Newspaper Page Text
se“ o Opinion
2006
Irwin's death is no need to single out stingrays
The View
From My Front Porch
With Larry Peel
larry@ioncinema.com
In the weeks since the
suddenandshockingdeath
of wildlife conservationist
and cultural icon Steve
Irwin, tributes and
commentaries have been
nearly everywhere you
turn.
“The Crocodile
Hunter” belied the
common definition of the
title placed on him in that
he never sought to harm the
creatures that he presented
to us.
His entertaining style
and love of both nature
and entertaining made his
a unique life that was a joy
to have been invited into.
Not since Jacques
Cousteau has a television
personality brought so
much information and
The Rant & Rave
Since gas prices are going down,
I wonder if the flame on front
campus will burn again?
Why does the new McDonald’s
need a fountain and large flower
pots in front of it? This isn’t
Buckhead.
The feline population is getting a
little ridiculous around here!
Why can’t I find an unoccupied
computer in the UCC or the
library to actually do some school
work? I know, because everyone
is on facebook, wasting time!
You were wrong. Dirk Benedict
was not at Dragon Con!
If you have pressing questions
or comments like the ones above, send
them to us at uwgpaper@westga.edu
ulljc West (Senrgtait
The University of West Georgia
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entertainment into the lives
of the public regarding
the natural world and its
beauty.
Irwin died doing
something he loved,
something which he knew
the risks for long before he
made it to celebrity status.
There was no ill intent
from the creature involved,
nor was there a mass
conspiracy of the animal
kingdom against him.
Speaking strictly from
a medical perspective and
admittedly without full
knowledge of the coroner
inquest results, it is a
safe thought that Irwin’s
instinctive reaction to the
injury at the very least
hastened, if not insured,
his demise.
The stingray barb is
designed similar to a fish
hook. It is made to enter
a body smoothly and
deeply in one direction
only. Irwin and his camera
operator had placed the
stingray between them for
the purposes of filming
and the creature likely
became frightened and
defensive.
This caused the
stingray to utilize the
natural defense it has
been awarded and barb
the host.
This injury alone may
not have proven fatal had
it been left alone, since
impaled objects have the
odd blessing of placing
pressure on surrounding
organs and blood supplies
that it perforates.
However, it is human
nature to remove foreign
bodies from ones person
when we are injured.
Reports state that
Irwin was conscious
and alert when he was
placed in the boat, but
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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establish
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances. ”
- First Amendment, United States Constitution
died instantly upon his
removal of the barb.
I return to the fish
hook visual. The tip of a
stingray barb is designed
so that when it pulls back
out the most damage is
done. It rips flesh and
organs and destroys the
tissue. This is likely to be
determined the cause of
death in this case.
The sadness of the
death of the icon does not
stand alone, however.
Since the day of
Irwin’s fatal accident,
reports of retribution
killings of stingrays have
flooded the airways and
offices of wildlife activist
groups around the globe.
People around the
world, but particularly
in Steve’s homeland of
Queensland, Australia,
have misplaced their
hurt and grief by begun
attacking innocent
stingrays simply as a
form of species profiling.
I have had the
privilege of dealing with
Give War a Chance
By Kllis Smith
Staff Columnist
ellisthered@gmail.com
For most of our lives, war
has been a daily reality
on the front page of every
newspaper, on every news
channel, in magazines and
on the radio.
Since the end of the
Cold War, the United
States has been engaged
in what seems like one
conflict after another. Iraq,
Bosnia, Somalia, Sudan,
Afghanistan and many
other small conflicts have
raged across the world in
the past decade and a half.
Many of you may be
asking yourselves if your
every day life has improved
after all the destruction and
loss of life.
Chances are that it
hasn’t. Many students have
family members, friends,
or others who have been
touched by war in one way
or another.
Brave individuals,
including many from
Georgia, have signed up
to protect their country by
taking up arms against our
enemies. Some have been
injured or even killed. So
what justification can there
possibly be for all this
violence?
First of all, let’s have a
look at what happens when a
determined enemy of peace
and stability is allowed to
have a free hand. There
are many examples how
appeasement, or failing
to take proactive action
stingrays both in their
natural environment as
well as in captivity. They
are beautiful, gentle and
curious creatures. In
both cases the creatures
approached me cautiously,
but with the curiosity that
I can only compare to that
of my children when they
were toddlers.
I was watched from
various angles, rubbed,
and eventually followed
by these magnificent
creatures.
I am aware that the rays
in captivity have had their
barbs surgically removed
for the safety of the public
- stingrays are part of the
“hands on” portion of the
Georgia Aquarium -and
that makes those animals
more placid; however I had
nearly an identical reaction
from the stingray I met in
the warm costal waters of
the Gulf of Mexico.
To be so brutal and
vicious to such beautiful
creatures is beyond my
understanding.
against an external threat,
has failed miserably.
The Romans were
slowly destroyed by the
Huns and Visigoths.
Constantinople repeatedly
made peace with Saladin
and other Arab leaders,
only to be eventually
defeated and sacked.
Britain made "Peace
in Our Time” with a little
German corporal named
Adolf Hitler. We all know
how that turned out.
Ever since the Cold
War ended, Islamic
fascists (not to be confused
with moderate, peaceful
Muslims) have been
gathering financial support,
training their troops and
spreading their worldwide
jihad to as many third
world countries as they
can get their hands on.
In the meantime, they
have been conducting
increasingly brazen
attacks against a variety of
targets, as long as they are
American-aligned.
From bombing our
embassies in Africa and
running an explosives
laden ship into the USS
Cole to ramming planes
into buildings in New
York, they have been at
war with our freedom
loving nation long before
American boots touched
Afghani soil.
Why? Depending
on which terrorist
organization you listen
to, you could get a wide
variety of answers. The
simple version is that they
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In the rules of society
we know that profiling
based on race, religion,
sex or national origin is
cruel and inappropriate.
When the attack on
America occurred, we
began to profile based on
religion and nationality,
but the outcry from the
innocent victims quickly
brought justice back to
the mass.
The stingray cannot
cry out for their losses.
Their voices cannot be
heard from the salty
depths. That doesn’t
mean the crime is less.
Species profiling
abounds in America as
well with each attack by a
pit bull or a bear or wildcat
that has been driven from
its hunting ground.
Would we start
killing the entire country ’s
mother’s of the world
simply because Susan
Smith drowned her
children? We should offer
our natural neighbors the
same right to exist.
hate us because we have
not yet implemented a
Taliban-style government,
and we have not turned our
backs on Israel.
My political mind
isn’t the sharpest, but I’m
fairly certain that neither of
those is going to transpire,
at least not this century.
We’re pretty happy
with our freedom and
liberty, and are not eager
to switch to Sharia law'.
Things such as taking
women out of school,
stoning them for adultery
and abstaining from pork
and alcohol do not appeal
to most Americans. And
we’re not likely to abandon
Israel, the only true
democracy in the Middle-
East, to suicide bombers
and rocket attacks.
What then to do? Well,
since they are determined
to kill us all until we give
in; the only two options
are to either surrender or to
fight back.
America isn’t really
the surrendering type, so
we have chosen to take
the fight to them. And you
could make a convincing
argument that the so called
“War on Terror” has been a
partial success.
Before you start
shaking your head and put
down this paper, let me
make my point.
Since 2001, A1 Qaeda
has been unsuccessful
in attacking civilians on
American soil.
See War . page 5