BOAT DOWN! Gondolier Loses Control Of Packed Boat As Tourists Refuse To Stop Taking Selfies, Dumps Them In Freezing Cold Water
NY Post - A group of tourists capsized a gondola in Venice after they were warned against taking selfies and standing in the boat.
The gondola was passing under a bridge near St. Mark’s Square when it flipped over, dumping its occupants into the frigid water, video posted to TikTok shows.
The gondolier had been attempting a tricky maneuver to get under the bridge while the tourists from China continued to shift around the boat while taking pictures of themselves and the city’s famed sights, the Guardian reported.
The gondolier had told the five passengers to sit still until they were under the bridge so as not to disrupt the boat’s center of gravity.
Despite the warning, the passengers continued to stand and take more pictures, causing the boat to tip over.
Riding a gondola used to be a spiritual experience. You and your family would book a flat somewhere in historic Venice. A mime in a beret welcomed you into the city with a lasagna and a pack of cigarettes. He'd invite you onto his long boat where he's row you around while playing classic songs on the accordion, and force feeding your children wine. By the time you arrived at your destination you and your whole family were drunk enough to speak Italian. Or something like that. Idk some of those stereotypes might be French. I wouldn't know I've never been there. But you get my point. Everyone lived in the moment and embraced the culture to it's fullest.
But that's not how culture is embraced nowadays. Cultures are experienced primarily through eyes of others, and their value is measured by an arbitrary number of likes received on Instagram. Don't blame the tourists. What were they expected to do, sit quietly on the boat and take in the beauty of the city? That's insane. If the world can't see every little thing you do on vacation, then what's the point of going. Hey gondola boy. How about you keep your glorified canoe afloat and smile for the camera so the next time my ex-boyfriend gets on Instagram he can take in the beauty of me being cute next to the hot gondolier. That's how you experience Venice.
If anything it's the gondolier's fault for not adapting to the times. Why the hell is he attempting to pull "tricky maneuvers" while his passengers are hanging halfway out the boat with iPhone 14's in both hands? What is he the Tony Hawk of gondolas? It's not about your tricky maneuvers, sir. It's about this group of tourists who don't know a lick of Italian or English enjoying their vacation the way people do in the year 2023. They paid good Euros for that gondola ride. If you can't safely accommodate a full blown photoshoot while on choppy waters, then maybe it's time to hang up the oar.
The one saving grace from this whole fiasco is that someone had the foresight to capture the aftermath of the crash on TikTok. The more views online the better the vacation. Their gondola ride will live on forever in the bowels of the NY Post, and that is priceless. All publicity is good publicity.