• 🇳🇿 🇲🇲 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇦🇺 🇦🇶 🇮🇳
    Australian & Asian
    Drug Discussion


    Welcome Guest!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
  • AADD Moderators: andyturbo

Steve Irwin - Little Beauty! OR Beast?

shakra

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 26, 2002
Messages
271
In this thread: "Drugs around children?"

A few people got off the beaten track, but seemed to have some very interesting comments in relation to Steve Irwin and the now world famous incident with him and his newborn feeding a croc.

Personally I didn't see anything wrong with it, until some of you made very good points:

a) jostling a child of that age can't be good
b) the camera's really shouldn't have been necessary

That being said, I understand that you may think Steve Irwin is a prat, or whatever, but I personally find him to be an intriguing character. Anyone who can be consistantly be that hyperactive without any chemical enhancement amazes me.

Not only that, it's the sincerity you feel if you have ever met him. All the interview on teev and stuff paint a very realistic picture of Steve.

If you ever get the chance to, visit Beerwah... you'll either love him even more or be completely converted and maybe even come to understand him a little.

I think he's a LITTLE BEAUTY! =D
 
I don't really have an opinion of him generally, except that I think he portrays a weird image of AUstralians to the rest of the world.

I did express my view in the other thread, but basically:

SUPPORT THE KID'S HEAD, for goodness' sake. One month old babies have basically no muscle tone in their necks. Is he trying to give the baby whiplash?

Secondly, a child that age can't see a foot in front of his face. He's not going to learn anything from being held in front of a croc, at feeding time, in front of a live audience and cameras. In fact, he probably wasn't aware of anything except that he was a bit hungry and probably needed his nappy changed soon.

Thirdly, I can't believe the mother laughed as she handed Bob over. It honestly makes me question her maternal instinct - it's a fucking hungry crocodile! I just don't see the need to put a very small child in that sort of situation. Mr Irwin may feel in control and he's been doing it for X years and blah blah, but we only have to look at Sigfried and Roy to see that animals are unpredictable - they don't always do what you think they're going to. And how many spotters do you think Roy had? MANY. Was he still mauled? Yes.

Fourthly - BOB?! Come on now.
 
very good point anna! about Roy... you're a smart cookie! I'm desperate to start my family, and I will definately be able to make more educated decisions from some snippets picked up from you and others here on bluelight! Not to mention good old life experience!

Thanks heaps! :)
 
^^^ that's my take on the issue too. sure, steve knows what he's doing, but to put a child in a situation where other things need to be factored in (not least the crocodile itself, but also things like the possibility of irwin slipping, or any number of things), is plain stupid.
 
I also have issue with him exploiting his own child for commercial/entertainment purposes. And to do so by needlessly exposing his baby to danger is just mind boggling.
 
^^^ but didnt our parents put us kids in danger when they drove us around in the car? We hear a lot more on the news about horrific car accidents where whole families are wiped out, but ive only heard of a few croc attacks.
Also for that croc to get bob, it would have to get steve himself,and if that were going to happen, do u think hed still be around now??
 
I don't personally think that the baby was at risk from the crocodile. I am going to pay that comment from anna about the babys neck being unsupported though...

I really have a love/hate relationship with this Steve wanker... Every single cell in my body screams dickhead but I also have to respect (being an environmentalist/vego) the amount of money he puts into conservation. It really would be a shame if the American public stopped giving him money he could put to good use.

The comparisons to M. Jackson though really were uncalled for... There is a difference between holding your baby over a large drop and making a calculated risk on how likely the baby is even going to be noticed by a crocodile when Steve's body was clearly between the croc. and the kid...
 
imo..

Im sure steve was 100% confident that him and the baby would of been safe.. I dont think he was doing it for any kind of a publicity stunt... i think that he knows the child is going to be brought up in the zoo, and in 20 years time when the kid is running the zoo he will be able to say my dad put in in front of a croc when i was a few months old and ive been here ever since... Im sure he will laugh about it, and deffinatelly not be angry at his dad for what he did...

i do agree that it was bad the way he was holding the baby tho... head support would of been better..

anyways.. just my opinion..

:)
 
I don't think Steve wasn't doing anything wrong, he was just teaching his kids to respect the nature and the animals, I mean for fuck's sake, Steve been playing with snakes since he was 4 years old (according to the Paper, and I don't believe everything in the paper)....

I am sure he knew what he was doing, he's been dealing with dangerous animals for almost all his life......

He's a legend...... :)
 
I have no doubt the Steve was in total control and knew what he was doing, he's been around crocs all his life and would be aware of every possible scenario known to him. I guess my concern is the unexpected - such a Steve tripping and falling over? The possibility of something startling the croc in an attack?

But more seriously, my concern for Bob is more that he'll grow up with Steve's mannerism's and grasp of the english language - crikey!! ;)
 
Blinky Bill said:
^^^ but didnt our parents put us kids in danger when they drove us around in the car? We hear a lot more on the news about horrific car accidents where whole families are wiped out, but ive only heard of a few croc attacks.
Also for that croc to get bob, it would have to get steve himself,and if that were going to happen, do u think hed still be around now??

*Bangs head on table*

This argument is the most specious kind of reasoning I have ever heard of.

Firstly, the fact that there are more car accidents than crocodile attacks doesn't mean that cars are more dangerous than crocodiles, it just means we're exposed to situations in which we travel in cars FAR more than situations where we can be attacked by crocodiles.

Of course car accidents that end in fatalities are far more prevalent, even if cars were 100x safer than crocodiles we're still going to end up with more car than crocodile fatalties, simply for the sheer volumes in which we use cars.

By your rationale it's safer to take babies into crocodile pens than it is to let them sleep in their own cots, given the high rate of SIDS deaths among infants relative to infant crocodile fatalities.

Secondly, we all put ourselves in danger the moment we walk outside our front doors, the point is whether we needlessly do so. To not travel in cars would presumably be safer than to travel in them, but there is a clear necessity or NEED to do so. If we didn't we wouldn't be able to get anywhere or live our lives properly.

I really don't see a corellative NEED for a one month baby to be taken into a pen containing a 4 metre crocodile, other than for the entertainment value provided to the audience watching :/

Thirdly, the croc didn't necessarily need to get to the baby in order for mayhem to occur. Steve slips while holding the baby with only one arm, and either drops or falls ontop of the baby. Pick one.

And as far as the 'educating my children' comment goes? Oh please... You tell me how much that 1 month old baby is going to take away from the encounter in terms of education.

To anyone who thinks that what Steve did was okay... would they be willing to let someone like Steve Irwin take their own 1 month old child or sibling into the same situation to perform the same stunt? If the answer is no then I'd brand you a hypocrite, if the answer is yes I'd brand you irresponsible and foolhardy for needlessly playing with the life of a precious member of your family.

*shrugs*

- M.
 
I'll just reinstate what I wrote, HERE. :D

* * *

And btw Macksta, wonderful comments. =D
I was very impressed - - - your points were completely valid and well written.
A joy to read. :) :D :)
 
Last edited:
The possibility of irwin slipping, or any number of things), is plain stupid. [/B]
I read your drugs around children point of view, why is this stupid but taking drugs around kids is ok there are factors with both where things can go wrong?? (ie:get a dodgy pill that flips you out)
 
Macksta said:
[
By your rationale it's safer to take babies into crocodile pens than it is to let them sleep in their own cots, given the high rate of SIDS deaths among infants relative to infant crocodile fatalities.

[/B]

That is not what i meant. Steve Irwan is a proffessinal croc handler, and as much as hes a total tosspot, he knows what hes doing. Do u really think that he would place his only son into as much danger as eveyone thinks. I dont.

And i never meant that its safer to take a baby into a crocodillian pen. But that baby couldnt have been in safer hands. Of course there is more cases of Sids deaths than Infant croc attacks. But steve has these creatures living in his backyard (he lives at the zoo) and for his kids not to know what these animals do, is wrong. Yeah he may be young (maybe even a little too young), if he were to take his baby into the pens when he is 10 means he would naturally be extremely scared of these animals and will never be able to grasp what steve does. Does the world need another Steve Irwan? Of course it does.

I dont think anyone understands fully what that man does for the world.
 
my lil girl has lived with countless venomous snakes for all of her 3 years.....i had 24 rattlesnakes/copperheads/cottonmouths in my bedroom for about 1 year.......i've never been bitten, never plan to be, and if you're knowledgeable about the likes, are as safe as the person who knows nothing and avoids them.........he's probably as knowledgeable as anyone about his animals......proven by his health......i've even had crocs/gators and caimans and you can learn to read animals although some will tell you it's impossible......i've freehandled certain rattlesnakes (6ft) i've had because you CAN read them.....i understand why they bite......each animal is different.......i've had some that you can't get close to at all and i'd never pick up, others, i'm completely ok with, even though i KNOW they could hit me at any time and change my life forever........$50,000 for doctor bills, loss of use of the limb for at least 8 months, etc.........i've had people tell me i was an unfit parent because i have "dangerous animals" too.......i don't let her touch them yet, but the non venomous animals like my pythons, monitors, caimans, she has touched if she wanted....fear of these animals is just stupid.......if he knows what he's doing and the baby isn't harmed, then nothing came of it....not like he does it on a regular basis over and over and over, etc.........he's sane, he's very good at what he does, and he seems to be a good dad......sheltering your kid from every "threat" is impossible, unfair to the child, and just ridiculous......hell, horses kill 10x as many people every year than do venomous reptiles......but do people have problems letting their small child ride a horse with them?

what about dogs?.......small dogs force more people to be hospitalized than do any other animals..........but they're furry and cuddly:p
 
^^

fizzbob, er.. yes, I'd imagine almost every parent would have a problem with letting their 1 month old baby ride a horse with them. 8)

Similarly, I can't imagine too many people who would let their dogs play freely with a 1 month old baby.

So yeah I'm struggling to see your point.

P.S. - page breaks are your friend.
 
^ Yeah, that's exactly it. I have a very friendly, harmless, three-legged cat. Now, I've lived with cats all of my life and have contact with them probably 15 hours out of every day. I know cats, I'm familiar with the way they work and the way they think. Some might even call me a cat expert.

But when my baby was a month old, the cat didn't go ANYWHERE NEAR HER. Just in case.
 
Top