I don't believe he just did that! - Page 3

Tim_Cranwill · 01-03-04, 03:05 PM

Bad decision. Bad PR. Luckily only Steve's career and ego were hurt this time. As a parent it hits me a few ways. I'm sure in Stevo's mind he knew exactly what he was doing and was in complete "control" the whole time. It just should not have been done, especially in public.

Getting back to Monty's Traveling Reptile Show, anyone remember his big python's name????

snakegal12345 · 01-03-04, 03:08 PM

i like croc hunter but what he did was not rite when they're that young they need to be supported cause theyre very fragile and the baby would be just a snack to the croc if he got him

Wuntu Menny · 01-03-04, 04:04 PM

Tim: Wasn't the python's name Garbage Can? The rhino iggy was Tebo and I believe the alligator was Albert.

WM

Mr.Lizard · 01-03-04, 04:06 PM

I agree Marisa,it was definitely done for sensationalism with very little respect for the kid. The conditioning of his child should've been done in private with less distraction.
You wouldn't teach your kid to ride a bike on the shoulder of a busy highway.

Wuntu Menny · 01-03-04, 04:12 PM

Good analogy Mr Lizard! I like that one.

Tim_Cranwill · 01-03-04, 04:22 PM

WM, you got it!

Great show. I would race home from my paper route to watch it! I wish I still had all of the tapes I recorded it on....

Wuntu Menny · 01-03-04, 04:42 PM

I used to watch Monty first and the papers could wait! Damn, when I watched it, there were no VCR's to tape it on. I guess those were simpler times, weren't they?

WM

Neo · 01-03-04, 07:22 PM

Quote:

I think the comparative analogy has been M Jacksons dangling incident which is a closer analogy.

some how i dont think michael jackson dangled the baby so that it wouldnt be afraid of heights when it got older

Dozer · 01-03-04, 10:14 PM

Jako is waco, he shouldn't even be compared to Irwin. Just because both may have done somethin' really dumb, doesn't mean they are both comparable. Jako has had problems with children in the past, Irwin hasn't. However, we're all human and we do make mistakes. I beleive this is Irwin's first.

Mike

tHeGiNo · 01-04-04, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MartinW
I think Steve knows enough to be able to do that safely. I wouldn't be surprised if it's just as dangerous as carrying a baby across a busy road when you know what you're doing. Of course bringing a baby to meet a croc isn't really necessary whereas carrying a baby across the road might be at some times.

You know, that is very similar to an analogy I was going to make, except I was going to say it is the same thing as taking your baby with you in the car. But then I decided not to.

Quote:

I like Steves show but doing this in front of ANYONE was just plain stupid. He has admitted as much now since the child welfare department was called on them.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I am sure his dad did the same with him, but he was dumb to do it publicly. I do feel sorry for him though, as dumb of a mistake as it was.

Quote:

some how i dont think michael jackson dangled the baby so that it wouldnt be afraid of heights when it got older

Exactly. As stupid as it was, it is not fair to put this incident in correllation to the MJ incident.

scalawag · 01-04-04, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Neo
some how i dont think michael jackson dangled the baby so that it wouldnt be afraid of heights when it got older

You don't really think Irwin advertised this event in order to acclimate his son to crocodiles do you??? It had nothing to do with his son. It was a gimmick for the crowds. His son was a prop

marisa · 01-04-04, 04:05 PM

scalawag how could it be a gimmick for the crowds if his family has been raising kids this way for 30-40 years? Steve was taught to catch his first croc at 8, first venomous snake at 4.

Just because in North America we have cats and dogs and teach our kids to be afriad of wild creatures doesn't mean its the only way. I think both Bindi and Bob (his children) are extremely LUCKY to be raised with the opportunity to learn about animals in the same manner Steves parents raised him.

I agree this should have been private, but when you think about it being 100% normal to that family, you can see why the mistake was made.

Steve doesn't need any publicity like that, and have never tried to get it that way, its illogical to say that out of the blue he has started too, especially considering his family has been raised that way for 30 years.

Marisa

Tim and Julie B · 01-04-04, 04:27 PM

It's amazing how many people think they "know" Steve enough to know why he did it. Read a report. Hear from his mouth why he did what he did. Here's what I posted in the other thread, if anyone wants to read it, though redundancy is pointless since everyone has thier minds made up.

Well, I don't think anyone has a right to decide what is right or wrong in this case, except Steve and Terri. Why? How old was Steve when his father started taking him out on croc hunts? He too was a baby. No one pegged his father as being irresponsible. The only reason anyone cares is because he's a tv personanlity. And we all know how much people like to stir $hit up. Also, how often have we seen Bob and Tracy Barker herping on tv with thier kids? The older one always walks around flipping rocks, with god only knows what lurking underneath. These people live for the love of thier animals, and are instilling the love and value of reptiles in thier children, albeit at a very young age. However, these are the future role-players in the hobby we've come to love. Before condemning Steve (who has done so much) take a look at what you keep in your home around your kids and other pets. Almost anything can be a danger to a child, but if you are watching over them they will be safe. He was holding Bob quite safely, working with an animal he knows extremely well. It's nothing compared to what MJ did, because Steve was not intentionally trying to drop his child to his death. Keep that in mind before making a judgement. Just my two cents. Oh, and while I wouldn't do this myself, I do keep reptiles that many would consider harmful to kids and I plan to have my kids grow up around them.

Julie

Wuntu Menny · 01-04-04, 05:11 PM

I understand your point Julie, but Steve's dad wasn't the media focal point that his son has become. He didn't go out of his way to share Steve's early initiation with the world. Had he done so, I believe there would have been some negative reaction even back then. To openly and deliberately share this moment with the entire world only invites criticism and controversy. Its not like they were unaware of the potential ramifications of doing this.

Obviously they were felt the stunt was safe or they wouldn't have staged it in the first place. The majority of the general public however, views this as reckless endangerment of a child. Yes, there are plenty of things in our environment that pose potential threats to our offspring, but we can't go around strapping the car seat to the roof because we're confident enough in our ability to operate the vehicle.

In this day and age we are expected to exercise a certain level of common sense and resposibility when it comes to raising children. If we demonstrate anything less, particularly in public view, we invite scrutiny and our fitness as parents is brought into question. I personally feel that this act was openly challenging the acceptable limits of child welfare and found it offensive both as a herp keeper and a future parent.

WM

Neo · 01-04-04, 06:22 PM

i think also that the fact that he has most of his crocs in a zoo. He's not gonna relocate the croc to a private enclosure to show his son and he's not gonna close the zoo to do it either. i dont really think he did it for the publicity. the publicity just came.