ALAMO,

I think you'll find that the reason Steve has earnt the respect of many australian's is NOT for his television show and "typical aussie bloke" persona, but more so for his animal conservation efforts and his contribution to promoting australia's unique wildlife abroad. I wont pretend for a second that Steve represents the majority of Aussie blokes in big cities in Australia, he simply doesnt. I also wont pretend that I prefer to watch his documentaries over other more educational documentary makers such as David Attenborough. I will say this though, he did spend alot of his fortune towards the conservation of endagered species and educating the public on native wildlife. Anyone who suggests like Rainer did that he jumps on crocodiles purely just to profiteer needs to understand that many scientists devote their lives to what they are passionate about everyday. Why is it such a suprise that Steve did? Not many scientists are able to directly touch so many people as well as Steve did.

Where australia owes alot of its gratitude to Steve is in how he promoted Australia abroad. Our tourism industry only stands to gain from people like Steve. Say what you want about the guy, he got more recognition in the States than probably any other australian has in recent times. More people in the US would know the name Steve Irwin than John Howard. No one can truely calculate the positive impact on tourism that Steve has had, or the number of jobs that he has created. But it is quite evident that he has had a notible impact and the popularity of Australia zoo is just a small testimant to this.

Has the media gone over the top? Well yes they have, but they always do in a country that has little to complain about. As for a state funeral, well if thousands attend his public reception, then YES he did deserve a state funeral, if very few do, then no he didnt. I for one believe he will proove that this was not an over the top decision by Beatie.

Kish.. well said...a bit of jealousy or sour grapes displayed by some people re Steve Irwin..why is it so hard to believe that he was a genuine Aussie bloke fighting for and giving recognition to animals in the way he knew best...

Is it human nature to not want to belive that some people are just good? and that they really dont have a personal agenda?

He sunk nearly all his millions into buying wilderness for the future of dispossessed animals all over thhe world.

He put his money where his heart and his mouth was..

How many of us can say that?
He was genuine to the core...people saw it, felt it and he was loved for it..

His good work will live on...he left 2 little Irwin clones, Bindi and Bob.(in his image they are) who will protect and carry on his legacy of love and conservation to the worlds creatures and theyre environments.

Pk...'played the buffoon to get rich from tittilating TV'..
You want a disparaging remark about Steve Irwin...there you have it...

On another thread you wrote this...that to me is disrespect for a dead man who cannot defend himself from these generalisations and character assassinations made by pple who knew him not.You wrote it you own it.

Id expect that from "proud to be Indo' but from a fellow Aussie?no.

OZGIRL,

Thanks for your kind words. I think people need to get over this whole thing, if Australians want to grieve over Steve then why shouldnt they? If Steve touched them or inspired them to the extent that they feel sad enough to grieve then let them grieve. When Austraslia got kicked out in the world cup soccer by Italy I grevied and thats not even the loss of a human life!

Different people touch all of us in different ways. Some may not care that Steve died, clearly alot do. Johhny Warren who was an advocate of soccer in this country and he passed away last year. Most on here probably don't even know who he is, even though he recieved a state funeral. For me this was incredibly sad. Peter Broke passed away last week, hes receiving a state funeral as he had a huge following. I don't see what the problem is? Now yes compared to huge disasters where many people die the human loss is not the same, that doesnt for a second mean that people arent entitled to grieve for those who touched alot of lives. It is why we live in a democracy, so we have the right to grieve for who we please!

As for proud to be indonesian, hahahahaha I can't think of a indonesian that I have met in my time that rivals this moron in stupidity. I think hes strugling to even comprehend half the posts.

You know guys really most of the time I think he was taking the "piss out of himself". But having said that he was a really funny down to earth character, who will be sadly missed by many many people. I think that the kids will miss him more than anyone. I know my kids loved him and have all his DVD's and watch them all the time. My kids are really kind to animals and if anything they have learnt that every animal deserves to live. My kids save bugs and take them outside.

Kish u are so right ...his moronic dribbling knows no bounds...but it is useless to continue to give the weirdo more fodder on which to keep launching his hateful attacks....he is clearly trolling.. that is frowned upon and clearly 'illegal' on these forums...