By Emmanuel Williams
November 6, 2026
*
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” – The Holy Bible, Book of Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 5
Because the strong shield them from harm.
Right?
I think what Jesus intended was to protect the meek who were less capable of their own protection, by covering them with prophecy, though in so doing he raised their value above the strong.
The knights of the Chivalric Code believed in protecting the weak as well. But they did it with the sword and their reward was honor, and at times, the struggle itself to relieve the weak of their tormentor. Another one bites the dust, as it were.
The problem I ran into when contemplating the “meek first” concept, was that I hit a wall with the disaster response known as “women and children first”.
It’s a scenario in which nobody wins.
The men have to stay behind until the women and children are all rescued, leaving them at risk of the danger everyone’s trying to flee. Like in the movie Titanic (1997) where the women and children are put into the rafts (that looked like wide canoes in the film) after the iceberg hit and most of those who perished were, indeed, men. If I recall, by the time a man boarded the boats he had stolen his way on and the ship broke in half just minutes later, the front half snapped off, and all the men left in that portion of the majestic Titanic went to sleep with the fishes.
In fact you can refer to this phenomenon of men capsizing while the women and children get to live as “The Whole in the Bottom of the Sea”.
The other victims of “women and children first” are the women who have to live on without their husbands, boyfriends, husbands, fathers, grandfathers, and adult sons. The women get the brave task of having to pick up the pieces in the event of their loved man’s demise. Of moving on to a different husband.
What if the mother was the only one left after the disaster took her husband and only adult son?
Imagine her pain!
And if you think the children are fine losing their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, teachers, mentors, and other guardians, you’re sipping something stronger than I have access to.
How noble is the sacrifice you’re forced to make because of “women and children first” and of your age and gender?
There is no doubt that women are fairer (mostly) and children are weaker than adults, but life loses balance when one life is worth more than another because of disasters that they cannot control.
And have you thought about war policies? Usually the men are called to service first. Deemed fittest somehow. But do you know how many wars throughout history could have been fought by women as well, provided they were also fit and able?
Which brings me to the only acceptable “meek first” policy/rule/philosophy that isn’t a Whole at the Bottom of the Sea.
“We are going to war, we will accept any who will join us who is able.”
This leaves the decision of who is meek in the hands of the entire affected population as a whole instead of men having to suffer a duty they may not even be strong enough, young enough, suited for, or never once thought the sacrifice was worth their life and that of his son(s) so that his wife is alive, but abandoned.
This way everyone fights who is ready, and no one is condemned on the basis of gender.
Or in the case of the Titanic:
“First come, first served. Please form several lines, and try not to panic. Agitators will be thrown overboard. Rush the rafts, and we serve your impatience with deadly force. This is a very delicate situation. We ask for your patience and cooperation.”
Leave a Reply