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DaRk AnGel : Why Home : September 2006 : What is the fascination?

What is the fascination?

I, as many others. watched Steve Irwins antics with crocodiles and alligators with amazement. The man seemed invincible. I was shocked to hear of his passing and of how he passed. He was a true conservationist as well as a great dad and husband. He donated vast amounts of his money to conservation efforts and to educate the public about animals. He was the real deal on and off camera. What you saw is what you got.

It was odd that the creature that ended up dealing the fatal blow is one that rarely attacks humans. It was a true fluke that the barb hit the one spot that would kill him instantly.

There are no guarantees of the next second for any of us.

But I am upset for another reason.

I keep reading on how people want to see the video of the event. It was all caught on tape. That is too morbid for me.

On my 8th birthday, my mother took me to City Park in New Orleans. It was where I wanted to go. A place I used to fish in, ride the rides in, boat in. I have fond memories of the place. And I have one horrible one.

On that Sunday, I wanted to ride the little train that went around the park. We were sitting on the train and it was going along, then all of a sudden the left side of it reared up and the air brakes were squealing.

A family nearby had not been paying attention and their 18 month old baby had crawled onto the tracks. The engineer was very old and it was later said had bad eye sight. He said at first he thought it was a squirrel. When he did realize it was a baby, and did apply the brakes the last chance of that babys life was a piece of black electrical tape. The brakes had a leak and instead of properly fixing the leak tape was wrapped around the break. When the brakes were applied fully the tape could not hold the pressure.

The people hurriedly exited the train unsure what was happening, then the screaming started, and I looked down to see the babies head near my feet separated from the rest of its body. The lagoon was close and I ran over and threw up.

My mother and others wanted to watch. She and they stood there for a few hours until the police and the coroner had come and gone. All I wanted to do was go home. I stayed far back sickened even then at the way the people all gawked and the morbid fascination they had witnessed.

Since then, I have seen violent death several times. Twice to those I cared about and were close to. I got away from the scene as fast as I could leaving the rest of the public behind.

If people wanting to watch a man die is not bad enough, the possibility that they will is utterly disgusting to me. Even though Steve himself seemed to want that. See Here

I hope that Teri, his wife realizes that such a horrible moment should be one that is not shared with the world. Death is a private moment between the soul and god, not one to become TV or Internet fodder.

I hope it never occurs. I just imagine his kids going to school and having to hear comments all their lives about seeing their dad killed. Is this really sanity?

What is the fascination?