crikey! this is what I get for NOT having TV

[MAC]

Son In No Danger, Said Croc Hunter (http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20040105/crochunter.html)

http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20040105/gallery/crochunter_goto.jpg

you might recall that michael jackson almost dropped his kid off a balcony.

now steve irwin has his baby boy in a croc pen.

know what?
that's their business

1) The mean spirited cold hearted obtuse comment

any fucking 3rd party kid's rights groups should step forward now and be shot for the fucking communist bastards they are

2) the slightly more realistic comment

it is the parent's perogative because it is their responsibility. obviously TV cameras have an influence but the reasons behind his decision are his concern. He seems to have figured out his mistake tho and I hope he continues undaunted to teach his kids without the lime light affecting his decisions.

3) the touchy feely twit comment

this was just dumb on the croc hunter's part. not only was his son in danger but all the work he's done to teach ppl about crocodiles could have been undone with a single slip of the foot on wet grass. I hope he takes his child rearing and his beloved crocodiles more seriously since the eye of the world is, indeed, on him.

ok, I'm spent

[Barbie]

I wonder how his wife feels about this stunt?

[SimpleSimon]

She was there during the filming and supported his decision in a public statement. What do you expect from a girl from Eugene, Oregon?

Ever seen "The Lion King"?

I think of the opening scenes of that critically acclaimed, massively publicly endorsed movie every time I see the picture of Michael Jackson with his child.

[Koliedrus]

There once was a showman named Roy.
His tigers delivered much joy.
One chomped on his head,
He's confined to a bed.
Go to hell, Steve. Your kid's not a toy.

[MAC]

if we had points, Kol would get a limerick point for that one

[Uberwonder]

pffft, sorry but I saw no problem here.
If he was an amatuer, ok. He isn't. That guy knows his shit.
If that was a swamp, ok. It wasn't. It was his home turf. He knew where he was and he had room to back up.
If that was a wild croc, ok. It wasn't. It was one that he has had for quite a while. He knows the animal.
If the croc was displaying aggresive or defensive behavior, ok. It wasn't. All that croc saw was that chicken. The animal was familiar with Irwin and knew what was going on.
If he was "dangling the kid ala Jacko as he has been accused of by O'Reilly and a host of others, ok. He wasn't. That's a NFL grip if I've ever seen one.


I don't deny the fact that it was indescreet but I see no crime.

[Billyman]

:stupid:

[Flit]

/me sits down next to Uberwonder

Exactly the point I made in the same discussion the other day.

[Mudflap]

Even so, what was the point of taking the risk?

[Billyman]

Shock, Aw, ratings.

[MAC]

no, Ihave to think that ole stevo has assimilated the camera into his life instead of becoming a slave to it and this is one time he forgot it was watching him.

he let the whole world into his life and now the whole world is going to judge him everytime he does anything

get used to it stevo, your a victim of fame and you'd better weigh the "effects" of what you do

the fickle TV watchers will forget your educational motives the second they want to see you fall from grace.

[Pianomahnn]

Originally posted by Billyman
Shock, Aw, ratings.

Then what were the reasons for the croc hunter's father doing the same thing many years ago?

[Koliedrus]

Here's what some of us see.

[Uberwonder]

bahahaha
It is true though. That's what some people see.

[MAC]

if you read the article you'd notice that the croc hunter gives away one of his secrets

when they set up the TV camera's they do so at an angle that makes him look alot closer to the animal than he is

but anyway

these children live along the nile river in africa
their ancestors have been bathed in that crocodile filled river for thousands of years.

if you don't have a fence around your pool you are in big trouble.

http://www.travelegypt.com/villagechildrenalongnileb.jpg

[Cruise Director]

Anybody that gets pissed off at the croc hunter should take a minute and go driving on our highways. Count the kids that are A.) not in a car seat and B.) are not restrained by any kind of seatbelt. If you want to get enraged about bad parenting, start there; for the road is far more dangerous than that crocodile.

[Pianomahnn]

Cruise_wins++;

[Billyman]

You’re right Mac, he isn’t “owned” by the camera. Take the camera away and you have the live audience he was performing in front of. I’ll say that I have no problem with the stunt he pulled, none what’s so ever. But being in the eyes of the TV viewers, I’d have to say it was a bad judgment call.

I and several others had already seen all this on TV a few days before this thread was made. In debate amongst us, I had made a very similar argument and point to the one Wonder made in his first post. I feel very confident in saying that that baby had a better chance of being struck by lightening than being eaten by that croc. Dad would’ve sacrificed a limb should something have gone wrong to save his child (you don’t own one of the world largest zoo’s by being stupid).

Again, it was just bad judgment while being in front of the camera.

P-dude, I haven’t the slightest idea why his father did the same with him, nor do I know how old little Steve was at the time. I believe teaching kids at an early age too. Heh, this reminds me of a story…….

One family “get together” (forget the occasion), Jo’s little 6 year old 2nd cousin was here. She wanted to “pet” the big lizard, so I let her. Then she wanted to hold the snake (Ball Python) so I took CJ out of her enclosure and Baily (the little girl) held out her hands as if I were going to pour M&M’s into her hands. CJ was in a tight tuck so I simply placed her in Baily’s small hands. Her eye’s lit up and her smile grew instantaneously, She turned and marched into the kitchen where most of the adults were hanging around (some fled the scene…hehe) and her Dad immediately said “No Baily, bite!” and I said “hang on there killer, these are my animals and there is no “bite”. In your house I can’t control what you teach her but in mine, she’s old enough to understand and start with a little education about these animals and if you’d like to take a minute to set aside your own ignorance, I can teach you some things too”. He didn’t like that too much but Baily had some questions (simple of course) and I answered them. I taught her a little about “respect” when it comes to animals and things she isn’t sure of. I taught her to steer clear of such things unless you know about each and everyone or unless someone tells you it’s “ok”.

Back to Steve.

At a month old, does the baby actually see the croc or the chicken being fed to it? Can a month old child understand anything that’s going on? Don’t get me wrong, a month old baby is getting a “feel” for its surroundings but the stunt does not, in any way, educate the child. The exposure means squat to that little baby. He’ll never remember it…..ever. Some stories and a video tape is the only memory he’ll ever have of the incident.

I know Steve had good intentions. I know Steve knew/knows what he’s doing. If I were watching it live, I really don’t think I’d fear for the child’s life….at all.

The fact still remains that he is in the public eye and not everyone sees things through his eyes. Still, it was plain old bad judgment.

[Mudflap]

I first saw Steve Irwin on TV back in the mid-90's when I was rooming with Billyman and we were splitting the costs on premium satelite TV service. I didn't know his name or that he was the "Croc hunter", but just some Aussie doing another nature show. I thought it was funny the way he and his wife would bicker while trying to stay in control of whatever risky situation they had put themselves in. At one point, they were in a row boat on the water at night looking for crocs. They spotted one, Steve failed to grab it from the boat, and then DIVED in after it. This made quite an impact on me. I remember thinking to myself, "This motherfucker is crazy." You see, I don't have an un-natural fear of any animal, but I have the utmost respect for potentially dangerous wildlife. Especially in their own habitat. I don't believe in doing anything stupid around them that would possibly result in my being injured or killed. If that were to happen, it would be my own damned fault, not the animal's.

After a year and a half of sharing a house with Billyman, I had my fill of teh gheyness and bought my own place and lived alone for the better part of five and a half years. I never got cable or satelite TV at that place, so the Crocodile Hunter reached his pinacle of fame and popularity without the benefit of my viewership. As a result, I guess I haven't been fully conditioned to expect his antics. Regardless of his experience, the enviornment, the temperment of the crocodile, etc., I still believe he took a foolish risk by interacting with the croc with his infant son in hand. It might have something to do with the fact that I'm about to become a full fledged father in less than 2 months from now. I think a lot about what kind of father I will be for my daughter, and I believe I will do everything reasonable to keep her out of harm's way.

Then again, I'm not particularly angry or upset with Mr. Irwin. As its already been stated, its his kid and he has the right to do silly things with him if he chooses.

I'll just leave it at, "I wouldn't have done that."

[Uberwonder]

And we are glad you won't do that.
Our biggest fear is you dozing off while holding your child and drowning her/him in drool.

[Mudflap]

Its a gurl, you artsy hippie biker geriatric jackass.

And I won't be sleeping while holding her. A grade school teacher told us (my class back when I was mini-mud) how it used to be common place for sleeping moms to crush their babies while they slept in the same bed. That made an impact on me. As a kid, I quit crawling into mom & dad's bed. As a parent, I'll let the kids sleep on the floor with the dog.

[ms. bing]

perhaps this is going off on a tangent, but i'm pretty sure most mothers wouldn't have the problem of rolling over and smothering their child. as a mother i could be in a coma and if my child moved in the bed i would know it. i've always breastfed eva, and when she was an infant i put her in bed with me because i didn't know any better. know what happened? we both slept very well. i never had to wake up and get up to feed her and she never had to be gotten out of bed to be fed. we were both more rested and in much better shape for it. i'm not saying it doesn't happen, and also i have no experience regarding what could happen with two adults in the bed since it's always just been me and eva. i can tell you one definite consequence that i am aware of, though, and that is that at age two years and a month she has no intention of either weaning or sleeping in her own bed. that is something i now struggle with because of my past decision based on a lack of information. now i wake up every morning frozen into place, sandwiched between my child, two dogs, and sometimes a cat.
i guess they call it a family bed for a reason though.

[MAC]

to the tip top, we don't stop

(I've started 500 threads and I even remember a couple of them)

[skalie]

I know this girl who thinks Steve Irwin is the bees knees, all I have to do is broaden my antipodean accent a little and she's all over me.

God bless the Discovery channel.

[Koliedrus]

to the tip top, we don't stop

(I've started 500 threads and I even remember a couple of them)

I didn't remember who started the thread but I remembered making the pic. That's why the Subway spot made me bust a gut :D