[[toj.cc]Phantom]

Originally Posted by Jat316sob

We can still make fun of him now he's dead - until we forget about him that is

How about...NO, you douche.

[Stoofa]

People were going crazy vandalising Wikipedia's pages for Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, stingrays, short-tail stingrays, and Germaine Greer, so they're all locked down now. I find this amazing.

[SCRUGAtes13]

Originally Posted by Stoofa

People were going crazy vandalising Wikipedia's pages for Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, stingrays, short-tail stingrays, and Germaine Greer, so they're all locked down now. I find this amazing.

i don't understand, what? they vandilised the site why?

[undeaf]

Originally Posted by SCRUGAtes13

i don't understand, what? they vandilised the site why?

Uh, because that's what they do all the time? Because it's susceptible to vandalism?

[simpson_yellow]

The vandalism on the Steve Irwin page wasn't malicious (well, maybe towards stingrays ). I took a screenshot of this on the day he died:



3 minutes later it was gone and the page was locked

[SCRUGAtes13]

the point of it waas?!

[Stoofa]

It wasn't just one person, it was hoards of people changing the pages, so they were locked.

[Lee in Limbo]

I think there are very few of us who don't in some way feel vulnerable when we learn that a celebrity whose work we enjoyed or admired has passed on, especially if it were a tragic or eventful death, as in this case. We can play the 'didn't know him; don't care' card, or the equally intellectually aloof 'millions of unknowns die every day; why does this jerk matter?' card, and it gets us nowhere.

The fact is, millions of people did know him in some small fashion or other, and apparently he was reasonably well liked by the people who knew him best, which goes a long way towards ameliorating the last argument, which was that he was a wreckless jerk who endangered his life and the lives and well-being of his family.

Presumably, he used some of his considerable gains to insure against his life ending in such a fashion, whether by sheer mischance, as in this case, or as a result of his actually mishandling a wild animal and being fatally wounded by it. The man clearly knew what he was doing, loved his work, and showed the world things they rarely got to see anywhere else. That makes him important.

Now, make no mistake, I'm not a Steve Irwin fan. I'm simply saying, anyone who dares to say that the death of a well-known and liked celebrity is insignificant clearly doesn't live in the real world. You may have issues with the cult of celebrity, but it's been in place for a very long time, and the human race mourns when an outstanding member of the species is no longer with us. They serve the purpose of polarizing us and making us realize that we can be more than we are in life, and likewise, they serve as a stark reminder that even celebrity cannot stave off death.

Millions dying everyday is more a statistic than it is a spiritually realized fact in our own lives. But a person who was famous, and who perhaps said and did things in their life that enlivened and enriched our own is a considerable thing. Perhaps they weren't as important as the passing of a beloved spiritual or political leader, or especially of a family member or close friend, but they do matter, and they touched us in ways that a million strange faces can't.

There aren't too many celebrities in this world whose works have so affected me that I would truly grieve their passing, but there are a few, and I cannot fathom anyone thinking that this is somehow an invalid exercise. All personally-felt grief over loss is valid, no matter how slight.
____________________

And in answer to Squinky's comment (*grin* sorry, can't help myself), being indoctrinated into the 'Church' of Scientology (for example) could also be considered a fate worse than death, but apparently it is neither fatal or irreversible, as Nicole Kidman has learned.

(and yes, I'm aware of the concept that spiritual decay and eternal damnation are infinitely worse than the notion of merely ceasing to be. Some would disagree. Many wouldn't. I'm somewhere in the middle. Decadence comes easy to some jaded older men. *soft grin*)

[undeaf]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

I think there are very few of us who don't in some way feel vulnerable when we learn that a celebrity whose work we enjoyed or admired has passed on, especially if it were a tragic or eventful death, as in this case.

You seem to be failing to take into account those of us who don't appreciate most, or even don't appreciate any celebrities.

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

Perhaps they weren't as important as the passing of a beloved spiritual or political leader

Yeah, we'd all be absolutely devastated if Dubya, Falwell, Castro or Osama bit it.

Why are you overlooking business leaders? I bet a good number of people would cry if Steve Jobs croaked.

[pinkgothic]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

[Much yakking]

And yet again, someone says what I was trying to say in a much better fashion. *tips hat*

Edit:

Originally Posted by undeaf

You seem to be failing to take into account those of us who don't appreciate most, or even don't appreciate any celebrities.

Not actually, AFAIK. He's defending those that care, not attacking those that don't. At least, given the context of this thread, that's how I read it, though granted I might be reading some phrases differently if I didn't have that context. Anyway - if I'm wrong about my assumption, Lee, I apologise.

[stepurhan]

I'll accept other people's right to feel emotionally affected by his death as long as they will accept my right to feel completely unmoved.

I also don't like "Millions dying everyday is more a statistic". I do appreciate why you're saying that in the context Lee but every one of those millions was a person that will have had an effect on a huge number of lives, just by living day to day. As pinkgothic suggested earlier, some of them will be total jerks. Others may have been wonderfully kind people who enriched every life they touched. We can never really know a person until we interact with them directly (and often not even then)

The cult of celebrity is a big thing and there is no denying its impact on the world. I'd just prefer not to be a part of it. Steve Irwin died engaging in the sort of risky activity that helped give him fame. His lifestyle made it a statistical likelihood he would die because of it. It's tragic for his friends and family and I feel sorry for what they (and the families of the millions of other people dying every day) are going through now. Personally, I remain unaffected.

[SCRUGAtes13]

Originally Posted by Stoofa

It wasn't just one person, it was hoards of people changing the pages, so they were locked.

dude, the thing is i can't understand why people would even do something so meaningless. i mean Banksy switched five hundred paris hilton albulms with fake and humorous versions as a statement of some sort. this on the other hand is pointless rubbish, why would anyone do it? that's all i want to know, i get the rest.

[AFGNCAAP]

Because they can.

Same as with hacking, or graffiti, or my neighbour setting his stereo to full volume. About 5% of it is an understandable form of ideological or artistical expression. The rest is made just because.

[Squinky]

Originally Posted by stepurhan

I'll accept other people's right to feel emotionally affected by his death as long as they will accept my right to feel completely unmoved.

I also don't like "Millions dying everyday is more a statistic". I do appreciate why you're saying that in the context Lee but every one of those millions was a person that will have had an effect on a huge number of lives, just by living day to day. As pinkgothic suggested earlier, some of them will be total jerks. Others may have been wonderfully kind people who enriched every life they touched. We can never really know a person until we interact with them directly (and often not even then)

The cult of celebrity is a big thing and there is no denying its impact on the world. I'd just prefer not to be a part of it. Steve Irwin died engaging in the sort of risky activity that helped give him fame. His lifestyle made it a statistical likelihood he would die because of it. It's tragic for his friends and family and I feel sorry for what they (and the families of the millions of other people dying every day) are going through now. Personally, I remain unaffected.

I agree. What I feel for Steve Irwin's family is the same as what I feel for anyone who has a family member die in sudden and horrific circumstances. Whether the deceased is a celebrity or an unknown does not matter to me in the least.

[Kolzig]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14795639/

[pinkgothic]

Originally Posted by Kolzig

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14795639/

Gah!

“We are disgusted and disappointed that people would take this sort of action to hurt wildlife,” he said.

That summarises my thoughts spot-on.

[Dasilva]

I was actually looking forward to this particular documentry he was wokring on, Im a fan of his & Jeff Corwins' work. Im so sad he died, but at least he died doing something he loved. I feel so sorry for his kids and wife. I loved that man, he inspired me.

[Kolzig]

http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowbizNews.asp...inish_ray_film

... I don't know what to say.