A bit surprised by the response from some chums to the death of Steve Irwin (sorry to pick on that site in particular but it's indicative of stuff said in the pub last night). Some have said Irwin was reckless or a madman, or even deserved what he got.
I can’t help feel that if those gorillas had mauled David Attenborough instead of hugging him, it’d earn a different response. No less reckless a stunt for making good telly, it’s just Irwin wasn’t so immaculately spoken.
Oh, honestly. Cobblers - and poncey, self-righteous cobblers at that. Did you actually read that Wikipedia article? It contains within it every clue as to why Attenborough didn't get ripped apart by gorillas and, unsurprisingly, it's got nothing to do with his diction.
ReplyDeleteSuggesting that some people's reaction to Irwin's death is down to his manner of speech, or his accent, is lazy at best and downright offensive at worst. Yes, more offensive than suggesting that a guy who repeatedly had to skip out of the way of a crocodile's snapping jaws might have been dicing with death, or that his whole attitude towards the dangers of nature was perhaps just a little bit complacent.
Sure, his death is a tragedy for his wife and family, but you can't tell me there's not a hint of irony in what happened. And the minute David Attenborough starts spazzing about with large man-eating reptiles and gets gored by a stringray, I will readily concede the same of him. Fvcksake.
Yeah.
ReplyDeleteDidn't wish the guy dead, or anything, but you can't really have it coming any more neatly wrapped than Irwin did. It's rather like Donald Campbell; shame, and all, but - well, duuuh.
The upside of his death is that I have now learned about his zookeeping and conservation work, whereas in life he was - to me - just another mouthy, overconfident antipodean wanker. He really didn't have to go that far just to make me think better of him, though.
rdhkwby!
I think that's utter rubbish Simon. Attenborough would have received a precisely equivalent reaction had that happened, though one more tailored to his image.
ReplyDeleteAh well, the wife agrees with you lot so you must be right.
ReplyDeleteI just thought it was a bit mean.