The Exploitation Of Bindi Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter’s Daughter
When he was killed by a stingray, his countrymen down under, and millions of fans around the world grieved.
Unfortunately, his eight-year-old daughter Bindi Irwin, hasn’t been given an opportunity to grieve or be a carefree child.
When Bindi’s brave little speech about her father at the Steve Irwin memorial service was received with universal praise and admiration, her family realized that the cute little girl was now their meal ticket.
The weight of the Irwin moneymaking machine has been put on her tiny little shoulders.Â
Bindi is the star of a new 26-part nature documentary show Bindi, The Jungle Girl.
Bindi Irwin is in America on a whirlwind tour that involves a gig on David Letterman and other TV shows , an address to the National Press Club and other appearances to promote Australia.
What the hell can a pigtailed 8-year-old girl share with the National Press Club? Is she going to pontificate on how the World Bank enslaves Third World countries?
Steve Irwin’s used his charisma and pluck not only to rake in untold millions, but also to become an ambassador for Australia.
Bindi Irwin’s pigtailed-charm has come to symbolize child exploitation. Her manager claims that Bindi isn’t being overworked, and that she doesn’t have to make any appearance if she is tired or just doesn’t feel like it.
Yeah right!
“Listen Dave, this is Mr A-Hole, Bindi’s manager, I’m sorry but she can’t make your show tonight. Bindi wants to stay in her hotel room and play with her Barbie instead.
Bindi may be a little child, but she senses that her family and entourage are relying on her. She’s a little trooper and would work herself to death to please her family and manager.
I refuse to participate in the exploitation of a young child; I will not watch Bindi’s documentary nor buy any Bindi merchandize for my young nieces.
I write a weekly column for a small town newspaper in Virginia, and I also write for several Web sites. Please leave a comment or send me an email at: rreyes4966@aol.com | More from Robert Paul Reyes
Stumble It!
January 9th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Amfortas, thanks for giving me the idea to write about the exploitation of Bindi.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:48 am
bindi’s tv show was already in pre-production getting ready to start filming when her father died, it was supposed to be a show that they were going to do together. i can agree somewhat with the rest of your saying about her media tour but the show itself is not the exploitation of bindi. they decided to go ahead and finish the project that was started with her father.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:59 am
1) It is well known that Bindi had just as much pluck as her father long before he died.
2) According to interviews with her mother, Bindi did all her grieving in the first week or two after her father died, then decided for herself that he would have wanted her to get on with her life.
3) The decision to continue with her show, which was in the works before her father’s death, was entirely her own. She enjoys working with the animals just as much as he did, and decided to honor her father by continuing with it, instead of becoming a little puddle of self-pity, to the contrary of what others apparently think she should do.
From information previously available, I would wager long odds that she would not do anything she didn’t want to do, in regards to making appearances, as she seems to be a very determined little individual.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Oh, and if you think her mother would allow her to be exploited in the fashion you say, you’re crazier than I already thought you were.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:14 am
wblackburn wrote:
“According to interviews with her mother, Bindi did all her grieving in the first week or two after her father died, then decided for herself that he would have wanted her to get on with her life.
3) The decision to continue with her show, which was in the works before her father’s death, was entirely her own.”
*****************
Bindi is only 8, she shouldn’t make any crucial decisions “entirely” on her own. Her mother should let her be a child, and stop exploiting her.
Bindi shouldn’t decide for herself to undertake a grueling show business career. Her mom should be looking out for her best interests, and let her stay at home and be a child.
“Bindi did all her grievein in the first week after her father died” It’s not like she lost a hamster. She lost her father, and the grieving process takes years, not weeks.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I thought you would be writing about your hero Hugo’s decision to take the next step in installing his dictatorship by seizing the privately run telephone and electrical industries.
Verizon, an American company, had spent billions building a new infrastructure for Venezuela and now tens of thousands of investors have been robbed.
What a hero!
January 9th, 2007 at 10:57 am
“She lost her father, and the grieving process takes years, not weeks. ”
The pain will remain for years, and only fade slowly, but unlike the pathetic, self-absorbed majority we have become, some people, especially children, are able to grieve for a short time, then get on with their life, and take a few moments to experience the return of the pain when it manifests itself, realizing that it’s an expression of the love for the lost one, but then continue on again, ALSO because we love them.
As far as a “grueliing show business career” goes, there are now laws which prevent overworking children in such an environment. I don’t know about Australia, but child actors have very limited amounts of time that they can work here. This is what the girl wants to do as an expression of her lover for her father and his work, and if you have ever paid attention to the Crocodile Hunter as a show, you would know that she has a support network about 10 miles wide in the form of every single person who works at the Australia Zoo, and also loved her father, and were essentially part of one big family.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:57 am
oops, should have been “expression of her LOVE for her father”.
January 9th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Give Terri Irwin the credit and respect of being first and foremost, Bindi’s mother. Trust her judgement. Bindi is her child and she will do what is in Bindi’s best interest.
January 9th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Child exploitation
I was driving today and heard a radio show discussing how “anchor babies” are used by illegals to try to stay in the United States. Have a child and then threaten to abandon it as an orphan if the parents are not allowed to stay too. Nice, eh?
Oh, and the millions of children on welfare, mostly by minorities (yes, even with whites as an ethnic majority it’s now minorities that comprise a majority of families on welfare) where the mother has children into poverty and then uses it as a taxpayer funded support tool.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
So do you think that children in Mexica should not be allowed to work in the fields because it is child exploitation? Or braid hair in the market of sell mechandise, etc?
I do think it sad that Bindi has decided to join the work world so soon. I wish I wasn’t a participant.
Perhaps I could find a place where no one has to work like the Big Rock Candy Mountain that Hugo is building.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I am a little torn. On one hand, I like the idea that she is doing it despite her father’s death. And I know that there are select few kids that can go into a work environment at a young age. My cousin’s boy has been in proffessional plays for several years, ever since he was 7 or so. And he absolutely loves it. Also, Bindi’s mother has always seemed like a good woman, and I would hope that she would know what would be best for her daughter.
But on the other hand, she is so young, and it must be terrible to lose a father. It seems like it would be easy for a child to be overwhelmed at times, especially in her situation.
I wish Bindi well, and I hope that she makes her decisions as wisely as her little head can handle. I hope that if it ever becomes too much for her, she will take a break…
January 9th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
“…cute little girl was now their meal ticket…” Are you nuts? How dare you make such a cruel statement when the “cute little girl” is doing what she loves and for someone she loves? My children were about her age when my mother died and children don’t cry constantly as adults do. They cry then they want/need to then they do something. She is doing what she knows, what she loves to do and with her family. And you say she’s their meal ticket? Wow! How insensitive, cruel and downright stupid. Don’t watch her documentaries nor purchase her merchandise. But I wouldn’t stick to writing either if I were you – totally “out of reality” article about a child who experienced a death in the family.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
In Oz we see Bindi on TV almost every day, She has been ‘used’ to pubilicise and share the stage with the Wiggles, she has a video’d series coming out with her leading exercises for tots, she has a full load of ’sing along’ and acrobatic acts performing at the croc wild life sanctuary etc. There are still interview after interview about Steve and her reaction to his death. It is being beaten to death here. She pulls the audience in and boy do they all get weepy.
Her mum does seem like a nice lady. Oz has taken her to heart. But Bindi IS being exploited, without a doubt. Good heart or not, her mum does not seem to be aware of how much others are taking a ride on their grief’s coat-tails.
We are not talking about a child in poverty here, one who joins her parents in the grape-picking fields. She is spear-heading a multi-million dollar business that is raking in money on the back of grief and public hyper-sentiment. At 8 years old, she is thrust into the public sphere to MAKE MONEY. Australia has never had a child-star industry as the US has. But it seems we are catching up.
It is disgusting. Thanks RPR for bringing it to attention.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Karen said,
“Give Terri Irwin the credit and respect of being first and foremost, Bindi’s mother. Trust her judgement. Bindi is her child and she will do what is in Bindi’s best interest.”
Mother does not always know best. Show business is replete with sordid tales of mothers who exploit their talented youngsters for fame and money.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Bindi’s mom is attractive and articulate, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be manipulative and calculating.
I’m shocked that most MND posters can’t see that Bindi is being horribly exploited.
I’m hoping that it’s just a case of people disagreeing with me, out of habit, even when I’m obviously right.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:10 am
I entered “Bindi” in Google’s news search engine, and the majority of the editorials expressed the view that Bindi was being exploited. Thank goodness, I am far from being alone in my opinion.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:05 am
Karen said,
“Give Terri Irwin the credit and respect of being first and foremost, Bindi’s mother. Trust her judgement. Bindi is her child and she will do what is in Bindi’s best interest.â€
This is just sexist crap. Good judgement does not come attached to the placenta. There are good mothers, bad mothers, indifferent mothers, plain stupid ones and evil ones too. Many have no idea what is in their child’s best interest. The wholesale destruction of families, by mothers, is testament to that.
Bindi’s mum may well be a nice lady – I am assuming positively, giving her credit – but there are accountants, ‘wild-life’ ‘experts’ who care for animals more than humans and reef money from wherever, product-floggers up the Ying-Yang, everybody and his friggin’ hoop-jumping dog cashing in on Bindi’s appeal. Even if this woman has Bindi’s interests at heart, she may well be being overwhelmed by all the hangers-on, the TV interviewers (oh, so cheap TV), the magazine editors (almost to a woman, women’s magazines) etc beating a path to her door. Bindi’s mum was a back-blocks country girl when she met Steve. Nice, but like him, not the brightest.
Bindi is only 8. Get it, Karen?
As a famous ‘personality’ here says, as his catch phrase, “Shame, shame, shame”.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:41 am
“The wholesale destruction of families, by mothers, is testament to that.”
And THAT’S not sexist?
Umm….ok.
“Nice, but like him, not the brightest.”
and you would know this personally, because….?
I guess I just don’t spend as much time worrying about how a seemingly intelligent woman is going to parent her child. I’m not going to judge a mother when I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes and in their personal life.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Karen, I am of the opinion that you don’t judge women at all. Lets not be “too” judgemental when it comes to the ladies ah? I have employed hundreds of men AND women in my life and I can tell you that women are much more manipulative than men, much more gender drivin when holding anyone accountable for any action at anytime for anything and many times more prone to doing what benefits them first, not the chidren. You may not like it, but it doesn’t change reality. Your world is different than mine and that is the way it is.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:17 am
“The wholesale destruction of families, by mothers, is testament to that.â€
And THAT’S not sexist?
Umm….ok.
No. That is data. Just the facts, mam.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:53 am
“No. That is data. Just the facts, mam.”
Are those facts or that data available on line? Can you tell me where to learn more?
I’m not being sarcastic. I’m genuinely interested.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:41 am
80-85% of divorces are initiated by women.
go to a divorce website and dig it up.
January 10th, 2007 at 11:20 am
“80-85% of divorces are initiated by women.”
Of course, that wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that 62% of married men have affairs.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
I can’t comment on that 62% figure.
But in a no-fault divorce market, it can be as simple as “he wouldn’t let me by enough pairs of shoes” or, “I fell out of love”, or “I didn’t feel fullfilled”…or any number of “reasons”.
But, then it may have something to do with the re-distribution of wealth following a divorce, where “she takes him to the cleaners”.
Businesses have known for years that you WILL drive human behavior with monetary incentives and rewards – just as the divorce industry does today.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
“Businesses have known for years that you WILL drive human behavior with monetary incentives and rewards – just as the divorce industry does today.”
And similarly business marketing departments understand human behavior as well. They know that male-bashing advertisements targeting the female market works. That is why they are so prevalent. Unfortunately, many women actually start to believe, and then continue to believe, that they are superior to men generally, or that men are inferior in various ways to women. This legitimizes for women their unjust treatment of men. This also drives the divorce, or at the very least, the many lousy marriages in existance in the U.S. today.
January 10th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Sorry, I think this is wrong. I think it is Bindi’s choice, and it may be her way of coping. It’s obvious she’s having fun, and I’m sure it makes her feel close to her dad.
January 10th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Bindi’s choice??????????????? She’s freakin’ 8 years old!! The only choice she should be making is whether to wear the Barney or the Scooby-Do T-Shirt to school.
Parents, with the best interests of their children at hear, make crucial decisions for their very young children.
January 10th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Roger said,
“80-85% of divorces are initiated by women.”
Karen said,
“Of course, that wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that 62% of married men have affairs.”
Karen,
If one were to believe your figures then I wonder
what percentage of the 62% of married men who are having affairs, carry on affairs with women who are also married?
So, it can be said that women play a central part when it relates to both having affairs and initiating divorce when one combines the two stats.
Example: 50% of the 62% of married men carry on affairs with women who are also married.
80-85% of women initiate divorce proceedings.
Pretty one-sided to say the least! Don’t you agree?
January 10th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
“Bindi’s choice??????????????? She’s freakin’ 8 years old!! The only choice she should be making is whether to wear the Barney or the Scooby-Do T-Shirt to school.”
Clearly, you’re somewhat out of touch about 8 year olds.
Here are some facts:
Your 8 year old is now building on the base of skills developed during early childhood and moving toward greater independence, both intellectually and emotionally.
Language and Thinking Development
*can converse at an almost adult level
*reading may be a major interest
*seeks to understand the reasons for things
*begins to feel competent in skills and have preferences for some activities and subjects
*thinking is organized and logical
Oh, and by the way, I’m the parent of an 8 year old. He hasn’t been interested in Barney since he was 2.
As for Roger and MuchWiserNow, you seem to have a little chip on your shoulder about women. Maybe you should get some therapy for that.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Karen said,
“As for Roger and MuchWiserNow, you seem to have a little chip on your shoulder about women. Maybe you should get some therapy for that.”
Karen,
Typical anti-male feminist strategy. Attack, belittle, and evade, instead of answering or debating a simple question which was posed to you in a polite manner. The therapy you suggest lies in the fact that your illogical thinking is on display for everyone to see.
Have a very nice day!
January 10th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
The last statistics I saw said 23% of wives cheat and 25% of men. Seems pretty close to me. Karen, don’t do what I did for most of my life. Don’t believe the false statistics in the media. What does this have to do with Bindi?
January 10th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Oops…I meant husbands not men.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
MuchWiserNow said: “Typical anti-male feminist strategy.”
Obviously my thinking isn’t that illogical. You just proved my point.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Karen, I don’t want to get into a barney with you. Bindi is 8 years old. Some people load so much responsibility and expectation onto 8 year olds that they break under the weight.
There are decisions which an 8 year old is simply incapable of making. They have a primitive sense of how the world works. Their minds are developing with a huge way to go yet. Children need the protection of their parents, not free rein to make huge errors. Little mistakes are the ones we let them make and learn from, not life changing ones.
You make an arguement of sorts. Precisely to what end I can’t quite tell. I do hope you are not a teacher.
“Language and Thinking Development
*can converse at an almost adult level
- No they cannot. What sort of adults do you mix with for goodness sake? The inarticulate and dim?? Lift your game. An 8 year old talks at an 8 year old level.
*reading may be a major interest
-point being???
*seeks to understand the reasons for things
Sure, at an 8 y/o level. Relevance to business decisions and marketing of self, exploitation of public sentiment, does an 8 y/o even understand the basics and the moral parameters of such things??
*begins to feel competent in skills and have preferences for some activities and subjects
- ‘Feeling’ of ‘competence??? There are many adults I guess that have delusions of adequecy too. I think maybe you are included. I may be wrong of course. Show me.
*thinking is organized and logical
- Children’s grasp of logic is tiny. Their minds are very disorganised. You are giving far too much praise for very little. They can grasp some aspects of cause and effect but what has that to do with logic, Truth Tables? Most adults have to be taught logic at University. Perhaps you do not know the differences. At 8 their thinking is organized and logical only compared to a 4 y/o.
Bindi is having fun, I do not doubt. She is a delightful child. CHILD. She is being exploited and you see her having fun. Money is rolling in. She is dancing her little legs off. The greedy are raking in ill-gotten cash and she is singing her little head off. What has the fun got to do with it? Adults are calling the tune.
You challenge my knowledge of the Irwins. Steve and Terri were both quite vocal about their origins. I make no judgement, rather simply repeat what they have said of themselves. I do not have to have known them personally. They were modestly educated people with, on Steve’s part at least, a huge extraversion. Good on him too. They played to their adult strengths.
I am sexist for pointing to facts? Women have vaginas. Does my saying so make me a sexist? They have breasts. Is that a sexist statement too? They initiate the VAST MAJORITY of divorces which bring untold pain to families. Women destroy families with vasty more efficiency than men can achieve and vastly more often.
The betrayal of infidelity that you introduce as a straw-man (men are having it off with the next-door’s pet frog are they, not women??) is painful but considerably less than the betrayal of marriage vows and theft of the family. ‘In the best interests of their children’, for far too many women, is like killing all the villagers to save them from their enemies!
January 10th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Karen wrote:
“Your 8 year old is now building on the base of skills developed during early childhood and moving toward greater independence, both intellectually and emotionally.
Language and Thinking Development
*can converse at an almost adult level”
Little Bindi may converse at an almost adult level, only if her playmates are Britney Spears, Linsday Lohan and Paris Hilton.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Karen said,
“Oh, and by the way, I’m the parent of an 8 year old.”
Karen said,
“Obviously my thinking isn’t that illogical. You just proved my point.”
Karen,
Hmm! I’ve read your response several times and nowhere do I see an answer to my original question. Am I missing something?
You stated that “YOU” are the parent of an 8 year old young man. Is his DAD also the parent of that young man?
You’ve listed some “touchy-feely” traits of a typical 8 year old.
*can converse at an almost adult level
*reading may be a major interest
*seeks to understand the reasons for things
*begins to feel competent in skills and have preferences for some activities and subjects
*thinking is organized and logical
The real world:
1. Would you allow his DAD to take “YOUR” 8 year old to a rod & gun club in order to practice shooting a BB gun at various paper targets?
2. Would you allow his DAD to take “YOUR” 8 year old to an archery range to practice the lost art of shooting a bow and arrow?
3. Would you allow his DAD to take “YOUR” 8 year old camping, fishing and boating in the wilderness for an entire weekend alone in order for him to gain some boyhood companionship and bond with his DAD?
4. Would you allow his DAD to take “YOUR” 8 year old to a wrestling match or even participate in a wrestling match with other 8 year old boys?
Methinks your answers will display to everyone how logical your thinking happens to be. Oops! I almost forgot …attack, belittle and evade, instead of replying to questions in a mature manner.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
“You stated that “YOU†are the parent of an 8 year old young man. Is his DAD also the parent of that young man?”
Did I say he wasn’t?? You seem to be reading alot into what I haven’t said.
MOST of you here seem to be reading way more into what I haven’t said, then what I have.
As for the “touchy feely” traits, I didn’t make them up. They’re from the Human Development and Family Studies from Iowa State University.
Challenge the professors who wrote them.
Regarding questions 1-4.
1. No. And neither would his Dad.
2.No An neither would his Dad.
3 Yes
4 Yes
Happy?
January 10th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Karen said,
“Regarding questions 1-4.
1. No. And neither would his Dad.
2.No An neither would his Dad.
3 Yes
4 Yes
Happy?”
Karen,
Finally, an answer in a mature manner. You have my admiration. One last thing if I may. At the risk of further being accused of reading a lot into what you say, are you answering question 1 & 2 for DAD?
Have a pleasant evening!
January 10th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
A University Challenge ! Let’s you and him fight!! Hahahahaha. Good one Karen. You are in the groove, girly.
“”As for the “touchy feely†traits, I didn’t make them up. They’re from the Human Development and Family Studies from Iowa State University.
Challenge the professors who wrote them.”"
Now which shall I use, The Bow and Arrows (I am a State Champion) or the Gun? hahahahaha.
January 11th, 2007 at 8:48 am
“The betrayal of infidelity that you introduce as a straw-man (men are having it off with the next-door’s pet frog are they, not women??) is painful but considerably less than the betrayal of marriage vows and theft of the family. ‘In the best interests of their children’, for far too many women, is like killing all the villagers to save them from their enemies! ”
So a woman should stay in the marriage when the man is having an affair?
Lots of cave man thinking going on here.
I’m out.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:14 am
“So a woman should stay in the marriage when the man is having an affair?
Lots of cave man thinking going on here.
I’m out.”
Does this mean that Karen NOT be voting for Shillary?
January 11th, 2007 at 9:53 am
karen: “Lots of cave man thinking going on here.
I’m out.â€
Bye
January 11th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Some final thoughts:
Karen said,
“So a woman should stay in the marriage when the man is having an affair?”
My question:
Similarly, should a man stay in the marriage when the woman is having an affair?
I dare venture to say that a majority of women can detect when a man is having an affair. While the majority of men don’t have a clue that the woman is carrying on behind his back. I Hope that isn’t a sexist statement Karen.
Karen said,
“Lots of cave man thinking going on here.
I’m out.”
In Karen’s own words:
“Give Terri Irwin the credit and respect of being first and foremost, Bindi’s mother. Trust her judgement. Bindi is her child and she will do what is in Bindi’s best interest.”
1. “Womanese” for Bindi is HER mother’s child and Bindi will do whatever she is told to do by Her mother. No matter how difficult it may be for the child!
Typically, all children want to please their parents.
2. “62% of married men have affairs.”
3. “As for Roger and MuchWiserNow, you seem to have a little chip on your shoulder about women.
Maybe you should get some therapy for that.”
4. “Oh, and by the way, I’m the parent of an 8 year old.”
Hmm!
Didn’t notice an (s) on the end of parent.
Example: My husband and I are parents of an eight year old child.
5. “You seem to be reading a lot into what I haven’t said.”
What Karen didn’t say:
(In reply to my questions)
Depending on how OUR son *felt about going to an archery range, target practice or the other activities mentioned, his DAD and I would talk it over with him about the pros and cons of his decision and support whatever decision OUR son made concerning the matter!
*”Begins to feel competent in skills and have preferences for some activities and subjects.”
(quoting from her bible of all-knowing professors)
January 12th, 2007 at 2:08 am
On the TV here, last night. Bindi is to do a tour of the USA appearing on TV there, doing interviews for Good Morning America, spearheading yet another Steve Irwin film (his last), marketing her video exercises, and get this…. she is to be the next front-person for the advertising by Tourism Australia shouting ‘Where the Bloody Hell are you’ in her high little girl’s voice alongside bikini girls flaunting themselves and their tits on our beaches. Move over Crocodile Dundee.
She is 8.
All her idea, I am supposed to suppose Karen? Everyone has fallen into line behind her ‘interests’? No-one pulling the strings?
It is EXPLOITATION. Its a FRIGGIN’ DISGRACE !
January 12th, 2007 at 9:25 am
amfortas said:
“and get this…. she is to be the next front-person for the advertising by Tourism Australia shouting ‘Where the Bloody Hell are you’ in her high little girl’s voice alongside bikini girls flaunting themselves and their tits on our beaches.
The Sydney Morning Herald said:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/australia/bindi-irwin-wont-bump-bingle-off-ad-minister/2007/01/12/1168105150863.html
Bindi Irwin won’t be bumping Lara Bingle off as the face of Australian tourism any time soon.
News Ltd newspapers reported today that Tourism Minister Fran Bailey was to name the eight-year-old daughter of the late Steve Irwin as an ambassador for Australian tourism tomorrow.
Bindi is proving to be as popular in the US as her dad, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, who was killed by a stingray last September.
But Ms Bailey said the government wouldn’t be signing her on for its tourism campaign.
”Bindi and her mother Terri are here in the United States helping to promote Australia as part of the G’Day USA campaign,” Ms Bailey told ABC Radio.
”But there is no role for Bindi in any advertising campaign.”
January 12th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Karen argues men are having affairs and this justifies women divorcing them:
So a woman should stay in the marriage when the man is having an affair?
But women also have affairs just as often as men. This would tend to make sense (who do men have affairs with?) Here’s a URL:
http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/infidelitystats.html
For men, the consequences of a spouse having an extra-marital affair could include having to raise a child that’s not his. This happens more often than some people might think (a 1940’s study of births at a maternity ward showed a significant of the children being born didn’t match the father in a bloodtest.)
So Karen, if anything there is more reason for men to divorce due to extra-marital affairs on the part of their spouse than vice-versa.
January 12th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
PolishKnight said:
“Karen argues men are having affairs and this justifies women divorcing them”
Against my better judgment, I’m going to comment again since you all seem hell bent on continuing this discussion and dragging my name into it. I stopped contributing because it was off topic and I apologize to Paul Robert for being a part of the railroading.
My comments about this subject were:
“And THAT’S not sexist?”
“Of course, that wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that 62% of married men have affairs.”
” So a woman should stay in the marriage when the man is having an affair?”
I never said woman don’t have affairs. I never said a man shouldn’t divorce a woman who is having an affair. I never even argued the fact that women initiate most of the divorces. It takes both partners to keep a marriage together. But I disagree with the comment ” The wholesale destruction of families, by mothers, is testament to that.â€
I think there are too many variables in a marriage, in parenting, in life and in society to make such a blanket statement. I wouldn’t say that about a man or a woman. To have a discussion like this in an on-line forum is only fuel for a fire that never ends. People take words too literally or read into things that are not there. Add emotions and personal life experiences into that mix and we could argue points until the cows come home.
What I do think contributes to the destruction of families these days is lack of involvement and supervision in a child’s life and being too busy with “other things” ( whatever that may be ) to sit down each day and look your spouse in the eye and talk to them. ( and the children, for that matter ) It’s hard not to take life at 100mph. Life is more fast paced these days then it was 30 years ago. We have to slow down and connect.
And no,… roger,… I’m not voting for Shilary.
Again, my apologies to Robert Paul, this was never meant to be about me.
Back to the subject………..
January 17th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Karen, well said.
January 17th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Robert, I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again about you…You can reaallllly stir things up!
Just cause you Googled “Bindi” and got many hits only says that the rest of the swine may be heading over the cliff… I’ve learned through the years that having a contrary point of view is safer most times than being part of the current heading downstream…
Noone has yet to mention that perhaps, MOM has not had a sufficient time to grieve and perhaps she has been manipulated into allowing this and, even perhaps, Karen is right..their is a thinking adult parent that happens to be the Mother, who sees this as a way of allowing her daughter an outlet to live in a way that best resembles the life the kids previously had with their dad and mom. It certainly beats putting her kids in public schools, even if it is Australia…
January 18th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
There’s a thing I need to say about all this. I think we need to take a chill pill about all this. Children like Bindi Irwin are legion out there. There’s kids in comercials and movies since they existed. Even if we ask ourself some questions about her age, we saw many kids in show business who turned very well. I don’t see Dakota Fanning suffering in any way, don’t you? Sherley Temple lived a good life after her movie carrer and the Olsen twins (kinda) look normal to me.
Let’s not keep out of mind that being a parent is a tough job. There’s tons of persons out there who are good at laying blame on those who don’t raise their children right by some term dictated by them. Unless youu are a sick couple in Seattle trying to turn an mentaly inapt child into a living doll throught Nazi SS surgery, I don’t see how I can lay blame on them.
I don’t know Bindi Irwin. I don’t know her mother Terri Irwin. By this, I can’t lay a judgment on their attitudes and abilities surounding showbiz. What I know is that when Mrs Irwin saw that her child wasen’t griefing the lost of her father, she brought her to a shrink.
***
In an interview in The Australian Women’s Weekly to be published today, Mrs Irwin said she had taken eight-year-old Bindi and her two-year-old brother Bob to a psychologist.
“I don’t pretend to have all the answers,” Mrs Irwin said.
“I met with a psychologist and that’s been a tremendous help for me.
“I asked him if everything was OK, because Bindi has been so happy.
“And he said, ‘Why? Are you worried? That’s what you are shooting for. That’s what you want – a well-adjusted child who can handle a tragedy and see that life goes on’.”
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20796831-5008780,00.html
***
Let’s see it that way; do this is the reaction of a ballanced mother? I would say yes. The idea that she destroyed all the tapes containing the footage of her husband’s death is also a good thing.
Let’s give it a rest, Bindi is allright.
January 19th, 2007 at 4:57 am
Did she really destroy the tapes? That is a relief! These days, I wouldn’t be surprised if later on they made a special on the Crocodile Hunter that showed his death. That would be terrible. Death is shown in so many movies, but it is different than a tragedy happening in real life.
January 19th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Yes KVolz, she destroyed the tape. In the age of the Sleaze-Chic when flashing a pussy is barely shocking, Terri Irwin chose to act with decency.
*****
There had been speculation that video footage of his death – caught on camera as he was diving to make a documentary about Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef – could eventually end up on the internet.
The Queensland state coroner said the only remaining video tape had been given to Terri Irwin just before Christmas.
“The footage has been the subject of widespread media interest and it was wholly appropriate that we took all possible steps to ensure something of such a personal and tragic nature did not fall into the wrong hands,” Coroner Michael Barnes said in a statement.
“This is in line with the wishes of the Irwin family.”
Last year, Terri Irwin ruled out showing the video in a television interview, saying: “What purpose would that serve?”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6229757.stm?ls
Australian authorities last week said that they had completed an investigation into Irwin’s death and, to ensure it is never made public, destroyed all but one copy of a tape showing Irwin’s death.
The incident was captured by the documentary crew of “Ocean’s Deadliest”, the Discovery wildlife special Irwin was filming at the time of his death.
This video was handed to his widow, Terri Irwin, who told TV’s Access Hollywood in an interview being aired on Thursday and Friday this week that she had now destroyed this footage.
“There’s standard protocols for examining certain evidence and that’s no longer necessary,” she told Access Hollywood.
Asked whether she kept the video returned to her, she said, “Oh no, all footage has been destroyed.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/3928199a1860.html
*****
If Terri Irwin was such a greedy media whore, she would had sold the video, yet she destroyed the last copy. This is one of the things that tell me than Bindi is allright.