R.I.P Steve Irwin

[Guest]

I'm speaking in terms of respect for wildlife, Steve Irwin didn't show that he had much by harassing them for ratings.

 

Look at this page on CNN.com

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/

 

TV/09/05/irwin.death/index.html

 

(you'll have to copy paste the link in two parts, for some reason the forum now shortens the link so it won't work as a clickable link)

 

In the left hand side is a story with the headline, "Are ratings driving wildlife programs to greater dangers?" There's a good quote from a guy in the news piece who talks about leaving wild animals alone.

 

The story also mentions another idiot, Timothy Treadwell, the so called "Grizzly Man." This guy decided he could live in harmony with grizzly bears, until a grizzly killed him and his girlfriend. This daft bugger took his girlfriend out with him. Wait let me guess, "he died doing what he loved." I don't know many logical people that watched the movie about his time with grizzlies and then said, "gee he sure was a smart man."

 

The people that swim outside of cages with great white sharks are setting themselves up for a nasty death. It will happen eventually, trust me. I've shot them from a cage, and there is no way I'd get into the water with a great white and no cage, it's just stupid.

[Guest]

Good grief what is this stupidity with wild animals week?

 

This guy was killed by his pet 14 ft python.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/05

 

/killer.snake.ap/index.html

 

(copy paste)

 

He apparently has all of this experience with reptiles and yet he failed to follow one of the basic rules of handling large snakes, never do it alone. If he had a partner with him he could have helped get the snake off, killed the snake by stabing it in the head, or at least called for help. The guy was out there for three hours before he was discovered.

 

Again, sad that another man had to die like this.

[Dan Goulder]

He apparently has all of this experience with reptiles and yet he failed to follow one of the basic rules of handling large snakes, never do it alone.

That's right. You should ask for assistance from the stewardess or co-pilot.

[Tomas Koolhaas]

Question:

Is a boxer who gets killed by a freakishly hard punch an idiot?

Is a stunt man who dies doing a dangerous stunt an idiot?

These are both things done for no other reason than entertainment, the latter is in our chosen field, everyone knows the risks, most boxers/stunt men probably have kids too, are they selfish idiots too?

By the way I am not trying to attack you Richard I respect a lot of stuff you say on this forum, I just think you went a bit coldhearted on this one.

Cheers.

[Chris Keth]

That's right. You should ask for assistance from the stewardess or co-pilot.

 

:D

[Guest]

Question:

Is a boxer who gets killed by a freakishly hard punch an idiot?

 

Yes boxing is a stupid sport.

 

Is a stunt man who dies doing a dangerous stunt an idiot?

 

In Bollywood yes, they take no safety precaustions at all. In Hollywood, the risk is usually mitigated by extensive planning and professional conduct. Some thing Steve Irwin seemed to disregard.

 

These are both things done for no other reason than entertainment, the latter is in our chosen field, everyone knows the risks, most boxers/stunt men probably have kids too, are they selfish idiots too?

 

In some cases, yes.

 

By the way I am not trying to attack you Richard I respect a lot of stuff you say on this forum, I just think you went a bit coldhearted on this one.

 

Well I told people at work that when Kirk Cobain died it was some thing he brought upon him self, they thought I was quite cruel. I don't see the problem? You choose to use drugs and it can cost you your life, that's the message young people should get from situations like that.

 

R,

[Dan Goulder]

Well I told people at work that when Kirk Cobain died it was some thing he brought upon him self, they thought I was quite cruel.

One shouldn't joke about Kurt Coboom.

[Jon-Hebert Barto]

I don't know many kids who watch the Crocodile Hunter and then copy Steve Irwin and go wrestle a croc.

 

(I think it's safe...)

 

Ya, kids don't "copy" pro wrestling either......oh, wait, they do just that. The internet is littered with backyard amatuer wrestlers.....children are inherently ignorant(nature) .....some would say stupid. I'm not saying they'd go looking to fight a gator, but I wouldn't put it past a group of kids from trying to catch one. Happens in Florida....

 

 

As far as boxing being stupid, I disagree. Many/most Boxers are stupid, IMHO. If the Greeks still ran the Olympics I'd bet that MMA would be showcased. The human body is amazing and the idea of watching two trained people test its abilities is amazing to me, as a spectator. Of course the spectator has to be educated as to "what to look for". Otherwise you sound just like that Bill O'Reily character, violence this , violence that. Shut up and understand what it is, Bill! News flash, don't let your kids watch it unless they are ready, thats why they call it "a discipline".

 

OK, I'm off topic. I was talking to a big scuba guy and he said the first rule is not to "hover" the sting-ray and Steve should have known better. Of course that could be complete BS, I don't know the guy, only an acquaintance.

 

Anyhow, its a crappy thing. He was a good guy who tried to educate people, and I love a person like that.

[Rik Andino]

And like you said, if he had of been wearing the correct swimwear, he may just of survived it.

(Maybe, maybe not. I don't know enough about it. But I know it would have helped either way.)

 

Some stingray's stinger have been known to peirce through a wooden boat.

They can be from 6-12inches long and razor-sharp...

So I think no-matter what he was wearing (short of mail-suit of armor) he would've been stung.

 

It was an accident...and we shouldn't be so hasty to judge whether he deserved it or not...

because accidents happen to all of us.

We should just learn from it and take a little caution when doing dangerous stunts.

Most of us are human (I hope ;) ) and sometimes we make mistakes...

Usually we can walk away from our mistakes but some people don't

So let's give a little slack here (cause it could happen to us next).

& especially right now show some respect for Mr. Irwin and his family. He deserves it.

 

 

The truth is people die everyday and it's usually not their fault.

[Craig Knowles]

People die all the time, and not all of them are stupid. Einstein died once. So did Isaac Newton, Carl Sagan, Marie Curie and even Jesus Christ. Some people even die doing what they love.

 

No one's telling you how to raise your kids, but when you weigh the contributions Steve Irwin man made to furthering the cause of world wide conservation, the audience of an estimated 200 million people his message reached, and what he did for Australia, against your personal judgement of his intelligence, I respectfully disagree that this man was an "idiot". I think a child is capable of understanding the difference, and to learn lessons about casting judgement based on perceptions of intelligence.

 

As well, consider that perhaps there is a distinction between the man as a living, breathing human being and his pre-packaged television show persona. If you could ever lower yourself to Irwin's level of incompetence, you may be interested to watch the 2004 Larry King interview where Irwin explains that the dangers he subjects himself to are worth the cost of the message he is trying to convey because he believes so strongly in iut.

 

To some people, certain things are worth dying for -- fame, fortune, security, family, what have you. I certainly wouldn't call you a "moron" if you ran into a burning building to save your kids. Some people might, but who are we to pass judgement on how you want to live your life, based on our limited knowledge of your rescue skills?

Edited September 6, 2006 by Craig Knowles

[Craig Agee]

ok is anyone aware that there have only been 17 recorded deaths from stingrays in history,this was a freak accident...steve irwin was a respectable guy and an animal lover and expert...he was not a timothy treadwell ignorant pseudo expert.i really dont care if he had it coming or brought it on himself.there are children who dont have a father now and that is sad...ive heard people laughing and mocking him and i think that is sick,one of these days one of you gaffers or electricians are gonna get a fatal volt of electricity and people might say 'well he was working with dangerous amounts of voltage he had it coming' expert or not accidents happen and when anyone dies it is tragic and sad.

[Matthew W. Phillips]

For Richard to say that Steve Irwin, boxers, or anyone else is stupid is absurd. Who are you , Richard, to assume that you get to determine what is a meaningful risk and what isn't? I personally think that Steve Irwin was too risky for my taste in the since that I wouldn't do what he did. However, I admired the man and the fact that he had the passion to do iwhat he did. With all due respect, if everyone were like you Richard, this world would be extremely boring.

 

I also suppose motorcyclers should be considered idiots since Ben Rothlisburger almost died on one. Oops, he was already an idiot because he played football in the first place. And Brandon Lee was an idiot for being in The Crow. JFK was an idiot for going to Texas and Abraham Lincoln was an idiot for being in a theatre when he pissed so many people off. You could go on and on with that sort of mentality.

[Stephen Williams]

if everyone were like you Richard, this world would be extremely boring.

 

Hi,

 

I think Richard has a pretty good life, Jetting around the world whenever he likes shooting stock footage. Then when he finds that too tedious he self finances his own feature!

 

Stephen

[Matthew W. Phillips]

Hi,

 

I think Richard has a pretty good life, Jetting around the world whenever he likes shooting stock footage. Then when he finds that too tedious he self finances his own feature!

 

Stephen

 

I am surprised he "jets" around the world since there is a chance he might get in a plane crash and die an idiot's death.

[Guest]

I'm always careful when I'm overseas. For the record Matthew I've probably seen a lot more of this planet than you have, and been into a lot more remote areas of the globe than you have.

 

Matthew you seem like an intelligent guy, you can't make a distinction between, nessacary reasonable risk and unessacary unreasonable risk? Getting onto a commercial aircraft is a risk, yes. But if they follow all safety procedures your odds of being killed in a crash are incredibly low, this is reasonable risk. Then there's intentionally throwing a pebble into the water where a croc is so that it explodes out of the water and tries to eat you, this is unreasonable unessacary risk.

 

Here's another example for you. A man had a job on offer for a wagon driver, the job required the driver to navigate the wagon up a dangerous mountain road. The first applicant showed his perspective employer that he was such a good driver he could get the wagon wheels two feet from the edge of the road (steep drop below.) The second applicant showed the employer he could get the wagon wheels one foot from the edge. The third applicant showed the employer he could get the wagon wheels six inches from the edge. The fourth applicant didn't go any where near the edge of the road and drove the wagon so that it hugged the mountain side. Who do you think got the job?

 

I'm beginning to think the entire world now dismisses the idea of doing some thing stupid and killing your self. Most of you seem convinced that no matter how dumb you are, if you die, you where "living a full life."

 

Next you'll all tell me that if a guy dies while playing dodge the train, well it was just an accident he died "doing what he loved."

 

Ok fine, I'm the last person on planet earth who thinks people should be held accountable for their actions. This is very insightful to me actually, now I realize why our political and legal systems are the way they are.

 

They have both been designed to remove any ounce of self governance from the individual.

 

R,

[Thomas Fant]

Well gentlemen your responses are exactly as I expected,

 

 

So then you posted provocative comments (insulting the recently deceased is generally considered bad form in western societies, regardless of circumstance) for the express purpose of creating an argument ?

[Guest]

So then you posted provocative comments (insulting the recently deceased is generally considered bad form in western societies, regardless of circumstance) for the express purpose of creating an argument ?

 

Not at all. My arguments are clear and concise, you choose to interpret them as you wish.

 

R,

[Kent Balas]

Not at all. My arguments are clear and concise, you choose to interpret them as you wish.

 

R,

 

Theres a place for people like you richard.......Switzerland.

 

I think your in the wrong profession, risk assessment seems like a better field for a person of your crystal clear judgement. I'd rather have a few beers with a great entertaining guy like Steve Irwin than with you. Firstly we'd have to drink sitting down, as standing presents unnecessary risk. Then we couldn't have a fire, fire is dangerous, you never know what can happen with a fire. And finally we'd have to drink beer with no alcohol - alcohol impairs judgement, and we could never do that!

[Daniel Smith]

Richard I think your perception of 'un-necassary danger' is slightly narrow compared to the rest of ours.

Edited September 6, 2006 by Daniel Ashley-Smith

[Kent Balas]

Richard I think your perception of 'un-necassary danger' is slightly narrow compared to the rest of ours.

 

Richard accepts about as much unnecessary danger as an 110 year old nun.

 

Richard I think your perception of 'un-necassary danger' is slightly narrow compared to the rest of ours.

 

Richard accepts about as much unnecessary danger as an 110 year old nun.

[Guest]

Well now you guys are just being stupid, if you think flying on a plane and feeding a croc by hand are in the same category.

 

Oh and Kent FYI, I don't drink alcohol. Never have, never will.

 

R,

[Kent Balas]

Well now you guys are just being stupid, if you think flying on a plane and feeding a croc by hand are in the same category.

 

For an experienced guy feeding a croc by hand is not a problem - for you or me it could be a little dangerous. I can't find any figures but I'm willing to bet aeroplanes kill a shedload more people than crocodiles, and cars kill a lot more. As far as you being a teetotaller, no suprise. Have you ever had sex with your wife? Or was that deemed to risky?

[Daniel Smith]

Ah, ok now this entire threads getting a bit stupid. I think we should just leave it where it is, because I think we all know where this is going.

[Guest]

For an experienced guy feeding a croc by hand is not a problem - for you or me it could be a little dangerous. I can't find any figures but I'm willing to bet aeroplanes kill a shedload more people than crocodiles, and cars kill a lot more. As far as you being a teetotaller, no suprise. Have you ever had sex with your wife? Or was that deemed to risky?

 

Like I said now you're just being stupid. Obviously you've never heard of statistics, and obviously you're the type of person who would engage in any assinine activity.

 

As for my wife, we have children so I assume that answers your question. I will add that I have only had sex with my wife, and no other woman. The same for her, with respect to sex with men of course.

 

Neither one of us was going to lead a life where we slept around and opened ourselves up to the very real risk of catching AIDS, VD, Herpes, or any of the incurable sexually transmitted diseases. Want to mock me for that go ahead, it's some thing my wife and I are proud of.

 

R,

[Thomas Fant]

Not at all. My arguments are clear and concise, you choose to interpret them as you wish.

 

R,

 

That's my point, you wanted an argument. There isn't really much room in your comments for interpretation.It seems that you want to use someone elses (admittedly predictable) misfortune as a soapbox to let everyone know about your own superiority. You are of course entitled to whatever opinion you like of the man and his practices, and to broadcast it loudly as you wish. Hell, I agree that white people need to stop bothering animals ;) . But "I told you so's" are in poor taste, and ultimately seem more about you telling people how smart you are, not how dumb he was. A boxer is doing a job, a stuntman is doing a job, a firefighter is doing a job, Steve Irwin did his job. To me all of those occupations are for maniacs, but I don't gloat over my own superiority when I see Muhammad Ali on television and he can't speak. I admire the passion and dedication to a pursuit that was strong enough to cause him to put himself in danger. People have said "you take risks when driving a car" to which you replied that is was an ordinary, acceptable risk. Not after a 20 hour workday. That is an "idiotic risk" I bet a majority of people on this forum have taken, at some point. Can you compare Steve Irwin, habitual risk taker, to a firefighter ? Maybe not, but I don't believe it is valid to compare him to a drunk that teases an alligator and gets bitten, or worse. I'm not trying to insult you or anyone else who shares your feelings on this issue, there is already plenty of insulting going on with every subject on this forum more contentious than whether or not the sky is blue. Just having my say.