AmericanPapist Comments
Poor man. Nature TV will never be the same without him. RIP.
His young child won't be the same without him, either. He put his "work" before his safety because he always wanted to show the world he could do something that no one else would do. There comes a time when you have to realize that what you do is really not worth dying for and leaving your child fatherless. I'm sorry the man is dead, but a lot of his stunts were just plain foolish. This was bound to happen eventually. He HAD to know that.
On the one hand, I do agree with Miss B. But I have to admit, I did enjoy his show any time I saw it. He did bring nature shows back to the forefront.
Crikey! He will be missed.
I hope parents and educators keep their heads about them and address this well. Grownups forget how upsetting things like this can be for kids.
I don't think Steve Irwin asked for this. He wasn't doing anything on that reef that thousands of snorkelers haven't done. It really does seem like a freak accident. Only three people have ever died from ray stings in the last 200 years in Australia.
Some of the reactions down here is Australia have been fascinating, and it isn't only what's been said; it's what isn't being said, and by whom.
The green movement down here has been silent. Despite Steve's success at mobilising conservation movement down here, he was never on member of the "green club", for a number of reasons: he was a successful businessman, he was a committed family man, he was an old-fashioned patriot, he was an open supporter of the socially conservative national government. When the leader of the Greens party heckled George Bush during a visit, he famously remarked of the Greens leader should "he needs to be taken out the back and given a good belting".
All of these things were anathema to the Greens movement and party here. It is anti-business. It's federal leader is a leading gay activist. It is resolutely committed to eroding national sovereignty in favour of international institutions, and has a poisonous attitude towards the conservative government that Australians keep re-electing.
I'm a bookish type myself, but I'll miss him. The Mick Dundee stereotype has been soiled in recent years; not a week goes by without a major sportsman or similar celebrity being caught in some sordid situation. In contrast, Steve had an older and better set of values.
Police have watched the tape and have said he did nothing to make the ray aggressive.
You know, he was far more popular in the US than in Australia.
Rest in peace.
I have to say that, living in a pretty much television-free environment, I never saw Irwin's stuff, but I certainly know his image. I'm afraid that, as truly sad as this is, I'm inclined to agree with Miss B. here. This man spent his public life pestering dangerous animals that wish to be left alone; stingrays are not particularly agressive, and I gather that his proximity to this one, along with that of his camera man, goaded the creature to attack. Having said that, it _was_ a freak accident, obviously; but Irwin, a man with two small children, did choose to pursue this kind of lifestyle. Many others have made good nature documentaries without the bravado that puts you directly in the line of fire. It was, really, inevitable. But, yes, may he rest in peace.
Don't forget the controversial event two years ago when he took his infant son, Bob, into a cage with a giant croc and dangled the boy in one arm while he fed the crock with the other hand. It was so atrocious. He got blasted for that. A few days later he was on every major news program in the world, defending himself. Anyway, I wasn't a fan but I am sincerely sorry he lost his life. I was aware that he had done nothing to provoke the stingray, but...
He stated once that his work was something both he and his wife felt was incredibly important and they had both come to terms with the sometimes dangerous aspect of it. I don't know if it was fair of them to make that decision for their children, though. But in any case...
David, that was interesting what you wrote.
Aaron, I saw an old interview this morning that was aired in parts...Irwin actually acknowledged that he was more popular in the US than in his own country. He admitted that he understood that Austtralians felt he was "an embarassment" because they felt he created a ridiculous stereotype of Australians. Personally, I couldn't stand to watch him because of his shtick. But I always thought he was more for children anyway, and they like that kind of act.
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