Everyone knows now that the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, was killed this weekend while swimming at the Great Barrier Reef. Lots of the news coverage and all the people I've talked to have pretty much taken a particular tone when recounting the story. They are not surprised. He was always doing crazy stuff with wild animals.
The way they talk almost makes it sound like Irwin was asking for it, or that he deserved it.
This attitude is sort of pissing me off. Irwin was an environmentalist, a conservationist, a son, a husband and a father. He loved his wife and kids and they loved him. He loved the animals he worked with. He was a good guy. And he was also a professional.
And the stingray attack did not occur when Irwin was showcasing a stingray, holding one in front of the camera, chasing one, or otherwise interacting with one. The news accounts I've seen have said that the stingray was buried in the sand, that no one knew it was there, and that it reared up and stung him directly in the heart when he unknowingly swam a little too close. The news accounts say that stingrays don't normally sting humans. It was something that could have happened to any swimmer.
What happened to Irwin had nothing to do with the behavior that other people have characterized as problem behavior.
Admittedly, I think he was rightfully taken to task a few years ago when he was feeding a crocodile with one hand while he held his infant son in the other arm and then walked the boy through the animal's pen. I remember wondering if he'd gotten in trouble with his wife after that episode. I never heard of him doing anything like that again.
He was charismatic, funny, irrepressible and quirky. And what appeared to be his risk-taking behavior (when it was risky just for him) was part of his great appeal.
What a tragic tragic event that such an amazing educator and entertainer was taken from not only the world, but from his family at such a young age. How tremendously sad it is that his wife must tell their children that daddy isn't coming home. And how heartbreaking that those kids, so loved by their dad, must grow up without him. I hope they don't ever hear the talk show blather that's going around today.