]Many readers know about the Titanic slide (see my post Titanic Adventure Slide). Designed to look like Titanic sinking with its fantail in the air, kids slide down not knowing the tragedy the slide is based on. Kids find the slide fun while many adults, who know the Titanic story, are sometimes appalled. Such is the case right now in Ibach, Switzerland.
According to the Independent, the bouncy castle fair organizers are defending the use of the Titanic slide. The newspaper reports that critics call it insensitive and a “bouncy graveyard.” Switzerland’s Titanic Club has also weighed in on the matter:
But Gunter Babler, spokesman for Switzerland’s Titanic Club, asked: “Is it ethical to let kids slide down the decks of a blow up Titanic? Hundreds of people died sliding down those decks.”
Responding to the criticism, one of the organizers said Titanic sank long ago and those emotions have long been dealt with. Both sides have a point here about remembering Titanic. Creating a slide for children to slide down upon makes light of the tragedy that night. Unethical? Not really. Tacky and thoughtless most certainly. Parents are the ones who ought to exercise judgment here if they do not want their kids on the slide.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Titanic Bouncy Castle With Inflatable Icebergs Is A ‘Bouncy Graveyard,’30 June 2010