Comments on: Eco-Hunk: David Suzuki

By: Tracey

Tracey — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:47:34 +0000

I met him in Australia. At a book signing I introduced myself as a fellow Canadian and he was very rude. He was completely dismissive of me, he refused to talk to me, and he avoided eye contact. He’s a cantankerous old man. I used to be so inspired by him. I went back to my hostel and cried.

By: Neil

Neil — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:37:15 +0000

He smoked up a joint in the Banff Centre cafeteria. A very rude, very egotistical and ignorant Man. He is just a scum bag with an agenda.

By: leah

leah — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:58:19 +0000

i’ve met him twice, once when i was about 10 and he did a talk at a church in my hometown in northern ontario, and once when i was working at the deli at caper’s in vancouver (apparently his office is on fourth avenue). he was rude both times.

after the talk, my dad congratulated him and extended his hand — suzuki refused to shake it and gave him some sort of dismissive hand wave.

when he visited capers, while i didn’t serve him, i witnessed him be rude, short and impatient with the girl that did.

By: Scranton Zoo

Scranton Zoo — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:41:26 +0000

Great post. I really enjoyed it. I will have to bookmark this site for later.

By: RemyC

RemyC — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:59:57 +0000

I have a picture of David Suzuki standing on a rock, wearing only a fig leaf… I love that photo!!! It was published in HoBo magazine a few years back… if you’re interested I’ll email you a jpg.

By: Katie Kish

Katie Kish — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:06:27 +0000

Kim – thats nutty. But I’m glad to took the time to write to you to try and make up for being an asshole. He seems pretty modest and calm now, maybe it came with age. The first time I met him I cried, and he laughed at me really hard. The next few times weren’t so dramatic on my part.

Marguerite – I think it has somewhat of an impact – my mom does whatever he tells us to do. …I think that a lot of people follow what he says a little blindly, but at least it’s not harmful stuff. I find that a lot of people take his advice much more to heart than other people.

By: marguerite manteau-rao

marguerite manteau-rao — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:29:54 +0000

While I applaud Mr. Suzuki’s efforts, I question its impact. Most people respond best to small steps. Giving them a laundry list can only go so far. Figure out first the one thing that will get people started, then the rest will follow. Seems simple, but it is not easy. I have spent the last nine months exploring this very issue on my blog. Thanks to my readers, some answers are starting to surface.

http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:58:01 +0000

When I was in high school in Toronto, in 1990, I was interested in environmentalism and politics. In our senior year, my classmates and I were organizing a demonstration for Earth Day – a march from Parliament to City Hall. A concert at City Hall was being organized as well. We were really excited and passionate about it.

I rode the bus every day down Bay Street to get to school. One day, Suzuki was on my bus and it was just the two of us. I really didn’t want to bug him but I figured it was silly not to say something. I got up the nerve to ask him if he does any type of speaking and before I got any words out he flipped out and snapped at me, basically asking me to leave him the hell alone. I was shocked and disillusioned (being young, of course) because I had looked up to him a great deal.

A friend worked at the CBC and got a letter to him that I wrote about the experience and how unnecessary it seemed for him to be rude and curt with an admirer, and a student, no less, not some raving groupie. He took the time to write me back a long, detailed letter discussing how hard it is for him to be away from his family – how exhausted he can get – and how he was completely out of line it was for him to treat me the way that he did. I was really glad he took the time out to acknowledge it. It was odd to go through that with him, but his candor and earnest response meant a lot to this idealistic high school kid.

By: Starre

Starre — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:15:31 +0000

I’ve been a Suzuki fan for years! Heard him speak at Bioneers awhile back….he IS an amazing speaker! Great combo of ‘get-to-itiveness’ and positivity.

By: Frederic from the Vancouver Blog

Frederic from the Vancouver Blog — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:42:11 +0000

Interesting and informative post about David Suzuki. There is stuff I did not know about him.