On the topic that ate LJ today

[geekchick]

No matter what you thought of the man personally (and I've seen plenty of people today both imply and state outright that "he got what he deserved" *twitch*), as dewhitton says: "He made people care about the animals, even the ugly ones. He saved patches of bush, even the useless stuff like rainforests and swamps. He got everyone thinking about the world we should be caring for." I think on the whole the world is a poorer place without him in it.

Comments

[carpee-diem.livejournal.com]

I agree, he was a pretty amazing guy. Not sure where the, "he got what he deserved" thing comes from. How do people come to the conclusion the guy needed to die? Just reflects our angry society.. yeow.

[pickwick.livejournal.com]

As one of the people who might have implied that, it doesn't mean I'm happy he's dead or anything, just that if you treat dangerous animals like toys, it's going to happen eventually. I know he had a lot of love for the animals and the world, but I don't think he had any respect for them.

[tshuma]

I don't think he had any respect for them.

Yes, that exactly. I've never liked the man's methods or shows. He annoyed wildlife for a living, and he taught that disrespect to them by example on his shows. I'm not glad he died, but neither am I surprised.

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

But.... he wasn't even bothering the ray that killed him. Which makes everything all the more odd.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

The video suggests (I've read) that he might have been too close over it, or the camera operator startled it, but without intentional harrassment.

[geekchick]

How do people come to the conclusion the guy needed to die?

I don't think I've seen anyone go so far as to say they thought he needed killin' or were glad he's dead, it wasn't that bad.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Whatever my problems with his methods, he did get people thinking about wildllife in new and exciting ways, which is always a good thing. It is a tragedy for him and his family.

[bungo.livejournal.com]

What struck me was Australians' embarrassed reaction to him. You'd think with our convict upstart mythology we'd welcome someone as exuberant and irreverent as Irwin. But seems like we'd have felt better about ourselves represented by a more restrained Sir David Attenborough type.

Now here's an embarrassing Australian: Sir Les Patterson.

I think on the whole the world is a poorer place without him in it.

Agreed.

[tommx.livejournal.com]

Most people probably considered him nothing more than a thrill seeker with a good publicity machine. I honestly never watched any of his shows, so I don't have much of an opinion. I talked to a friend of mine who does scuba dive regularly and has come to within 3 feet of stingrays, and posited that Irwin must have been VERY close to a large stingray for that to have happened to him. I am sorry this happened to him, but I also feel a certain renewed concern for my friends and co-workers who scuba dive regularly for a living.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

The video, according to Queensland police, suggests that he was swimming over it, and that it was spooked by his proximity and/or that of the camera operator. He wasn't harrassing it directly. The folks who said, "He must have stuck a finger up its arse," were wrong.

[tommx.livejournal.com]

Yes, from what I read, it was a freak accident that really could have happened to anyone. What I read suggested that the stingray was under some sand and that Irwin might not have known it was there until it stung him.

[macropixi.livejournal.com]

I'll miss him. And while I often watched with the expectaion, nay HOPE that he would get bitten, I never wanted him to die.

But I can't say I was overly surprised. Except perhaps by the animal itself that did him in.