[Pyro7480]

BTTT!

[Pyro7480]

Ping!

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

He lived life to the hilt, which is more than 99.9% of his naysayers can prove. I for one found him entertaining, informative, and inspirational.

[msnimje]

The most life threatening thing Steve Irwin did in his life was driving a car.

[CedarDave]

I took a comment from badass and made it a tagline. It seems particularly appropriate for the man.

[beaversmom]

Dennis Prager did a show on Irwin today and the bigger implications of it all. Toward the end of the show, he made the comment to the affect, why couldn't the TV world lose MTV instead Steve Irwin. Follow link to listen to his show.

http://www.townhall.com/talkradio/Show.aspx?RadioShowID=3

[Darkwolf377]

Two classes of critics have shown up in Irwin's case, galled by his distinctly Australian enthusiasm and his brawny persona. Some are safety-firsters who say no one should touch nature because it's just too risky. Others are cognoscente of sorts who say no one should go near nature because all human contact will spoil it. On Internet sites like Daily Kos, for instance, the local consensus was to condemn Irwin for taking chances, something almost as "bad" as soldiers

I wasn't a fan, but that's because I just don't care about the material, not because I disliked him. Certain people seem to have jumped on his death for a very obvious, very sad reason:

He lived his life without asking anyone else for permission. He lived his life the way he chose to live it, not the way the Daily Kos or even FR would have proscribed.

Little people who live comfortable lives without adventure, without coloring outside the lines, expect congratulations and praise for Doing As They're Told. They want the applause, and the thrill of being alive, without doing anything to deserve them. They want to live lives of excitement, but they like things kept at a nice air conditioned 65 degrees.

These people HATE IT when someone else shows them that they made their own choices, and their choices gave them the lives they have.

We ALL make choices that lead to the lives we have, though our circumstances are different. Some people want to mope and say they never had a chance, they didn't get to choose, etc. But that's bull--we all get to choose how we deal with what we're handed.

Someone like Irwin committed the cardinal sin to these people--he lived a fun life. His death gives these little people a chance to crow that he was wrong, somehow, because he didn't live a long life. Yet he packed more adventure and fun and LOVE of life into his 44 years than most people would if they lived to be 150. (And they would like to live that long, though one wonders why.)

That pisses people off, this love and enjoyment of life, because it tells the Little People that they had the chance to live as they wished--not as Irwin did, but doing whatever it was they dreamed of doing before they conformed--and the person they have to blame for NOT living as they chose was the person in the mirror.

So whenever someone mocks this guy for dying in the course of doing what HE chose to do, that person is someone who was too scared to have a similarly adventurous life, and is confessing to having a soul the size of a dried pea.

[6SJ7]

Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks."
- Robert Heinlein -

[kylaka]

Timothy Treadwell had it coming. Steve Irwin did not. The difference between the two is striking. One became a meal, the other a teacher of men, an entertainer, but no fool.

[Kellykoop]

I always liked him....he was a lot of fun to watch. I remember one episode where some....something...was biting him on the face and he was just as calm as can be. To be honest, I always figured that when he went, with all of the risks he's taken, that he would die from something simple, like a cold gone bad or something along those lines. My boss met him a couple of years ago and said that he was a really nice guy.

My heart goes out to his wife and kids. I know that he was doing a special with his daughter when he was killed, but does anyone know if his daughter was there when it happened? For her sake, I hope not.

[tiki]

Not just on Daily Kos, we had a few of them on FR.

[Frwy]

Good grief. The man was off the charts exceptional. His talents,, personality, knowledge of seemingly all animals never ceased to amaze me. I loved watching the Croc Hunter series on Animal Planet and anywhere else I could catch a glimpse of his wonders with animals. Steve was exactly who God made him to be, just as He had made each of us. If some saw him as reckless, perhaps he rubbed up against their cowardice.

Now that his life has ended; much too soon for my liking, the naysayers stand around clicking their tongues saying stupid things like "I knew it, I just knew it" and other equally obnoxious stuff. He did what he did because he had such a passion for life. All life. He lived his life to the fullest and I must say I don't personally know anyone who even comes close to doing that.

The green eyed monster seems to be out in force. But you know what? They can in no way diminish his accomplishments which are many.

Good bye young friend. I will always appreciate everything you taught me and the hundreds of times you amazed and entertained me. Oh, and Agro says he didn't really mean he hated you. He just enjoyed the joust.

Peace and love....

[spinestein]

To those who want to associate foolish risk taking with the death of Steve Irwin I say that he died while doing nothing more risky than simple snorkeling. He died in an unlikely accident while encountering a usually harmless animal in what most people would consider a safe and fun swim. If you want to say that risk taking contributed to his death then I say you are condemning the real meaningful experiences of life outdoors, close to nature that many people eagerly participate in, such as climbing, hiking, biking and even swimming in real water with fish in it.

I feel sorry for those who willingly isolate themselves from the outdoors because they're afraid of it. Too many people I know are terrified whenever a bee flies near and panic if one lands on their shirt, and the suggestion that they might climb a few feet up a tree and pluck a piece of fruit off of it is horrifying to them. I feel sorry for those who think they're being safe by not exposing themselves to the hazards of nature yet don't seem to realize that they will die anyway, no matter how hard they try not to, and that a death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by too sedentary a life is not a better death.

Steve may have been only forty-four at his death but he lived a VERY rich, full and meaningful life, and there are many wise people who respect him for how he lived it.

[schwing_wifey]

Steve Irwin: You had to have lived a pretty good life to have this many children mourning your death


My son (14) turned to me to say in a most heartfelt and sad fashion : "Mom, Who will there be for me to watch now?"


Steve taught my son about animals and always explained that they needed to be cherished and protected, so I really don't care if some people think he was too "hands on". He brought the wonder of nature into my living room.

God Bless and RIP Mate!

[Captainpaintball]

I pray for his family, especially his two children, his friends and fans. I wish Bindi and Bob had more time to spend with their dad. I hear his 8-year old daughter was to start hosting a show soon. I hope she is strong enough to eventually try. It's very sad. I keep thinking about her and her little brother. Whenever someone we admire dies young or unexpectedly, it comes as a shock, and one may find them repeating the question "Why?" a lot. I know I have been doing just that the last couple of days.

We all knew what he did was risky, but people like me thought that his good nature, kindness, gentle demeanor and positive attitude acted as some kind of "invincibility shield" that would prevent him form any and all danger. How silly it seemed, but the alternative was unthinkable. I'm trying to think of another celebrity that was as positive and just plain feel-good as Irwin, and I'm drawing blanks. In a time when we need more people to inspire us and bring us a little cheer, his death seems even more tragic.

Osama walks the earth and Steve Irwin is taken from it. This proves life is not fair, there are no guarantees in life except death, and we can not take our time on this earth for granted, for we do not know when our time is up.

Look down upon your children, Steve. Keep giving them the spirit of adventure you had every waking hour of your brief stay here on Earth. Protect them from the inevitable bites, scratches, and bruises the your little croc hunters will accumulate as they grow and learn to follow in your larger-than-life-sized footsteps. But most importantly, help them deal with the pain they feel from losing you, their guide, their teacher, their father. Crocs Rule.

[Xenalyte]

Two classes of critics have shown up in Irwin's case, galled by his distinctly Australian enthusiasm and his brawny persona.

Some are safety-firsters who say no one should touch nature because it's just too risky. Others are cognoscente of sorts who say no one should go near nature because all human contact will spoil it.

You would be of the first type, of course.

[ArrogantBustard]

Irwin, who died over the weekend after a freak attack by a stingray, did not live a riskless life.

Nor does anyone else ... Life IS risk, from the moment we're conceived, to being dragged kicking and screaming from the presumptive 'safety' of our mothers' wombs, to the moment we will all inevitably die. Everything we do is 'risky' ... some choose to face and embrace life and its risks. Others tiptoe through life cowering in fear of their own shadows. Either way, we're all doomed to die.

[dirtboy]

Best editorial yet on this subject, especially on Irwin's critics:

On Internet sites like Daily Kos, for instance, the local consensus was to condemn Irwin for taking chances, something almost as "bad" as soldiers who put their lives in danger for Iraq's freedom. Along with Irwin, soldiers, police and firefighters all take needless risks because nothing out there is worth risking one's life for.

The other scolds detested the fact that Irwin was entertaining and his exuberance brought nature to millions of the hoi polloi (including children who might be sparked to learn more about nature beyond TV.) Irwin's ability to make nature popular and profitable obviously challenged the gravity of their own expertise. "Voyeuristic," snarled survival expert Ray Mears, condemning Irwin. "Some things in nature should be left alone."

With insufferable attitudes like that, it's no wonder conservation often is a lifeless and dismal cause, the province of angry isolationists, and corollary environmentalists who can be even worse. ----------

As I have often told liberals, I am a conservationist, not a Luddite. Like hunters have done, Irwin also probably did more for conservation than some noble-savage coffehouse idiot living in a big city who poo-poos the notion of man interacting with nature instead of hiding from it like the twit does.