cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17278655
He taught us all life is beautiful. He taught us that we should appreciate the hell out of it.
Maybe this message got tainted a little by the fact, that he wasnt able to respect the animals. Whatever, may just be different cultures. Here we show love to nature by silently watching the animals, and to try not to interrupt them to much, but that doesn’t make for a exciting tv-show.
He wanted to touch them, yes. He said, “look at this [typically feared and/or reviled animal]!” And he’d hold it and look into its eyes and share the with the camera (metaphorically, with us) and say “She’s a beauty!”
It’s not David Attenborough, I’ll give you that. It’s very much hands-on, and I can see how that could be misinterpreted.
He taught you that it’s okay to abuse animals and exploit them for fame and money. Wake up. There’s a reason you don’t see serious animal activists and conservationists acting like this, or supporting Irwin. He peddles a message that is compatible with the public’s fucked up notions of animal ethics while making them feel good about their treatment of animals, with the flesh of an animal that suffered atrocity literally purifying between their teeth. If you consume animal products, you never learned “all life is beautiful.” You learned the commercial-compatible Disnified version of that idea.
