Update: Duck Boat Was Training, Ripping Out The Souls Of Victims’ Families
Remember this Readers Cameraphone post from Monday that spotted a Ride The Ducks boat back in the water? Turns out, the company was doing some training — they’re currently working with the Coast Guard to get back up and running in Philly, and boy, aren’t we all excited for that — but while they were, it just so happened that they rode by the parents of one of the victims of the crash who’d come all the way to America to pay their respects. Even with the full knowledge that world is indeed a vampire, this still feels like a punch in the gut. Fuck you, Ducks. Fuck you forever.
August 18th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
with all due respect to the emotional state the parents are in, calling for the end of the Duck Boats based on a single tragic accident is fucking stupid. are we going to call for an end to all barges traveling the river, as well? because last time i checked, there was more than one boat involved in this accident.
maybe, instead of calling for the end of other people’s ability to make a living in a shitty economy, we should be celebrating the first-responders who helped save almost all of the people involved in that horrible clusterfuck, who thus far haven’t gotten anywhere near as much recognition and promotion as the “bad guys” have.
i can’t believe i just fucking defended a duck boat.
August 18th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Good points, but you disregard the fact that we’ve been calling for (and giving voice to others) an end to Ride The Ducks in Philly on a purely aesthetic basis for years, long before these pieces of shit resulted in lost lives.
August 18th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
yeah i’m going to wholeheartedly agree with tips on this one. there is no need for this industry. none. first it just sucked, but now it’s life threatening? can philebrity use its clout to get ‘Fuck The Duck’ shirts made? or at least some photoshoppery? pretty please?
August 18th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
if there was “no need for this industry” they wouldn’t be raking in the cash, running boats all day every day for the past however many years.
i totally get the aesthetic arguments. i think horse carriages and period-piece drag are pretty fucking ugly, too. but you can’t deny that these industries bring in an awful lot of money, and they do so because people who ain’t from round here love the shit out of it and gladly fork over their dollars to experience Philly in their own incredibly tacky way.
and for the last time, “these peices of shit resulted in lost lives” because THEY WERE HIT BY A GIANT MOTHERFUCKING BOAT, people. one which was long gone by the time people started getting saved. the Ducks take the same routes, every day, all day. that duckboat was in the wrong place at the wrong time. it could very literally have been ANY OTHER BOAT and the results would have been the same. obvious frothing bias aside, there’s really only so much blame that can be laid at their feet here.
August 18th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
I’m no fan of the duck boats, but we don’t shut down roads or ban cars when someone is killed in a traffic accident, and that happens all the time.
August 18th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
i hate these ugly annoying macarena blaring hunks of tin as much as the next reasonable dude, and would be pretty happy to never see one again. but dx is right on all accounts.
furthermore, they had no idea the families were visiting that day, and i don’t doubt their claim that they wouldn’t have taken the boats out if they did. i’m sure nobody in the duck boat organization feels awesome about 2 kids dying on their boat.
August 18th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
I think the only two key points for whether the ducks should be allowed in back in the water are:
a) how often do they stall/overheat/end up dead in the water?
b) were all the recommended safety fixes put into place in the Philly Ducks after the fatal accident in Arkansas?
Provided that all safety precautions are in place, they should return (annoying though their quacking may be). And, of course, the OTHER boat should receive the same scrutiny and more since they were unable to avoid a boat that had put out a distress signal.
August 18th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Looks like dx has this one handled.