Now that the shock surrounding the sudden demise of the man with the Khaki shorts 3 sizes too small has dissipated somewhat, I am ready to talk about it.
Not that I miss him or anything. Well OK, was abit melancholic when the Animal Planet inundated us with non-stop Steve Irwin
memoirs last week. The man has a passion for the beasts, no doubt. But if you think about it objectively, did he deserve it?
There's a good, balanced commentary in the papers today about how a Aussie columnist Germaine Greer received truckloads of arrows from fellow Aussies for suggesting, in an earlier article after Irwin's death, that he got what he deserved. She said he did not respect the space that animals need. Choosing to barge his way through their habitats and man-handle the poor fellas, Crocs especially.
Poke, Prod, Wrestle, Babble. You name it, he's done it.
She is not wrong really. Insensitive maybe for making such comments at a time like this but she's got a point.
Irwin, for all his great love for animals, thought he knew them too well and always had the upper hand. Sadly, he was wrong. Animals do not think like Humans, period. The warning signs were there. When Irwin dangled his toddler while trying to feed a dead chicken to a Croc a few years ago, you ask yourself if he was doing a Michael Jackson. For the stupid publicity.
They say a cat has nine lives, he probably used up his 13th.
I leave you with a nice quote from the same article which I thought was pretty thought-provoking in its simplicity...
Its one thing to dress your poodle up in baby clothes, its totally another thing to assume that your poodle likes it. Well RIP mate. Even in death, you've taught us something about the
Beastie Boys you sacrificed so much for.