Stupid git.
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We can now rename the Darwin Awards to the Irwin Awards
Stupid git.
Is that fair?
If he had died while wrestling a crocodile, you could call him that, but Stingrays generally don’t attack. They rarely kill and if they get you anywhere than the heart, it’s treatable.
Total freak accident by most reports.
I am with sinead. His kids have just lost their father a little respect for the dead would go a long way
A bit harsh there Damien. Think Sinead is right in that it was a freak accident during a break from filming.
This was the father who held his 1-month-old son in one arm as he fed crocodiles in a pen. You don’t go swimming with creatures that can kill you and that you can’t predict. Steve just proved why. I don’t see why I have to suddenly give respect to someone just because they got themselves killed and they had kids.
Jeez, I can never get over the ‘but the man just died’ thing.
Heard it on the 1 O’Clock news on RTE, came straight through to the other room. “Steve Irwin…”, says I.
Quoth significant other: “OMG please let him have been eaten by a crocodile.”
“Close.”
Muy hilarity ensues.
Sinéad, it’s really not about the ultimate cause. That he was going to get himself killed was truly inevitable. Think of it like Macbeth or Hamlet, only with F-list ‘celebs’.
Even worse taste.
He did a lot of good educational work, granted he was annoying as hell, but we were never his target audience. ‘Stupid git’ upon his death is way out of order. His means were unconventional, which is exactly how he captured kids attention. Wikipedia:
In 2001 Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal for his “service to global conservation and to Australian tourism”.[8] In 2004 he was recognised as Tourism Export of the Year. [9] Also in 2004, he was nominated for Australian of the Year, which was won by Steve Waugh. Doubts were cast over his nomination when the “baby Bob” incident occurred in January that year.[10]
So he made a mistake but he did a fantastic amount of good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin
If you’ve ever seen the making of David Attenborough’s Planet Earth, you’ll find out that camera men and naturalists go swimming all the time with creatures that can kill them. (I’m thinking right now of the guy who swam with the piranhas…) They do it in the name of finding out more about the world we live in and educating all of us, so more power to them.
I agree with Danger. True, he had it coming to him, and I don’t mind people taking the piss, but theres no need to be nasty about it. He was a nice guy and very passionate if nothing else.
Damien,
Just a tad harsh, but it’s your blog and your opinion.
I think Steve was a great entertainer and educator for a generation who would never normally have looked beyond MTV and their playstations.
Jack M,
great pic
I think gobshite is a bit on the harsh side. If an electrician gets electrocuted on the job, you can hardly call him a gobshite or that he/she had it coming. Some jobs have associated hazards – electicians can get elctrocuted, the Irwin’s of this world can get bitten / eaten. He accepted the hazards of the job, knew there was a potential penalty to pay, but still went ahead anyway. Fair dues to him I say.
I have to say, I’m completely with sinéad and danger on this one.
If an electrician decided he was going to play with electricity by not wearing protective clothing, by ignoring safety rules and deciding to play with live current instead of switching it off then yes he’s a gobshite.
Paint it how you like, it’s still about laughing at someone’s death. Besides, I kinda like him…
Just because a person is a gobshite in your opinion is no excuse to act like one yourself…
E.
Eh, Fergal ….quick reminder on your Haughey comments. Double standards.
What did I say about Haughey? I don’t remember saying anything, good or bad. But correct me if I’m wrong.
Apologies, I might have mistaken you for one of those Waghorne stalker types. Clearly not the case.
Oh, it probably is the case, if it’s the brief life of FI Fie to which you refer. It’s just that I never made any comments about Haughey’s death.
That said, I don’t really go for the “don’t speak ill” thing. I just had a bit of a gra for Steve, is all.
Jesus Damien, sure the guy liked to play russian roulette and even though a stingray is probably the last possible animal anyone would have thought of, Irwin awards, gobshite???
The guy educated a lot of people, discovered new species including a turtle that was named after him. Elseya irwini. I think his legacy will be a bit longer lasting than yours or mine.
John
After all that, a stingray finally gets him. What are the odds?
Fellow Aussie Germaine Greer has an interesting obit piece in today’s Guardian.