The Y721 as it is called these days is being built by a Dutch shipyard in Rotterdam and instead of floating the boat down stream and finishing it elsewhere the company intends to complete the project and sail it under a bridge it's to big for out to sea.
Here is the deal. The masts are so tall that a part of a bridge has to be taken out to allow it to pass. Bezos will pay for the work to have the Koningshaven Bridge partially dismantled so the finished yacht which is 3 football fields long and boasts 130ft masts can pass through to the open sea.
OK credit him for being responsible enough to say umm I will pay for that. But, here is the thing. The shipbuilders could have done the smart thing floated the boat downstream and then completed the project. Instead Oceanco stated it would be impractical as it would mean having to ferry tools and supplies to the location of the second site. Sorry to say but, that is just being lazy. They could have easily developed a plan to do it in a cost efficient manner in 2 stages. Here is the thing the city of Rotterdam promised not do dismantle the bridge. It's breaking that promise to it's citizens so some fat cat can float his boat out to sea. Not good optically speaking.
This kind of stuff breads hatred of the rich. This appears to showcase the idea of one person being able to essentially tell a city I am doing this you have to do this and here is some dough so shut up and do it. For the record I am sure Jeff Bezos did not say that, it just appears this way. That kind of thing is not going to go over well with the common man. Most people would be laughed out of city hall or any other government agency if they walked in and told them what they were going to do because of how important they felt they were.
Actually there is one group that feels it is more important than everyone else, a group of protesters is trying to force governments in Canada to change a policy. They are the so called freedom convoy protestors. They are in Ottawa, they have laid siege to the city by parking their trucks and have not moved for almost 3 weeks. As of posting time the Ontario Government led by Doug Ford has finally said enough is enough and they are putting out orders with teeth in them to make it clear just how serious they are about ending not just the protest in Ottawa but the one in Windsor Ontario. And here is the kicker the protesters do have money behind them. That said the government is saying no dice here your not that important that you can dictate to anyone what will be done with respect to COVID 19 mandates.
So why is Bezos seeming to be able to do this. Well he is paying for the work to be done re the partial dismantling of the bridge and it's reassembly. And, while it will be a pain to deal with it's not a long term impact on an entire economy. This said this is still somewhat of a bad idea. Because there are workarounds as I mentioned earlier and it's this idea that a person with money can do things like this and everyone even for a short period is inconvenienced and they have no say in the matter. That is what annoys the common man and causes an anti rich attitude.
I do know rich people and with one or two exceptions they actually are pretty decent people. I don't hate the rich and ya I would love to have big bucks and feel important. But, I also know that being a jerk is not a good idea whether your a billionaire or an average working person. So when a bunch of fat cats act like jerks it's not a wonder any longer that people associate wealth with being jerks and they disdain the rich. It's not a far leap. This said it's really not fair either because not all rich folks are like that. So really I guess what I am saying or would like to say to Jeff Bezos is this. Cool have your boat but, don't use it to be a jerk. You don't have to show how much cooler you are or be an ass showing off how rich you are. Your a poster child for the super rich and what you do can either show how decent most rich people are or can make you and your fellow rich friends appear to be nothing more than spoiled jerks who nobody wants around. And frankly speaking your not better than me nor am I better than you. But our actions can show how decent or rude we are and I don't know about you Mr. Bezos but, you and the ship builders are being rude and disrespectful to the citizens of Rotterdam by asking the city leaders to do something they promised not to do. I would also make it a point to say to the city officials money is not everything and your citizens should come first not a fat cat.
The real measure of a man is how they treat others part of that is being respectful that goes for the rich as well as the poor.
