Using Steve Irwin's Death to Boost Fading Career

I have to say, I really admire Germaine Greer. What a canny thinker, and so quick on her feet! While the rest of the world (with a few notable exceptions) mourned the loss of International celebrity Steve Irwin, Greer saw the opportunity to get her name out there, and immediately blasted the deceased Irwin as “getting what he deserved”.

Germaine Greer is someone I had never heard of, but as soon as she launched her attack on Steve Irwin, I immediately googled her and found the following information on Wikipedia

“Germaine Greer is an expatriate Australian academic, writer, and broadcaster, who is widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the 20th century.” (Here is the entire entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Greer)

It was after I read about her that I truly had to admire the brilliance of this lady. She saw an opening introduce herself to more people, and pounced on it. I mean, I now know who she is, and until Irwin died, would never have even thought twice about her. You have to wonder…did she have a list of Australian celebrities who she was going to criticize in the event of their death? If it had been, say, one of The Wiggles would her statements have been “They damaged more children than they entertained”? Or Nicole Kidman – “she never should have divorced Tom Cruise”.

Or, maybe she is an amazingly quick thinker. As soon as it became apparent that there would be a huge public outpouring in the wake of Irwin’s death, she thought that the quickest way to jump on that publicity train would be to come out with a statement so sharply opposite of what the rest of the world was saying that her name couldn’t help but be posted in the same headlines as Irwin’s.

Whatever her plan, it proved successful. The Australian Prime Minister talked about her. Her name is everywhere. No matter that the publicity is negative, people who didn’t have a clue who she was now do. I also am a victim of her clever publicity scheme. I googled her, learned about her on Wikipedia, and now I am writing about her. Wow, the woman is a genius!

She is also a sad, pathetic, cold-hearted, publicity hound. A man, who was obviously beloved by millions, died an unexpectedly tragic death, and the world is in mourning. Not only the world, but, more importanly, his family. Above everything else, Steve Irwin was a family man – it was obvious to anyone who had ever seem him on TV. Fan or not, the man was beloved, and, as when anyone dies, a certain amount of decorum is called for, simply out of respect for his memory, and for his family. For Greer to chose this time to share her opinions of Steve Irwin shows not only an utter lack of class, but a lack of heart as well.

I wonder how Greer will use her newfound notoriety? Will she parlay it into a new book deal? Will she downplay it as something she said in a time of grief, and maybe even eventually apologize for her thoughtlessness (perhaps on a book tour?). If she is the savvy publicity genius I think her to be, this is exactly what will happen. Her career will find new life, all based on well thought out, cutting remarks about a person who, a nation, and a world holds dear.

Here’s what I hope will happen. She will continue to denigrate Irwin, talking to anybody who will listen. Soon, people will tire of her spouting the same tired lines, and she will fade back into the relative obscurity from whence she came.

R.I.P. Steve Irwin
You will be missed.