Steve Irwin - Crocodile Hunter

[LSK]

Ive seen some of the responses in the threads. Seems some hate him for various reasons while most love him.
Soo, whats your opinion?

[NC_Nurse]

1. He MOLESTED animals?

I must've missed that episode! }(

[LSK]

3. it was suggested in another thread..

[jonnyblitz]

4. LMFAO!!!

ooops. I guess I am not sufficiently "revering" the dead by laughing at your post. :hi:

I have no opinion of the guy since I know nothing about him. I don't watch much tv except for the occasional cable news or IFC movie. I AM amused at how wound up people get over celebrities they don't personally know though. :crazy:

[Human Torch]

6. Hey, Bush "milked" a male horse...

...where was your outrage when THAT happened?

:evilgrin:

[symbolman]

44. He put a live chicken in his underwear

no wait.. that was Steve Martin..

Nevermind..

Monkey See, Monkey Do..

[bluestateguy]

2. I think we was weird, but he did not deserve to die for it

nt

[Rosemary2205]

5. I didn't personally know him and can't claim love or hate.

Now I can say about him.

1. I thought he was entertaining on TV.

2. It's my understanding his zoo only housed animals in need of sanctuary or rehab - and if that is actually correct I admire what he did in that regard.

3. I understand his desire to help the world appreciate nature, even if I disagreed with some of his methods.

4. I won't miss him in the least. He was not part of my life. But I feel for his family and friends, who will miss him.

[WindRavenX]

7. I come to DU and find people are shitting on him

Wow. I hope those people contract a terminal case of genital herpes.

[mcscajun]

11. There's always a segment of DUers that seem to lack basic

compassion, they are always a shock. You have to wonder about their basic values and their claims to being progressive/liberal.

No one should gloat or joke about a death. No One.

Worse are those who knock him out of ignorance (i.e., all they know is what they read in the tabloids or in their viewing of an episode of his show) and fail to see the breadth of his efforts in conservation.

He will be missed, even if some here don't.

[WindRavenX]

12. I don't mind morbid humor

But there are some on DU that seem to think he did a disservice to conservation and raising much needed awareness on wildlife issues. As a biologist who was inspired by his joy and passion in teaching others (especially the young) about the wild, it makes me angry when I read that because SO MANY PEOPLE today are SO IGNORANT on these issues :cry:

[mcscajun]

17. Agreed on the lack of awareness.

:hug:

[Kajsa]

24. Yep, we had one -I'm too intellectual for this crap-

person laughing at this, right from the start.

That he would be 1/10 as good a person as
Steve Irwin was.

:crazy:

[swimmernsecretsea]

20. It surprises me still.

I thought I'd find a haven here; sometimes the a-holes are even worse. I saw a thread with Katrina jokes here. And the homophobia--come on! Why here? I just have to shake my head at it.

[LSK]

22. they are in the minority n/t

[symbolman]

45. That's a nice sentiment

But you can't LIST those people because THAT would be in violation of the rules, so keep it safe, say a "GROUP" of people are doing it, that's one thing that bothers me here, a person can't call people out, yet they can ask the Universe to give Herpes to a group of people, and demand FREE SPEECH with the same mouth.

Man, you must be one of Irwin's cousins or something, are you? If so the vitrol might seem more appropriate.

Bush is an asshole, can I say that?

[Mythsaje]

8. He was a spokesman for the wonders of the natural world...

He did things few people would consider safe, or sane, but he showed the world that even scary animals could be cool. He loved life, he loved nature, and he shared that love with the rest of us.

I'm saddened by his death, though I will say I thought it was probably inevitable.

[Nutmegger]

9. He did good.

I think everybody's still pissed off about Malloy to be honest with you.

[OzarkDem]

18. They need to grow up

Attacking someone who died tragically becauuse your favorite radio show was cancelled is juvenile and incredibly offensive.

I wouldn't consider someone who behaved or thought that way a true liberal or democrat, just an arrogant and self-centered person, not much better than a Freeper.

[SmokingJacket]

10. Hate???

I never watched the guy, though I saw clips now and then -- enough to know his attitude toward wildlife was "up close and personal," and I think that's wrong. When wildlife and humans mix, the wildlife almost always loses. In this case, the human did. He wrestled alligators, right? Who does that help?

However, it's really sad that his kids have lost a father, and his wife a husband. He knew the danger, and he thrived on it... but I do feel for his family.

So I don't "hate" him and there's no way I can answer your poll.

[WindRavenX]

15. You said it yourself: you've never watched him. And it shows

No, he wasn't an alligator wrestler. He often was called in to rescue and relocate crocs that would otherwise be killed.

[SmokingJacket]

37. Okay, I was wrong about the alligator wrestling.

I don't have teevee.

But I *do* object -- heartily -- to the idea that it's a good idea to get up close to wild animals.

That is all.

[WindRavenX]

39. Well, ForrestGump has more experience on that than I do...

...but I also have worked with--including VERY WILD snakes-- animals for education purposes. There is nothing dangerous (well, nothing's safe completely) if you know what you're doing and the animal is fed. There are proper ways to handle snakes and other poisonous organisms, and there are ways to immobolize and transport crocs. He knew how to do that. You and I, obviously, couldn't do it, but he could because of his experience. :)

[Lost-in-FL]

19. He didn't wrestle gators

just for fun. He did so to move them to other areas which seemed better for them. He is the best known person for this kind of job but people do that for a living. Here in Florida The Everglades National Park sure have their share of "Gator Hunters". They do what Steve did, one of his shows was about helping Park Rangers on how to catch crocks. Sometimes he did so to find them a mate. Hello?? Who would object to that??

[LostinVA]

40. He wasn't an "alligator wrestler"

He was a conservatist, a neutralist, an environmentalist... who did huge amounts of pro bono animal advocacy and rescue.

His death did not come from "mixing" with wildlife -- it was a freak accident that could happen to anyone swimming where rays settle.

He did not thrive on "danger."

[proud patriot]

13. his movie was a bit subversive too

:hi:

[johnnie]

14. I thought he was ok

I feel bad for his family and friends and I feel bad that there are people here who are saying shitty things about him. Yeah, he held his child while feeding a crocodile or whatever it was. In my opinion he didn't put that child in any danger. He had raw meat that he was feeding the crock, why would it eat a baby?

As for what he did for a living, he was doing what a hell of a lot of people do and have done forever. He was just more in the public eye. I guess the ones who are whining about what he did would also say that Jane Goodall should have kept her ass out of the wild and left the chimps alone?

[LostinVA]

41. Ha! Good point about Jane Goodall!

[Ksec]

16. The good he did outweighs the exploitation

IMO. You hafta have lemons to make lemonade

[OzarkDem]

21. Insulting the dead is as sign of poor character n/t

[Ksec]

23. Ignoring the truth is also

[OzarkDem]

29. You have nothing to contribute here

You're only making yourself look incredibly bad. Why don't you cut your losses and find another forum to harass with your offensive and inflammatory posts.

I feel sorry for you, but I don't feel like putting up with you.

[Lost-in-FL]

27. Exploitation?

I am lost here.

[Ksec]

28. I liked Irwin first off

Hes made a living pestering crocs and inciting them to strike at him. That, to me, is exploiting a creature that should have been left alone. Just my opinion.

[Lost-in-FL]

30. I play with my dog

and I know he doesn't like that but I don't consider that exploiting my dog. I love my dog!

I know we are talking about crocs here but that was his area of expertice. He knew that would get him in trouble if he was not carefull. I never saw him pestering bees or sharks (well, he did sharks but from a protective cage). But again that my opinion. :hi:

[Arkansas Granny]

34. Pardon me for asking, but if your dog doesn't like it,

is it really playing? I always thought that when you played, all parties involved were supposed to enjoy it.

[Lost-in-FL]

35. I knew that was coming

I do not "abuse" my dog if that is your concern. He looks puzzled when for example, I spray him with water when he is not looking and look away like I don't know who did it. I know he hates it cause he hates water and it is not because of the way I play. He just don't like it. I do that to get a reaction and yes he has to be exposed to water when I shower him. I know he doesn't like it and is amusing at least to me.

I do not want to have a violent dog if that is your concern. I am very concern of how my dog reacts to others. I love my dog dearly and he is spoiled rotten.

[nonconformist]

25. My boys adored him and they are devastated.

Steve will be VERY missed in my household.

[Lost-in-FL]

26. I bet people from FreeRep

might be fuzzing over why we love Steve more than our troops. :eyes:

Hey mate Steve, we will miss ya. :cry:

[Union Thug]

31. Contrary to the half-informed subset of DUers in attack mode,

Irwin was a wildlife advocate......and I and my children will miss him.

[earth mom]

32. I cried when I found out and have been near tears all day...

don't know when or how I'll tell my kid who absolutely loved him...we all did!

My heart breaks for Terry and his kids, he was too damn young to die! :cry:

[Maat]

33. Although I'd prefer to obsess about Malloy, the fact is ..

that my husband and daughter loved watching Steve, and learned much about wildlife doing so; we contributed more to good causes because of it.

He will be missed in my household also.

And, I'm concerned about his wife and kids. May he rest in peace, and may comforting and healing energy surround his family.

[MoonRiver]

36. I watched him occasionally, and enjoyed his shows.

I didn't LOVE him, however. I guess I liked him. So, since none of the choices matched my views, I voted to get back to Mike Malloy. :D

[chat_noir]

38. Do we need a dead celebrity forum?

[LostinVA]

42. The HIde Thread feature works great -- I often use it

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.