mourning steve irwin...

*editor's note: this piece was started on monday night, 4th september, a few hours after hearing the news of steve irwin's passing. circumstances have precluded me from finishing this until today, 7th september. the stuff from monday is in blue, the stuff from today in black.

steve irwin died today. the crocodile hunter is dead.

i never thought it would happen--his dying, i mean. i guess i thought he was immortal. he wrestled gators, rode crocs like they were nothing more than a favourite barstool in his favourite bar, stared face to face with snakes whose venom could kill you in minutes, swam with beasts that most of us irrationally feared before he taught us about them.

the way in which he was killed today was ironic and atypical of what one would have thought, given all of his dealings with such deadly animals. from the reports i've read, he was killed while snorkeling in the sea off the northeast coast of australia. apparently, he was swimming with stingrays when a barb from a ray's tail struck him directly in the chest, piercing his skin, sneaking its way through ribs and directly into his heart, making a hole in his heart and causing cardiac arrest. the man who survived countless close calls with far more deadly animals killed by an animal that is usually not the least bit dangerous. true, stings from a ray's barbs are reputed to be extremely painful, but they are almost never fatal. however, this sting was perfectly placed and irwin died within a minute or two.

when i first began watching him on TV years ago, i remember that my feelings about him were hot and cold. the fact that he had enormous passion for all sorts of animals was appealing, the fact that he spent so much of his time and money on educating people about animals--most often the animals that we ignorant humans have unwarranted fears about--was awesome to behold. on the other hand, the fact that he had so much goddamned energy and named all of the animals at his zoo was a bit annoying.

however, as the years rolled on, i began to find myself appreciating everything about him and being less annoyed than impressed by his energy. interviews with the man gave me a better understanding of him and i came to appreciate his passion and enthusiasm. it wasn't until i saw an interview with his dad, from whom steve learned to wrestle crocs and from whom steve received his passion for animals, that my appreciation fully bloomed.

he had his detractors, as we all do, but i pay them no heed. i know many australians who were a bit embarrassed at his being the unofficial ambassador of "oz" culture, at his enthusiasm and non-stop energy, but, from all accounts, his on-air TV persona was about the same as he was in everyday life away from the camera. in my opinion, if a person's the same in real life as he or she is on TV, then he or she deserves respect and praise. so many TV personalities are full of shit and so different from their everyday life and i couldn't help but admire irwin for being himself.

so, now that i've had a few more days to reflect and as i sit and watch the animal planet's airing of an old episode of "the crocodile hunter", my feelings about irwin's passing have grown even more sad. i've read a lot of things written about him in different gleebs in aetherspace, most of it positive. however, i have come across an unfavourable thing or two written about him and all i can say is those people who take shots at the recently deceased are cowardly jackasses. in particular, there is one woman who really rusts my crank:

some moron disguised as a feminist has been ripping irwin for the last few days, saying irwin was an “embarrassment” to australia and that he treated animals with “massive insensitivity”. i won’t even disgrace my aetherspace by giving her name, other than to call her GG.

this moron, australian-born and an embarrassment to feminists everywhere, has likened irwin’s wrestling crocs to the old lion tamers of yesteryear, saying his antics were disrespectful toward and an exploitative of animals. mind you, this is the same dumbass who, a few years ago, ranted about the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy because it attracted “spaced-out hippies, environmentalists, free-market libertarians, social conservatives, pacifists, new-age theosophists, sexists and racists the world over.”

she seems to hope, now that irwin is gone, that these animal shows that depict animals so disrespectfully will cease to exist. “i am sick and tired of programs that tell me that the world is full of wicked, nasty, powerful, deadly creatures,” is her argument.

um, okay, GG. the next time you’re wandering in the Outback and encounter one of those snakes irwin taught us about, just use your natural instincts to do whatever stupid damn thing it is that you think you should do. we’ll be sure to mourn you in a manner respectfully befitting you and your types.

you know, now that i’m down off my soapbox, we should mourn irwin’s passing because the world has lost someone original and passionate, someone who taught us about animals and our environment, someone who gave so much of himself to the other beings that co-inhabit this planet with us. anyone who did as much as irwin did to bring awareness to us about the environment and animals should be mourned because what he did was important. even if you disliked his style, he deserved our respect. his passing leaves a big void in the world of conservationism education and the question should be asked: who will take up his mantle?

rest in peace, steve. crikey, we’re going to miss you, mate.