An Aussie's perspective...on Steve Irwin...
Steve's wife and children were about an hour (as the crow flies) away from here. I feel so sad for them as he loved his family deeply. As a matter of fact he loved everyone...and of course one of his deepest loves was for the environment and nature and wildlife. I guess it's easy for those who don't really know him to "have a go" at him. But if it was their own son would they be saying the same thing?--------------
As for the baby/croc incident well I wouldn't have done it either but as he said his father did it with him....he grew up with the fearless respect of the wild.
I have also heard some of what has been said overseas. Even Germaine Greer said the same thing ("Nature taking revenge") and she has been hit by a backlash frrom Aussies as it's such a tactless and callous thing to say of someone who has just lost their life. What a lot of people don't know is what a great Ambassador Steve was for Australia. He has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for tourism for Australia and the millions he has earned he has parted with most of it....just about everything....he has ploughed it all back into Conservation and the Animal Hopsital and Australia Zoo etc. One of his best friends said he travelled with little or no money and lived quite humbly...that's how he was. He gave everything back to Australia... not many would do that or even knew that.
Australia is mourning a loving man who died doing something dear to his heart (no pun intended) he always said that when he died he would want to go doing what he loved best. The Prime Minister wanted to hold a State Funeral for him but his parents have said that Steve would not want that...that he would want a simple service/send-off so that is what they will give him.
I think i'ts just the minority (the knockers/cynics and ignorant) who are saying those things. Thousands of people have been leaving tributes, flowers and cards etc at Australia Zoo it's almost sureal here it reminds me of when Princess Diana died everyone has been walking around crying or in shock.I think most Aussies will remember where they were or what they were doing the moment they heard that Steve Irwin had died.One of the websites got jammed yesterday as there were millions of hits....it just crashed...that's how much he was loved and admired. He has a fan base of over 500 million that watched his shows from countries all over the world. I was at Gym yesterday and a lady was wheeled in her wheelchair crying she has a brain injury and she thought Steve was such a wonderfull and loving fellow...he was bigger than life and had a passion for life.She didn't have a lot in her life and it made me realise just how much he gave of himself to others and asked for very little in return. None of it was an act...that's just how he was; even as a kid.
I agree that it was a horrible freak accident. His death is only the second death in Australia from a Sting Ray. They are usually fairly harmless but their sting is very painfull. When I was 12 my best friend and I were at the beach with our families and Helen and I were paddling in the water under a jetty and jumping from rock to rock. Helen jumped on a rock and screamed out in agony she had accidently jumped on a sting-ray (it looked like one of the rocks) and it stung her on the foot. She was rushed to the nearest hospital in agony and was in terrible pain for a couple of days. But they usually only attack if they have been startled or disturbed. It never put me off from swimming- I often swam among them off our local jetties my mum was always yelling at me to get out of the water but I never feared them and was never stung.
Well that's enough of my take on this.... I will miss watching Steve's shows I always found him very entertaining and informative (and passionate about what he believe in) He was just a down-to earth Aussie larrakin who had an amazing passion for life.
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