as I love Belfast so much but it's an incredibly warm and hospitable city that is very definitely worthy of a visit. The Titantic Visitor Centre looks very impressive from the outside and has received excellent reviews. When I last returned to Belfast two weeks ago, it had yet to open but I'm looking forward to visiting it on my next trip home.