[geoschmo]

I have seen his shows, although I admit I was not a regular viewer. It doesn't take being a regular viewer to see that what Irwin was doing was intentionally pushing the boundaries. He was saying in effect watch how close I can get to this animal and still get away without getting hurt.

I'm not saying he didn't take his work seriously and I'm not saying there wasn't some educational value in his shows. But a lot of it was voyueristic and sensationalistic. He sought out the most dangerous animals and tried to get as close to them as he could, cameras rolling. That's how he was marketed, and that's what his audience wanted to see. Of course since I wasn't a regular viewer I might have missed the episode where he spent the day swimming with the docile school of tuna.

I'm sure his people are going to do what they can to paint his demise as a fluke accident, one in a million, could have happened to anyone. Because doing so makes them feel better for helping him get in that situation and us feel better for watching.

It's also interesting to know that if I'm ever facing a venomous snake I can pull it's tail and maybe, just possibly it won't be able to bite me. But personally I'll stick to the tried and true method of walking away instead.