(I must admit I had never heard this woman's name before yesterday when a good friend of mine (David Declue) told me about her. Germaine Greer is the Australian version of Matt Drudge or maybe Howard Stern. The remarks she made about the death of Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, were completley insensitive and uncalled for. Irwin was so much more than just a guy who got on TV to mess with wild animals in their own environment. He was also a conservationist and a real benefit to animal lovers everywhere. I believe in Greer's freedom of speech, and I realize she has the right to say what she did, but I also have the right to blast her for doing it! I was going to do a Douche Bag of the Month column for my blog, and I already gave the award out for September, but the way things are going, I think I will have to come up with a Douche Bag of the Week. There are just so many deserving candidates out there. F-you Germaine Greer, you dried up old bag of foul air. I hope a crocodile gets a shot at you and bites your head off. Oh wait a minute, even crocodiles have taste. He'd probably spit you out!)
Here is an excerpt from Greer's article that appeared on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald:
"There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into, trumpeting his wonder and amazement to the skies. There was not an animal he was not prepared to manhandle. Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress. Every snake badgered by Irwin was at a huge disadvantage, with only a single possible reaction to its terrifying situation, which was to strike."
Yesterday, I read this article from the Daily Telegraph in Australia when I googled this waste of human life:
THE backlash against expatriate academic Germaine Greer over her comments about Steve Irwin has reached new heights, with The Daily Telegraph newspaper sending the outspoken feminist a muzzle.
The Daily Telegraph today called on all Crocodile Hunter fans to tell the controversial academic exactly how they feel.
Greer raised the ire of a nation this week when she said in a British newspaper column that the animal world had taken "revenge" on Irwin when he was killed in a stingray attack in northern Queensland on Monday.
A furious Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said Greer should "back off" and keep her "stupid" comments to herself.
"Germaine Greer is just wrong and I just can't imagine anyone being more insensitive and, frankly, stupid. This argument is just extreme radical rubbish from Germaine Greer," he said.
Readers flooded The Daily Telegraph website yesterday to express their outrage.
"Steve Irwin has made the world aware of the animal conservation and opened our eyes to the many beauties of the animal kingdom," web reader Brad Chong said.
"These comments by Germaine Greer are pathetic and tasteless and I think its quite sad that you can even call yourself Australian when you are merely gaining publicity from the death of such a much-loved Australian."
Donna Renee of Cornell wrote: "Why is she allowed to write such rubbish? I believe her words are born of jealousy. Steve Irwin won the love and respect of millions of people worldwide, myself included. Yes, she will die a sad, lonely old woman and who will care when she does bite the dust?"
It was also revealed yesterday that Greer had never requested permission from Aboriginal elders to enter Sydney - despite claiming she always asked traditional owners before setting foot in her home country.
Greer bragged to a gathering of Australian writers in London six years ago that she never returned to her home country without getting permission from Aboriginal elders.
"Whenever I arrive the traditional owners of the land come to meet me and I won't leave the airport until they allow me in," she said.
"They are always there - one would be enough, but I get nine, 12 or 15."
NSW Aboriginal Land Council spokesman Paul Molloy said yesterday Greer had never asked permission despite visiting Sydney several times in the past six years.
"We debunked that myth some time ago. I know she made that claim but it was a lot of hooey. There is no one group of elders or traditional owners you can seek permission from to enter Australia," he said.
Greer followed up her Irwin claim by mocking Australians who mourned his death, saying they were "idiots".
