Steve Irwin

A Guardian article by the inveterate self-publicist Germaine Greer, about Steve Irwin, the popular television entertainer killed recently, has caused much offence in parts of the blogoshpere; for example, over at Israellycool some readers are getting extremely annoyed.

And quite rightly too. It used to be civilised convention that one did not attack the deceased until after the funeral. However, civilised is not an adjective I have ever associated with Greer. She saw a commercial opportunity and took it.

However, my contribution to this affair is demand that we do not forget the Guardian's role. There was a time, not so long ago, when that once great newspaper would not print such an article. Not any more.