A teacher and a showman
Angelica Carapia
Issue date: 9/7/06 Last update: 9/7/06 at 4:01 PM PST
Section: OpEd
- Page 1 of 1
It's vexing how Americans are reacting to the recent death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.
"It was bound to happen," they say, or "I'm not surprised."
To them, it seems that because he was a celebrity, his life was somewhat more disposable.
Others offer sympathy, while only a year ago referred to him as a khaki clad loony.
I ask: Why the caustic remarks and belated recognition?
With as much television as Americans watch, it would seem that we should have realized that as a people, we tend to value something much more when it's gone.
Growing up with the Discovery Channel, I watched as Irwin handled snakes, taking care not to harm then even as they stretched their jaws over his wrists.
His animated gestures and dilated pupils revealed a man with a true, intense passion towards learning about and preserving our world's creatures.
True, his unwavering jovial presence did at times cause laughter when he probably didn't mean it, but it only added to his reputation as an affable Australian ambassador and friend of nature.
He did more for my education of animals through a few episodes of "Croc Files" than any teacher ever has. He even inspired me to befriend a snake of my own.
So it troubles me, when a person who taught me so much without even knowing me gets tossed into the "he was going to get killed someday" bin.
The response to his death triggered a sentiment in me that I didn't even know existed.
I wondered: Who are these people to speak so casually of his death when they didn't even know him?
Even now, it is almost as if I can hear him say of the stingray, "Oi! He's a beauty ain't he? He didn't mean to pierce my heart. He was just trying to protect himself."
No doubt he will be remembered both for his death and for his impact on Earth.
Hopefully, the world isn't as rotten as to relate a freak accident to him more than animals, nature and what he did to educate people about them.
G'day everyone.
"It was bound to happen," they say, or "I'm not surprised."
To them, it seems that because he was a celebrity, his life was somewhat more disposable.
Others offer sympathy, while only a year ago referred to him as a khaki clad loony.
I ask: Why the caustic remarks and belated recognition?
With as much television as Americans watch, it would seem that we should have realized that as a people, we tend to value something much more when it's gone.
Growing up with the Discovery Channel, I watched as Irwin handled snakes, taking care not to harm then even as they stretched their jaws over his wrists.
His animated gestures and dilated pupils revealed a man with a true, intense passion towards learning about and preserving our world's creatures.
True, his unwavering jovial presence did at times cause laughter when he probably didn't mean it, but it only added to his reputation as an affable Australian ambassador and friend of nature.
He did more for my education of animals through a few episodes of "Croc Files" than any teacher ever has. He even inspired me to befriend a snake of my own.
So it troubles me, when a person who taught me so much without even knowing me gets tossed into the "he was going to get killed someday" bin.
The response to his death triggered a sentiment in me that I didn't even know existed.
I wondered: Who are these people to speak so casually of his death when they didn't even know him?
Even now, it is almost as if I can hear him say of the stingray, "Oi! He's a beauty ain't he? He didn't mean to pierce my heart. He was just trying to protect himself."
No doubt he will be remembered both for his death and for his impact on Earth.
Hopefully, the world isn't as rotten as to relate a freak accident to him more than animals, nature and what he did to educate people about them.
G'day everyone.
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