Germaine Greer blasts Steve Irwin
Under the heading 'The animal world got its revenge', Germaine Greer wrote this of Steve Irwin, a day after his death, and the article was featured on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald:
"There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into, trumpeting his wonder and amazement to the skies. There was not an animal he was not prepared to manhandle. Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress. Every snake badgered by Irwin was at a huge disadvantage, with only a single possible reaction to its terrifying situation, which was to strike."
Based on my extensive Steve Irwin-watching experience, which amounts to about five minutes, I must say that I was very shocked to see him distressing a lizard. However, I think Greer and the Herald went too far to publish this so soon after his death. She raises issues better discussed while the young man's body is not still warm.
Greer sticks to her guns over 'tormentor' Irwin
Tagged: australia, environment, wildlife
"There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into, trumpeting his wonder and amazement to the skies. There was not an animal he was not prepared to manhandle. Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress. Every snake badgered by Irwin was at a huge disadvantage, with only a single possible reaction to its terrifying situation, which was to strike."
Based on my extensive Steve Irwin-watching experience, which amounts to about five minutes, I must say that I was very shocked to see him distressing a lizard. However, I think Greer and the Herald went too far to publish this so soon after his death. She raises issues better discussed while the young man's body is not still warm.
Greer sticks to her guns over 'tormentor' Irwin
Tagged: australia, environment, wildlife
Pip Wilson posted item above at 7:42 AM | Permalink
26 Comments:
Germaine Greer is not a feminist she is sexist if steve irwin was a woman i would be very intrested on how different her comments would be.
Steve Irwin was a great man & a truly amazing icon for not only Australia but to the world. His enthusiasm & zest for life had a huge impact on many adults & kids & this will be the way we’ll remember him. He brought so much fun to our TV & to his zoo but behind all of that, his whole concept of conservation, education & his legacy towards wildlife was an amazing accomplishment. To succeed in rescuing wildlife - something he was born to do & at the same time to do it so passionately with fun along the way - he was one of a kind. All my wishes to his family & friends through this difficult time.
RIP Steve. Forever remembered.
I think the problem is, she rights mainly opinionated drivel that many people take as gospel.
As for the crocodile feeding incident, if she had done her research a little better, she would know that witnesses, particularly the person responsible for the footage seen on television of the child just a few inches from the crocodile debunked the scandal, saying that it was the angle that made it look worse than it was and that the child was actually a few feet away.
I think the public acted appropriately.
THAT ignorant greer woman, is worth ignoring.
Steve will be sadly missed by many, and remembered for all his wonderful work. My thoughts are with his children.
Greer knows nothing about animals or conservation.
The only thing she is qualified to comment on with any authority is sexual politics - and even on this subject her views are seriously flawed and outdated
hahaha, got to love it when a person who knows nothing about wildlife blasts a man who dedicated his whole life such. She knows nothing, and should grow a heart maybe that a man who has a family and loves nature that much has is now dead. Irwin did so much for the natural world, buying up thousands of acres of land in many places just to keep them from being developed and thus saving habitat. and yeah steve did handle wildlife he prob should not have but it was to educate and allow people to see what they look like and then maybe have a passion to save them from seeing them up close rather then in a book. yeah thats all lalala
Centuries from now on, Steve Irwin will be remembered as one of the greatest environmentalists of all times. But how will the world remember Germaine Greer - as a crazy, demented , PSEUDO - FEMINIST...
Australia did a good job in moving her out of its country
I hope Germaine Greer feels good about being paid to slate a honest, hardworking environmentalist who deserves respect. Steve Irwin is a legend. Germaine is only known for being controversial. What ever the common view is she will speak against it. My deepest sympathy to the Irwin family who have lost an enthusiastic, fun loving, brave father, husband and son. RIP Steve Irwin.
What a pathetic women! I never really knew much about converservation, until Steve brached my TV screen. He made me aware of the importance of fighting for our natural wildlife. Steve Irwin you are so many people's hero! Germaine Greer, you are nobody..only made pseudo-famous after the death of Steve. You have tought me nothing about protecting wildlife and our natural environment. Please leave us alone, keep your comments to your self. Only return when you have something worth while listening to..on second thoughts youve had your turn, so never return!
My deepest sumpathy for his wife Terri and his two children, Bindi and Bob. May they continue his legacy.
If i were you Germaine, i'd stay away from the australian shores for a while. it never is nor ever will be excusable to slur a great mans memory labelling him as a menace rather than the legend he was. where were you and your claims when steve was alive? when he could have fought back with the strengh of all peopele around the world backing him up? where was your loud mouth then? you,germaine are merely a spineless human being, trying to raise controversy and a little self attention in this the time that we should be mourning the loss of one of the greatest australians. shut your mouth and back off.
I'm not sure about that last anonymous comment. Ms Greer has been famous for decades, far more famous than Mr Irwin.
Im sick of stupid people not caring about the deaths of others. So what he did give a few animals a little stress!! but think of how much more he saved!! he raised so much money to care for animals and stupid stuck up people like germaine cant understand that ??? shes already had a history in Australia and obviously people didnt want her to stay !! stay out of australia and australians lives.. noone cares for her views anymore... and PIP just because greer has been "famous" for longer doesnt mean that she is better than steve... respect isnt given out to someone who is just famous!! its earnt and steves done more than earnt it.... make sense ?? no?? think before you say !!!!... Australia loves you steve!!
My comment about Ms Greer's fame was just a point of fact, as I see it. I made no suggestion that she is "better" than Mr Irwin.
People... please. Use your time more wisely. I mean, Germaine is just as entitled to express her opinion just like those little pests on channel 10,9 and 7 can dress up like stevie and place lizards on their shoulders *cough* naomi robson *cough* Now, i dont think he was a great man, but then again i didnt know him AND NIETHER DID YOU!! so before you go on baffeling about how great he was and what great conservational work he pursued, please, either make sure you knew him (this doesnt include the 5 o'clock news tributes, cos everyone knows how good dead people are made to sound once they have passed) and also, ask the animals how great he was! Maybe they loved him, but, i find this hard to believe when he picks them up the tails and shouts his pestuous catchphrase "CRIKEY" at them. Did you know crocodiles hear at 10 decibels higher than humans, so if you found him irritating and the crowd so loud...how would the crocodiles?? Anyway... this just a "short" opinion from an "uniformed" 14 year old girl who really hates bogans.
Thank you.
Germaine Greer, love her or hate her, has made a rock solid argument that no one so far has been able to refute. Once again allow me to remind dropkick's of the feminist-bashing variety that resorting to personal insults in the field of argument is a sure sign that you've lost your line. Probably Steve Irwin was a yob, certainly he was no role-model for anybody... Germaine Greer is 100% correct most Australian's do agree with her quietly. I do hope that thinking Aussie's are going to start standing up for themselves more and that soon we can overcome the conservative single-mindness and thuggery with which the dropkicks have manage to strangle debate in Australian society.
To all of you who condemn this woman: how qualified are any of you to assess the veracity of her point?
I don't know who this woman is, but she's right. I am a wildlife rehabilitator; I handle wild animals every day. What Irwin did was to exploit animals in an overtly aggressive way. His approach & handling "methods" (more like "antics") are anathema to how professionals are trained. His program was 10% conservation education and 90% Ringling Brother Circus. The way he treated animals was especially harmful to children. He may have paid lip service to the idea of treating animals with respect, but nearly all of his actions directly contradicted that. If you know anything about how children learn, you know that one's actions make far more of an impression on them than words.
To Irwin's credit, he did give a lot of time and money behind the scenes to promote the cause of conservation. But long before his death, long before the crocodile incident with his son, it has been a nearly unanimous agreement among serious devotees to wildlife that his influence via the media was detrimental to our cause. PeTA has recently published another criticism of his methods. I know there are other animal welfare groups that agree, but for most it is just not appropriate right now to say so publicly.
This woman did show poor taste in bringing the issue up so shortly after Irwin's death. But his death has brought unparalleled attention to his work. Since this is the moment when the media is listening, it is the most effective time to speak out. Yes, she has exploited his death. But given that Irwin was a man who made his career out of exploiting animals, seems rather just to me.
GET F***** GREER. YOU DON'T KNOW A SINGLE THING ABOUT WILDLIFE, AND ALL THE THINGS STEVE IRWIN HAS DONE TO SAVE IT. IT'S SOMETHING YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND ABOUT EVEN IF IT CAME AND SLAPPED YOU ON YOUR FACE, WHICH I'M SURE MANY AUSSIES WOULD LOVE TO DO ANYWAYS.
the media have made him into a saint shortly after bagging him out for the michael jackson childcare school incident. I feel so sad that he died young leaving a close knit family behind, but it dosen't mean he was perfect. They are saying things like he made you want to be a better australian. the media are to balme really they are a bunch of w#nkers germaine could have waited out of respect for his family
i think that Steve, as he is dead, is dead. People such as Greer the Great Big Bi**h, who obviously hats Steve to his bones, and then to openly publish so soon is plain rude and wrong.
AND GREER, WHE YOU READ THIS, REMEBER YOU GOT ALL YOUR INFOMATION FROM WIKIPEDIA YOU COW!
Steve Irwin, a great entertainer and a true wildlife entutiast... may you RIP
Germaine Greer is accurate AGAIN! She is brilliant and nearly always the only one willing to speak the truth.
Thank god for her!
I don't think the article was meant for his family. And I doubt very much that they botherd reading it (I am sure Germaine would expect that they had better things to do) but she was brave enough to say what needed to be said, for he rest of us.
The sooner we start asking questions and stop adoring everyone on television the better.
Go Germaine!
Steve Irwin made us proud to be Australian. I am currently in the USA and he could not be held up on a higher pedestal here.
I care for 5 children here and each of them adore Steve, and watch his show religiously.
If only there were more people in this world like him with such a positive attitude. May he always be remembered.
The accuracy of Germain Greer's comments about Steve Irwin is not the issue here. The fact is her timing sucks. She was essentially dancing on Steve Irwin's grave. You don't publicly berate a person who has just died. It doesn't matter how many books you've written or who the deceased was. What Germain did was simply a crass cry for attention.
Yes, of course Germaine Greer has a point about Irwin exploiting animals, and I'm sure a lot of people do to, but doesn't the woman have any decency to at least wait until he has been laid to rest instead of blasting his life's work in front of a worldwide audience?
what has SHE done for wildlife? Have we seen her on any wildlife or conservation shows? What right does she have to condemn a wildlife conservationist people all over the world know about, when nobody knows about her before this? It smacks of a disgusting publicity ploy.
Why is she only speaking out now, when the poor fella's gone? I dont remember her dissing him when he was alive.
To Anonymous who said that his family hasn't bothered to read her opinion, I dont think that is true. It is all over the papers, even people from Malaysia (me) have read this article, so what makes you assume that his family has closed one eye to this?
Germaine Greer, although you do have a point, please don't think that your words and opinions about Steve are the first to be printed on paper. You are making it sound as if you are the only person with a brain who can see Irwin's mistreatment of animals. Plenty of people do, but the reason they haven't spoken out is because they have RESPECT. For Irwin and his family. Please, be silent for a family , nation and a world that is grieving over a loss of a great man.
Please let him rest in peace. His family does not need this from you right now.
I think that Germaine Greer is a wonderful person that has brought Australia to a great high point. She has fought for a treaty for Aboriginal people and fought for all our women! She's not afraid to speak her mind and that should be appreciated!
The comment she made about Steve Irwin was not bad at all! I personally think that it was slightly bad to say, but i can tell you three good reasons why we should not even think about it anymore:
1. Germaine's comment is actually quite reasonable! Steve Irwin did intrude on heaps and heaps of animals' habitats and he did go and pick them up just to make himself look brilliant, brave and manly! Yes, he does raise money to save animals but that is no excuse to pick them up and make them feel uncomfortable!
2. Everyone should just forget about Germaine's comment because Australia is meant to be a democracy! We are meant to listen to what people have to say and take a look from they're perspective! All of you people that think that Germaine's comment was unreasonable are totally contradicting yourmselves because you are dissing her oppinion when you are straight out saying yours! That's just like saying to your opinion, "No, sorry that's wrong. Wrong answer!". Imagine if that was you! If we could just listen to others' opinions, then this wouldn't have been a problem and we would all be alot happier!
3. We should all just forget about Germaine's comment! All of you people that are saying: "Well, what did she ever do for the environment!", you are not making a very good point! Steve Irwin's job in our world was to be the all out Aussie bloke with his boots and his snakes and Germaine's job in our world was to fight for equality with humans! These two people's jobs in our world were very, VERY different so you can't possibly compare them! Also, I bet that if you asked Steve Irwin today, he would definately have something to say about Germaine Greer and her works. But would we care? Would we respect his opinion or would we just try and not believe it like all of you people out there are doing with Germaine's opinion? I bet that the majority of people would be on his side just because he is the sterotypical Aussie bloke.
I think that Germaine Greer is a wonderful person and that she has done just as much work in our world as has Steve Irwin. I hope you respect other peoples' opinions in the future or Australia could be a very bad country.
Jasmyn,
11 Years Old, First Speaker in Debating
She's classless.
'Nuff said.
Soon to be dead so we can dance on her grave.
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