Crocodile Hunter dies

Guy wouldn't touch answering my question after his ridiculous post.

 

Ohhhh-K, I'm going to move this in a different direction, get your flamethrowers ready ...

Let me see if I've got this right ...

-- Irwin died late Saturday.

-- Most everyone finds out Sunday. Shock, awe, amazement at the bizarre manner of his death, sadness about a belovedTV personality. All completely understandable.

-- Monday: the story has legs for a second day. Producer emotionally talks about the death, some more facts come out about the death, more sadness. Understandable.

But now it's Tuesday, and this story still has legs? People are still hemming and hawing over a dude, who for all intents and purposes, played chicken with alligators and other animals for a living?

Sadly, he finally played the ultimate price. I think its safe to say his mission about demystifying animals kind of backfired in the end. His educational efforts are noble, his manner of going about them were purely made-for-TV silliness, whether he was beloved for it or not.

It's like teaching kids about auto safety by crashing into a wall, playing Russian roulette with the air bag, emerging and saying, "See kids, you don't have anything to be afraid of when you ride in your car!"

Besides, he is not the Pope, he is not a world leader, he is not an entertainer in the sense that he was so talented and culturally important that his contributions changed our own culture. So why is this resonating as much as it apparently does with many people?

No offense to those moved by his departure, but his death should not by vying for air/radio/print space with today's oil discovery or probably 10 other stories that have more impact on our lives.

Like I said, he played chicken with animals, but you'd think he cured cancer with the way his death is being covered.

I don't get it. Flame away ...

 

Everything I've seen said he died Monday (Australia time... so late Sunday in the States).

 

My kids care much more about his demise than any other story this week or longer.

 

Damn, I must have gone into a time worp or something, you're right, he did die late Sunday.

OK, my time frame is admittedly fucked, but the point of my post still stands.

 

Today featured a fine moment: A radio station played "Hole Hearted" by Extreme, then the substitute DJ discussed this tragedy.

 

Basically, Rasputin, he got what was coming to him, right?

 

I've had a hole in my heart for so long
I've learned to fake it and just smile along

 

http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=2&guideContext=65.73&pmmsid=1703685

Irwin's best friend talks about the tragedy with Diane Sawyer

 

Okay, I'm not going to knock your points, but I'll try to explain a little why I think it's still captivating people (myself included).

When I first heard about this, I actually laughed and thought it was kind of funny (I was slightly inebriated, so my symphathy sector of the brain was apparently off). But the more I saw about him from tributes and such, the initial "Wow, a young famous guy died" reaction turned into "Wow, a pretty important activist died," and that has more meaning.

The reason the story's getting so much attention is the awe factor and the manner in which he lived his life and died. But why I think it's deserved is how rare a man he was. He was an activist in every sense of the word. Maybe I'm looking through this with rose-colored glasses, but I have to respect a guy that risked his life for such a noble cause as promoting environmental awareness, you know, saving the whales and all that good stuff. How many of us can say we've done anything as selfless? Hell if I would.

 

True dat.

 

This might seem like an odd comparison, but here goes:

In 1984, the Irish Republican Army failed in an assassination attempt against Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Afterwards, the IRA told the Brits: "Today we were unlucky, but remember, we only have to be lucky once – you will have to be lucky always."

And that's how it was with the Croc man: He had to be lucky always.

Being unlucky once was all it took to lose his life.