Snake haters....sigh

Boaman79 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 03:54 PM

I'm on several fishing sites where a couple of the clubs I'm in have forums. We talk most everyday and I know most of these guys personally as they are local clubs so I fish with them often. However, something that bugs me is 90% of the general publics view on reptiles..mostly snakes. I posted pics of Jezebel with the girls in the yard (same ones I posted here) and get only a comment or two about how cool they are and what neat pets. The others are always stupid typical snake remarks like "only good snake is a dead one" or "man she would make a great set of boots" etc, etc...

I even got a PM from a guy that "knew someone" years back that had a 15' Retic he had raised since she was a baby and "all of a sudden" one day "she attacked him". She evidently got him on the face and tore a good chunk off. He was even trying to compare my Boa and baby Ball around my girls (with me there at all times) to that situation. Basically trying to say I am putting my children in danger. I mean dang, I've already decided I wont ever even own a true giant until I have tons more experience AND they are grown or moved out. I'm always very calm in my responses and try to educate them but most just wont have it. Ive come to the conclusion I just wont post anymore about my herps on those sites and leave it to WONDERFUL places like this. I don't know what my point is other than just to blow off a little steam....

Anyone else experience any "hater" type situations?

Rant over.......

TammyJamaica · #2 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 04:08 PM

I live in a hater-type environment, like what is now critically endangered here: the Jamaican Boa or Yellow Snake.

I too have learned that you can't win them all, but nothing can stop me from trying!

I also love fishing but have not been in years. Used to fish from a canoe far out at sea off Jamaica's South Coast at night. Whoooh!!!! And have fished in lakes in Canada. Great sport and good food!

Suspect187 · #3 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 04:41 PM

People fear the unknown. Someone needs to take a bit of time to educate these people. That's if they aren't stubborn (set in their head) and want to be educated on the subject.

blfresh · #4 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 04:50 PM

I've been involved in taking my herps to our local schools to help educate the children. I find it interesting that the younger ones are less fearful than the high schoolers. Getting people educated is a great help as a deterrent to fear. We tend to fear what we don't understand.

TammyJamaica · #5 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 05:06 PM

The illogical fear is handed down from one generation to the next, and the next generation is often more deadly than the last, as stories get blown out of proportion, like that fish story - bigger and bigger every time it is told.

Oroborous · #6 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 05:28 PM

True snake haters are more often than not ignorant fools who have probably never even seen a snake before. And if they have it's a harmless little thing that they promptly kill if they can ketch it. My home town is full of people like that. Makes me sick.

telefrag · #7 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 05:45 PM

I had some guys delivering a large piece of equipment once, and they had to walk it back past the area I keep my snakes in, and one of the guys was "deathly" afraid of snakes and didn't want to come back in the house.

His co-worker didn't understand what the big deal was, he pretty much ignored them...

when I went outside and said, "look, my 3yr old daughter isn't scared of snakes, are you going to man up and do this or are you going to be a little girl?"

He shut up, and got to work.

I guess when you question someone's manhood, they toughen up a bit.

we just have to accept that there are ton's of giant babies in the world...

luker3232 · #8 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by telefrag

I guess when you question someone's manhood, they toughen up a bit.

Hahaha.

I cant think of any off hand except my science teacher saying my 3 foot rosy boa was able to kill me and it was dangerous to have...

TammyJamaica · #9 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 06:08 PM

Recently here a container came in at the Wharf and someone saw a snake in it. The container was a 40 foot one from Florida. Before anyone bothered to even find out anything about the snake (venomous, non-venomous, size, etc) along came the fumigators and blasted the container,

killing anything that was alive in there. Kill any snake on sight, that's the attitude.
When I tell anyone here (with few exceptions) that I keep snakes, they literally and physically back away in horror.

Icicle · #10 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 06:33 PM

Some people will never be able to see the true beauty in snakes, as we do.

Boaman79 · #11 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 06:34 PM

Thanks for the responses...im obviously not alone.

I work at youth facility that sits on 40acres. We have lawn/woods/a pond/etc...I see plenty of grass snakes/garters/rats/etc while Im out working aroung here. The kids (teens) are mostly scared too. I love finding one when some kids are out helping me work and catching it. They will be ready to kill it but then I stop them and catch the frightened thing. Once calm I show it too them. Some think Im nuts but most think its cool and want to pet it.

Hopefully it makes a difference down the road.

telefrag · #12 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luker3232

Hahaha.

I cant think of any off hand except my science teacher saying my 3 foot rosy boa was able to kill me and it was dangerous to have...

you should of went to grab it, and started screaming, and running around the room warning everyone of the deadly rosy boa.

SnakeBabe · #13 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boaman79

… "only good snake is a dead one" or "man she would make a great set of boots" etc, etc......
Anyone else experience any "hater" type situations?
Rant over.......

Since I have snakes in the public eye for hours and hours I hear comments like that one over and over every night. Also, since Indianan Jones made it “Cool” to say “I hate snakes” I here that often too. Often people are just trying to be funny and think they are the first person to say it. They don’t think about their comment and that it may hurt my feelings so I don’t get in their face and argue but I reply:

This is my pet and I love her. To hear you say you want to kill it or make boots out of my pet really saddens me. So if you’ll excuse me I’ll just go over there and I will try to avoid you as to not upset you or myself any further.

This comment is designed to make them think twice about saying such a thing to a person with a snake. To make them see it as a pet and not just an opportunity for a cruel joke. It works for me and usually his friends pick on him for insulting me.
Hugs and Hissessss,
Maria

Stargazer · #14 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 07:13 PM

Only some people are "educatable". I've had curious, well-intended people asking me questions like, "how do you discipline a snake?". I have just become very particular whom I talk to about my snakes. I am dying to get a bumper sticker that says "My boa could eat your honor student." It would be a joke of course, but so many people would flip out around here that I have to keep it low key. I don't see that changing any time in the near future. I guess we are a small elite group.

KyleZ · #15 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 07:36 PM

In my experience, much of the displayed hysteria and ridiculous fearful reactions to snakes are actually a cry for attention on the haters' part. That, and many like to make themselves feel better by trying to marginalize you because you love snakes; these are the same folks who bullied kids when they were younger, and this is their adult form of bullying. They see something that seems strange or unknown to them, and they love to ridicule anything they do not understand, make fun of it, try to make everyone see that you are a "freak" and emphasize how "normal" they are. It's a self-ego stroke for insecure, ignorant dullards. I believe it's part of a personality disorder on some degree. I've encountered dozens of people who think that it's impossible to like both cats and dogs. These are usually the people who hate cats to the point that they will torture or kill them for no reason. When I confront these idiots, they always remark about how dogs give you attention and beg you for treats and games, and how cats are so indifferent, snobby, and are "stupid" because of this. Their idea of a pet is something that caters to and feeds their ego. My idea of a pet is something I can observe, study, interact with on several different levels. I don't care if my pets love me or not, I get enjoyment out of providing that love and care to them, and watching them flourish.

Then there are the "experts" everywhere...I don't know how many people conversationally have told me that boas are indeed "poisonous" and I will learn a horrible lesson someday when I'm killed or maimed by a bite. Even if I calmly try to explain that this is NOT the case, they will not believe it! And these people always "know someone who knows someone" with some horrifying (and utterly ridiculous) story, and therefore they treat you like you are the one that's full of it.

Human ignorance is one of the most aggravating and ridiculous things on Earth. People like to believe in their monsters and things that go bump in the night, and many are openly hostile to any words that may prove otherwise. I believe education of children is really the best option, as many of the haters out there learned to hate and fear from their parents, teachers, etc. Hate is rooted in fear, and people love to fear things they know nothing about.

KyleZ · #16 (**permalink**) 03-13-2009, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeBabe

They don’t think about their comment and that it may hurt my feelings so I don’t get in their face and argue but I reply...This is my pet and I love her. To hear you say you want to kill it or make boots out of my pet really saddens me. So if you’ll excuse me I’ll just go over there and I will try to avoid you as to not upset you or myself any further....This comment is designed to make them think twice about saying such a thing to a person with a snake. To make them see it as a pet and not just an opportunity for a cruel joke.

Haha, that is a great method, particularly if you are a beautiful woman

No guy likes to be humiliated or emasculated by a beautiful woman. Now if I were to make a remark like that, I'd probably get ridiculed and called names, or at least another string of insulting comments, most likely on my manhood