Posted on 03/31/2009 4:01:35 PM PDT by JoeProBono
May your soul rest in peace, Steve Irwin, because your estate certainly won’t let it. Australia Zoo, the native Australian animal reserve founded in Queensland by the late Crocodile Hunter, has decided it’s good business to keep the high-octane Irwin persona alive. Not just alive, in fact, but in rude health...and still wrestling crocodiles.
Irwin was just 44 when he died in 2006 after being pierced through the heart by the barb of a stingray while shooting a marine life documentary off the Queensland coast. His death unleashed a wave of national mourning in Australia, similar in feeling (if not in form) to the outpouring of grief shown by the British over the death of Princess Diana, or by Americans over the assassination of President Kennedy. Not knowing where you were when you learned of Irwin’s demise is regarded as un-Australian. Australia Zoo, where Irwin is buried at a location known only to his family, is Down Under’s version of Arlington National Cemetery.
Nowhere in the zoo does the specter of Irwin loom larger than in the gift shop. Shelves are stacked with Irwin talking action figures, one of which screams: “Check out the size of this bloke! One false move and he’d take me head off!” There’s the 100-page CRIKEY! Magazine, complete with huge capital letters so you can’t miss it on the shelf. There are Irwin coffee mugs, Irwin ashtrays, Irwin snow globes, Irwin drink coolers, Irwin shot glasses, Irwin spoons, Irwin lunch boxes, Irwin lighters, Irwin postcards, Irwin floaty pens and Irwin fridge magnets. Not since Graceland has a corpse been so shamelessly exploited.
(Excerpt) Read more at shproto.urbanatomy.com ...
Can’t they let the guy rest in peace?
“The whole family is in on the act. Irwin’s young daughter, Bindi, has her own ‘Bindi Wear’ fashion label. My Steve, the autobiography of Irwin’s widow, Terri, is also on sale. You can even buy an Irwin family print to put next to your wedding photo on the mantelpiece. Even Irwin’s grandfather and great-grandfather, both soldiers killed in World War II, get a nod in the DVD, Steve Irwin’s Ghosts of War. Another DVD, Swimming with Sharks: A Steve Irwin Adventure, shows the Crocodile Hunter’s passion for deadly marine life was equal to his zeal for the deadly
amphibians which made his name. One DVD goes as far as to proclaim Irwin’s messianic qualities: He Changed the World.”
Mom’s gotta keep they gravy train rolling. Just look at how she pimps out the daughter.
I do wonder how many he got interested in conservation and animal study. My 14 year old is working on his application to be a teen volunteer at the zoo. He was inspired to learn about animals by watching Steve Irwin and the Kratt Brothers at a young age.
Hey come on now, Bindi has always wanted to do what she is doing. Terri is from my home town of Eugene, and I know some of the same people she did growing up. Terri is NOT like that. But she does has not only a business to run, but also Steve’s wishes to take into account, which is to continue the work that was his life.
I respect the hell out of Terri. God bless her and her family!
Well, he did found Australia Zoo and if it weren’t for him many a child wouldn’t have the foggiest about the land downunder. Obviously, his likeness isn’t upsetting paying visitors. He face was everywhere in life, so what if it’s everywhere now.
Steve would be truning over in his grave for this 'cause I'm sure he wouold neverhave wanted this<
From what I've seen of his shows and from interwiews he's done, his passion was always for the wildlife. if they want to put up a "shrine' in his honer than there is no better one that to continue with his work with thye animals and the wildlife he loved.
Not all this bruhaha and nonsense that's been done in his name now.
Terri and the rest of the family ought to know better.
And she shares her father's passion.
Good post..........
I have zero issues with this.
Thankfully, the man left a legacy of goodwill and worldwide respect, and gave his family a “leg up” in surviving without him.
God bless him.
Most of that stuff was up long before Steve Irwin passed away. He knew that his face was a HUGE promotional asset for the zoo. You can see the billboards and murals on the show. That zoo and the animals were his life, it just makes sense that he’d still be there. No different than the likeness of Walt Disney all over Disney World, except that Disney didn’t live to see the completion of his dream.
In the writer's zeal to trash the zoo and Irwin family, he can't even be bothered to know something about which he writes. Crocs are NOT amphibians. They're reptiles.
Mark
Zoos are expensive to run and if people want to buy Steve Irwin shot glasses, no ones forcing them to do it. I don’t have a problem with it.
Did anyone else notice the article talked about his passion for “deadly amphibians”? Stupid journalists.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.