The tragic death of Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, one of Australia's most well-known and well-loved figures, has shocked the world. The 44-year-old nature conservationist was filming on the Great Barrier Reef when he suffered a heart attack after a stingray's barb pierced his chest.
Irwin was used to working with all kinds of deadly creatures, most famously crocodiles, and relied on his instincts and personal experience to calculate risks. He leaves behind his American-born wife Terri and two children: Bindi Sue Irwin, aged eight, and Robert (Bob) Clarence Irwin, three.
Outspoken ex-Australian academic Germaine Greer has come under fire for her comments about Steve Irwin in the wake of his death.
She claims he was an embarrassment to millions of Australians, and said that given the way he treated dangerous animals "it's no surprise he came to grief." And those who had mourned him with their tributes at the Irwin family's Australia Zoo in what the British had labeled "a Princess Diana moment" were idiots, she said.
Greer, who now lives in Britain wrote in The Guardian newspaper after Irwin's death that the animal world had taken revenge on "self-deluded animal tormenter Steve Irwin".
And on the 6th of September, she continued her attack on Irwin. She told Channel 9's A Current Affair she did not understand Australians' feelings of loss for Irwin.
She said he had exploited animals by telling the world how dangerous they were and then treating them disrespectfully. "I find the whole Steve Irwin phenomenon (embarrassing) -- and I'm not the only person who did," Greer said.
But when pushed, she was unable to name anyone who had publicly agreed with her. She rejected claims her sentiments were "un-Australian". "I don't care what I'm being called," Greer said. "I just hope I'm out of touch with what idiots are thinking."
Asked if Australians were idiots, she said: "I don't believe Australians are as dim or as easily led as you may perceive. As far as I can see, quite a few Australians have been embarrassed by Steve Irwin -- lots -- millions possibly. "Why are the English calling it 'Australia's Princess Diana moment'. Aren't you embarrassed about that, at least?"
What are your thoughts on Greer's comments?
