Well??
Apparently Steve's pretty big over in America, and his fan base has suddenly died because of his stunt with his son. Well, at least that's what OUR news reports say.
As an Australian who was AT that demonstration, I think the media have put it totally out of context. They've only shown the bits of footage that have Steve, the baby, and the croc in them. No mention about the seven spotters who were two steps away at all times... I don't know if anybody else saw this, but they certainly didn't broadcast it in Oz.
I know, I know, it was a stupid thing to do nevertheless, and I wouldn't do it personally, but Steve's not that stupid to put his son at risk if he truly thought there WAS danger. In a 2 minute interview I saw of him, he said that there were more children mauled to death by dogs each year than people attacked by crocs in the past 5 years. It's just 'perceived danger' and it causes a lot of paranoia.
I was just wondering what the rest of you think of him, and what should happen to him.
P.S - when I say 'what do you think of him', I don't mean as a person, because I'm sure as hell convinced that he's NUTS in the head the way he goes on and on about how beautiful everything is. I mean what do you think of his defence?
Well what would I know ... I'm just some munchkin from the land of Oz.
But since you asked; The guy is nuts. But he knows what he's doing. I thought it looked a little odd sure ... kind of reminded me of Michael Jackson hangin' his kid over the balcony ... but I'm sure Steve-O's kid was in no danger.
Then again, people change when they want to keep their viewing audience and for me, since all the shows are staying at the zoo, I watch it less and less.
So who knows? Perhaps it was just a way to spark interest again.
Crikey!
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Eh, I don't see the problem with what he did....I'm sure all sorts of children in the circus are subjected to stunts like that also...He's just getting trained up on the family biz...
Steve-O isn't the crocodile hunter. Steve Irwin is the crocodile hunter. Steve-O is the one off Jackass...
QuoteIn a 2 minute interview I saw of him, he said that there were more children mauled to death by dogs each year than people attacked by crocs in the past 5 years. It's just 'perceived danger' and it causes a lot of paranoia.
... The reason for that is not because crocs aren't dangerous, but because there are millions of dogs and they are in the homes with the children, rather than being an endangered species that has limited contact with humans. That's like saying climbing around in an electrical substation isn't dangerous because fewer people die doing that than by shock from the outlets in their home. The ratio of dogs/children and crocs/children is so drastically different that of course the numbers will be much different.
I watched an interview of him too, where he said he would do it again, just without cameras. I think the guy is a fool for endangering his child. No matter how big a proffessional he is, he's almost died many times in accidents, and there's no promising his child is perfectly safe in his arms just because nothing has happened yet. It's his child though, and there isn't really a law against what he did, so I don't think there's a reason to do anything about it. It really doesn't make any difference to me, because I'm not a fan of his anyway. All of the media attention for it when 60k people died in Bam last week seems stupid.
QuoteI think the media have put it totally out of context.
The media quoted people saying that Steve Irwin is a moron for holding a baby close to a crocodile.
You say that is out of context.
Out of context opposed to what????
Quoteit was a stupid thing to do nevertheless
QuoteSteve's not that stupid to put his son at risk if he truly thought there WAS danger.
So what you're saying is it was a stupid thing to do, but Steve's not stupid for doing it.
REALITY CHECK: Steve's a fucking moron, whether or not he brings his son into croc pens!
Besides, people are generally stupid -- for example:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/malice/bearmaul.htm
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/hanging.htm
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/disarmed.htm
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/window.htm
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/micropet.htm
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tapeworm.htm
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/animals/snowball.htm
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/fargo.htm
QuoteIn a 2 minute interview I saw of him, he said that there were more children mauled to death by dogs each year than people attacked by crocs in the past 5 years.
That's because the majority of dogs are quite friendly, while the majority of crocs aren't.
That's the reason why more people keep dogs as pets, rather than crocs.
EDIT: I've pretty much said the same thing as shbazjinkens
QuoteIt's just 'perceived danger' and it causes a lot of paranoia.
That sounds more like words from Steve's publicity agent as a way to calm the situation down.
My opinion: Steve's a dipshit, no matter what context you put him in.
Yeah, have to be a Moron state that nominates him for Australian of the year....
Don't remind me. :(
Actually, I remember Beattie was against Irwin at one stage because Beattie was trying to promote technological advances in the state, as opposed to tourism, hence 'The Smart State'.
Then, our state government nominates a guy who teases crocs as Queenslander of the Year.
THAT'S NOT "SMART"!!
THAT'S RETARDED!!
I know I say Beattie looks a lot like Homer Simpson but I bet now, after the Irwin-baby incident, he's slapping his forehead and shouting "DOH!"
And as a afterthought, didn't Lindy Chamberlain teach anybody anything?
Well, here is what I say:
I DO say that the media blows everything out of context.
...And I also say that Steve and Michael Jackson obviously have something in common. Jacko dangles his kids off balconys, Steve-o dangles his kids in front of hungry crocs...
LMFAO! ;D
I don't honestly have a firm oppinion on this at all.
I generally don't think holding your children near wild animals that have a possibilty of killing injuring yourself, let alone your child, is a good idea.
However, to the same extent, he knows more about crocodiles then I do. There were seven men to spot him. The child is his...and no harm came to him.
So I'm caught between the fact that I think he's crazy and also the fact that he's more knowledgable about crocodiles than I am. I'm sure there was a slight danger of the child being harmed...as there is a danger when a child is playing sports. And just like those parents take a knowing risk when allowing htere kid to play sports, so too did Irwin.
So in the end, I really feel it's his problem if his kid ends up getting injured/killed. And I feel that legally nothing should be done. It's his kid, let him raise the kid how he wants. There are far worse parents out there the Steve Irwin.
-MillsJROSS
I think it's just a non event and there is nothing going on in the media at this time of year, so why not make some story out of nothing (it's the same with Jackson being in the news [as if anyone has a clue if he's guilty]).
For fucks sake, eventually the kid has got to deal with crocs as it will be inevitable in his family, so why not start from scratch, sure the kid won't know shit at one month old, just waiting for some more milk. Steve is just bringing up his kid the same way he was brought up, that is exactly how it usually works.
He did nothing wrong, he's not as stupid as he comes across (obviously, cause he's still alive) He understands the dangers, therefore he's got more idea than anyone observing especially a biased media. He's probably one of the most croc Savvy guys in the world, therefore I'd rather be in Steve's arms in front of a croc than in Jacksons.
I saw an interview with him last night and basically he said the only mistake he made was letting cameras see the event, and I agree with that completely.
EDIT: It's silly to compare ways that people die eg. by dogs or whatever, You take a risk every time you get in a car or walk down the street. You could get stung by a bee or wasp, struck by lightning and as been mentioned there are a lot of worse parents out there.
obviously there are more dogs out there than crocs, but it depends specifically on your current location, I'd say Steve's kids will have to deal with crocs more than most kids, therefore the time spent learning about their behaviour is crucial in upbringing.
If you ever go to Africa, don't worry too much about Lions or crocs, It's the Hippo that kills more humans than any other animal, maybe people should take the game "Hungry Hungry Hippos" more literally.
I agree that it was a publicity stunt. No way he'd do it if he didn't think people would come and watch it...
But the media DID make it seem MUCH more dramatic than it actually was. (This bit's for DGM)
I mean, for sure he could have slipped and dropped his baby, but parents "throw" (not literally) their kids up in the air and catch them again all the time. No one ever yells at them. It's just because there's a croc in there... Needless to say it was the most placid crock they had, and crocodiles move at their slowest when on land, and it's head was a good five-six meters away from the baby (despite what it looked like in the footage)...
To DGM, also.... Yes, it was stupid to the point of being a publicity stunt which he SHOULD HAVE KNOWN would cause a stir. But he wasn't being a stupid parent. Just teaching the kids what they'd have to learn anyway.
So I'm with MillsJ on this one. I, personally, am afraid of crocs. Steve isn't. So I'd expect him to know more about crocs than me, and I'd be a stuck up prick if I pretended to know more than him. But at the same time, I'd be an ass to condone it.
It was just a stunt to get attention.
He sure as hell did that.....
This makes no sense at all, but I keep hearing it:
QuoteJust teaching the kids what they'd have to learn anyway.
The baby is one month old! What is it going to learn? At this crucial stage, here's what a baby knows how to do:
1. Shit itself
2. Make noise
I mean even disregarding the age, what is being learned by watching daddy throw food at a wild animal from his arms?
I don't know what the big deal is. Everyone knows the crocodiles are robots and Steve Irwin's actually a 3D hologram anyway.
Poor crock Hunter... I do believe that a person who is capable to love animals like that can´t be capable to put his son in a real danger. I like his programs, I hope his star will shine again.
A little out of topic... but shaking a baby out of a window is so much dangerous than putting a baby in front of a feeded/trained croc... YOU KNOW, MR. JACKSON???
I agree the media made it more dramatic than it was (they do it all the time, so why should this be any different).
However, they didn't take it out of context cause it was still a stupid publicity stunt -- yes, I saw the "extra footage" that Irwin used to prove his innocence and to be honest it didn't really make much of difference to the context.
Sure, the kid has to grow up around crocs -- But one wrong move and SNAP! bye bye baby!
I don't care how experienced Irwin is -- Even he can screw up!
After all, he is only human like the rest of us.
It's just that I think he's also a dipshit.
Peter Thomas: By your logic, if a father wanted to teach a kid about handguns at age three by waving a gun in his/her face, that would be responsible.
Steve Irwin is not a responsible parent in this case.
I've spoken to many other parents who have said no responsible parent would put their children at risk like that (no matter how minor the risk is).
So far, I haven't found one parent to say otherwise.
Okay, let me tell you a true story (YAY! STORYTIME WITH DG!):
My Dad loves cars. He loves to drive them a lot. And he drives them fast. He's never had a crash in my 22 years (nearly 23) on earth. Naturally, he used to let me (a 3 or 4 year old) sit on his lap while driving and let me take the wheel. I did pretty well travelling at 80km/hr. And even if something small did go wrong, Dad would calmly take the wheel and readjust.
Anyway, the police pulled him over on night while this was happening. He got booked, lost points off his license and had to attend a 1 day defensive driving course. I went along with him.
Even though the risk was very minor (Dad was and still is a safe driver -- like I said, 0 crashes), Dad acted irresponsibly, even under the eyes of the law.
If something minor did go wrong and Dad missed out on readjusting the wheel, we'd both be dead.
Naturally, I wasn't allowed to sit on his lap and drive anymore.
Quote from: AGA on Tue 06/01/2004 05:04:59Steve-O isn't the crocodile hunter. Steve Irwin is the crocodile hunter. Steve-O is the one off Jackass...
Don't they call him Steve-o on the show sometimes?
Speaking of Steve-O from Jackass ... I used to like that show. Now it's so frickin' boring! How many times do I need to see steve-o staple his ass cheeks together? Time to hang it up Jackass!! (and that new Bam show ... whatever it's called)
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that "Bam" show... you mean Iran's earthquake coverage?
Media is a big waste of money and time.
They don't care about anything but ratings. So they blow everything up SO big so people will watch continlosuly. It's really stupid, greedy, and crappy.. Focus on what's really important, like earthquakes or mudslides killing hundreds and thousands of people. And even then, it doesn't have to be 24 hour coverage.
Viva La Bam is pretty funny, in my opinion. Steve-o's on Wild Boys, and I think that show can get canned.