Right POV

Steve Irwin
as Viewed by Conservatives

By: Sandra Price

Yesterday Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray who pierced his heart during a dive made by the Irwin film crew. The news presented his death with shock that such a dedicated nature lover would be cut short of his continuing work of protecting these species.

Given a couple more hours another voice was heard and it was found on Conservative forums, blogs and generally where Bush supporters can be found. Basically they were outraged that anyone cared about his death as he apparently asked for it. Cable and network television then began hours of coverage making a mockery of Irwin’s many years working with animals and trying to educate on the values of these creatures.

The news soon entered the discussion forums where anyone showing a slight grief on this death was taken apart as being foolish.

It made me wonder why a political point of view that grew up only 6 years ago could express no grief for a young man like Irwin. It seems as if this new Conservative movement has no respect for the lives of animals or the perceived enemy of America. Articles have been written all over the internet on the terrorism brought against America by Islamic terrorism and the wild animals that still live in America. Articles about wolves, bears living among the people and even coyotes wandering around our golf courses in Arizona have become the threat of the day. People were worked up into a frenzy about mad cow disease, and the avian flu causing unwarranted destruction of our cattle and our birds who have been migrating across our land for over a million years.

Have we Americans been brainwashed into fearing fear? Have we become a new militia trying to kill off those things we are told are dangerous? How could this be such a movement under one Administration where millions of his followers have bought the threats of mother nature and other threats handed to us on nearly every level? It most certainly was not a Republican agenda under Teddy Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan but apparently is under G.W. Bush and just another terror in our lives.

I’ve dived for years on the California coast including all around the Catalina Island and during my training we were told to stay away from the tail end of a stingray. We all took a sting or two but with proper medical treatment we survived. The stingray that took Irwin’s life was the whole stinger barb shoved into his heart. I’m reading that he asked for it. So our Bush Conservatives have to degrade Irwin’s action and make him look like a fool. His work with conservation must be made to look silly and his personality that was attractive to people was made to look childish.

Not all Americans are animal lovers as some have lived in their cement cities for generations and look at wildlife as a danger to their lifestyles. This is not the case for the rest of us who relish the wild life of the animals, birds and marine life around us. We are the ones who will gather around an oil spill to save lives of the birds and otters we see dying in front of us due to some oil pill caused by human error. There are thousands of trained wild life rescuers in California working to save these creatures from a terrible death. Oh yes, we too are criticized for our actions and many love to laugh at our endeavors. I’ve had to face these heartless people all my life but it suddenly became apparent that it is now a part of the Conservative movement to kill those creatures that somebody said were a danger. To me the only danger here comes from the political party who has proven to be missing in compassion for not only the animals but a whole level of Americans who still believe in individual freedoms.

I made this observation this morning after bringing the news of Irwin’s death to many discussion forums yesterday and getting the same reactions from the Conservatives. Has the death wish for ending all terror gotten into their souls and they simply cannot stop the killing of people and animals they consider to be a threat? If one man tried to overcome the destruction of nature he is called a fool who dances in the desire for death.