Solidarity.

impermanentrage · #1 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 07:23 AM

News article gotten fron the "other" websites forums.
Check it out and send a letter in solidarity with your fellow keepers.
Below i am copying my letter to this journalist who i am affectionately refering to as "that moron". [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Yellow bellied, sensationalistic, journalism.

My comments to writer are below:
Mr. Vest,
Please allow me to introduce myself before I commend you on your article. I am an animal shelter veterinary technician, so I've seen, first hand, the kind of damage various species can do to property, environment, and public health. I also used to live in central Florida, a 4th gen. Floridian actually, something that I was at one time proud of. Unfortunately I moved. You represent one of the reasons why I did so.
Bravo, and congratulations to you sir! What an article! What conformity! You have managed in just a few paragraphs to illustrate the overall ignorance of the society at large. Playing on the fears of the general public is always good journalism, wouldn't you agree? I would liken your article to a sort of herpetophobic Jerry Springer, but I imagine that would be a poor analogy, when I consider that would insult Mr. Springer's credibility as a respectable journalist, at least comparatively.
I have seen children forever in fear, some of them having parts of their anatomy removed, seen mammalian diseases proliferate, seen feral animals devastate local ecologies, yet not a single solitary case of death or disease contributable to captive reptiles in my community. Yet the ignorance continues to escalate to such a degree. And why is that? It couldn't possibly be that their are those with such poor investigative techniques that they resort to the lowest common denominator of journalism could it? Scare tactics and sensationalism seem to be the trumpet of today's least capable writers. When all else fails in slow day of news, grab an animal story. Be it a puppy caught in well, or pythons in a closet, that's real news. Tug at their hearts and fears but never educate or enlighten. Use the pen as a pulpit, not an area for objectively researching a particular story.
I keep, have kept, and will continue to keep reptiles (mostly those ghastly serpents!) in my home, alongside my two children, two cats (who never venture beyond the confines of my house BTW), and a small dog. Of all the animals my children have come in contact with, the only ones who have ever injured one my children, was a neighbor's dog, albeit the canine was simply playing, but considering the breed (American Pit Bull Terrier), and my profession, I was genuinely concerned. Did I kill this animal? No. I went to the owner and made every attempt to get his canine back to him. When said canine was quarantined for rabies due to lack of vaccinations, did I burn his house down? No. Did I write nasty letters? No. I did use every resource at my disposal to ensure that this owner got his dog back. Unfortunately, he never reclaimed his canine, and the animal was sadly, euthanized. This happens everyday throughout this country, and individuals such as yourself, who use zoophobias, and anthropomorhism as weapons, who generalize and with fallacies of enumeration by way of smiting an entire family of animals due to the human error of one individual are a completely biased and nefarious group. But perhaps it is I, and people like myself who are bereft of logic? You are absolutely right sir. Let us begin by outlawing all captive animals, starting with the most domestic; bovines. Red meat is dangerous, it carries diseases, the animals live a miserable existence, if that's what you could call it. They're entire purpose? To live just long enough to have their young taken away, their milk stolen, and to be slaughtered, in a quite inhumane manner. Some still alive as their muscle is separated from bone. I am to assume you are a vegetarian Mr. Vest? You must be. Otherwise you wouldn't have such scorn for snakes, a consummate carnivore. Although you're domestic feline can relate. I have read that you dislike the idea that captive snakes must be fed rodent prey items. I would like an elaboration please. I assume that the lamb, chicken, and/or beef found in Purina [TM] are somehow plucked from trees? Or am I also to assume you to be as ignorant towards feline nutrition as you are towards all other aspects of the carnivore's biology? I suppose you feed them tomatoes? Very kind. Although the cat likely would disagree. But this likely will not be a problem once the world becomes enlightened as to your way of thinking, and mandates an entire federal upheaval of current animal legislation. When all animals, from livestock to companions, from private breeders to zoological gardens, no longer be within their respective locales. Of course this will greatly increase the need for those in my profession as we slaughter animals protected by international laws, but no bother, they could scare or hurt someone. People first, I suppose. A philosophy that will continue to contribute to the overall environmental degradation that prevails in this new dystopia. But men like you and I will continue to have jobs wont we. You'll continue to bombard the ignorant with misinformation, and I will continue to kill everyday, those, which I love.
So thank you for your deep moral insights Mr. Vest. We all greatly appreciate it. In particular those animals that are currently being held at the animal shelter that will likely be placed under an enormous amount of stress prior to their untimely death, which can likely be attributed directly to you, and any further media hype that will make it quite unlikely that an adoption to an appropriate home will take place.
And another thing, if snakes bother you so greatly? Move to an area other than the SE portion of the US. I hear New Zealand is nice. Ireland as well.
Alex Loomis
Charlotte, NC
PS: Next time you refer to a snake as "poisonous", you may do well to omit that word and place venomous in its place. Than you wont come off as such a biologically ignorant art student with little consideration for the article you had just written.

_________________
"We are destined to become the most well informed society to ever die from our own ignorance."
Edward Abbey

impermanentrage · #2 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 08:21 AM

I guess noone's as upset about this as i am? Oh, well. It probably should be considered irrelevant anyway i presume.

Entropy,
Alex

_________________
"We are destined to become the most well informed society to ever die from our own ignorance."
Edward Abbey

LdyDrgn · #3 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 08:48 AM

I am upset about it Alex, and I sent a letter to the idiot...thanks for bringing this to our attention.
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Dr.Oviparous · #4 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 09:01 AM

[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_evil.gif[/img] don't you just love it when ignorant people have jobs like this!?!?! I think it's great that they can actully spread their ignorance to people, making the general population that much dumber. geeze, what a moron. -Juggalo
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Radkon4 · #5 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 02:36 PM

I wrote a letter to him myself, giving him a piece of my mind not that I can spare it. I have an idea can we get lori to post this so everyone can see it , perhaps we can all let this moron know what we think.
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#6 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 02:59 PM

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>I guess noone's as upset about this as i am? Oh, well. It probably should be considered irrelevant anyway i presume.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Dude, you posted at 1:23am...some of us were asleep. An excellent letter overall (yours). I will read the article shortly and drive another nail through this guy's wooden head.

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eddie · #7 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 03:08 PM

I tried to mail him but it kept getting sent back as an invalid addy.
I used the addy from the story. jvest@orlandosentinel.com.

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rainbowlishiss · #8 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 03:36 PM

First of all may I compliment you on your great letter. I personally always love alittle sarcasm mixed with information.

As for none of us caring, just give us a little bit of time and we will all get around to being albe to read both the letter and the story.

And unfortunetly, ignorance is just as much a disease as is any other contagious disease out there. If not more so. I'd probably say you could compare it to any disease that affects the brain.
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Dvine · #9 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 04:42 PM

Ok ... jumping in with both feet for my first post. I just couldn't lurk any longer after reading the slamfest that Mr. Vest thinks is journalism. First I'd like to commend you on your letter. It was very well written ... However I sincerely doubt Mr. Vest is capable of comprehending multi syllabic words. I too forwarded a letter, but only used clicks, beeps, and the occasional grunt ...

Bet he pulled the wings off of flies as a child ... pompous .. ignorant ... self-righteous ... blah

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eddie · #10 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 04:50 PM

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>Bet he pulled the wings off of flies as a child </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I did that....
My parents never understood why though...but the flys enjoyed the walk!
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morti · #11 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 05:03 PM

Hi Dvine and welcome to Redtailboa.net. I live in Kentuckyanna myself and if I look out my window in the 5/3 building, I could probably see you. Wave would ya?

Alex, I read this one on the "Other" forum... I felt that it was just as you said: A so called journalist displaying his ignorance. I did not write him a letter as I am bound and determined that he is so thick headed that nothing any of us can say would cause him to re-think his position.

The level of bad writing that he has attained gives new meaning to ignorance. He and people like him are the soul reason why I don't read the papers. I do feel that newspapers have their place... specificaly at the bottom of my snake cage.

But that's just my oppinion.

-Morti.
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#12 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 06:28 PM

My reply:

Mr. Vest

I would like to comment on your article in a logical, unbiased approach, something you are obviously incapable of. Unfortunately, I won't get the public exposure your article did, because I'm not a sensationalist and I will not try to scare people with unreasonable fear.

Snakes are a natural part of the ecosystem. Without them, we would be rapidly overrun by disease carrying rodents. You obviously didn't do any biology research on this article, just decided to spout your personal fears for the reading public and play on irrational fears. The only disease reptiles (snakes are reptiles by the way) can pass to humans is Salmonella. You have a better chance of getting Salmonella by handling raw chicken.

If there's one thing a 15 foot snake needs protection from, it is humans and there ignorance and irrational fears. They most likely were piled on each other because they are ectothermic. That means that cannot regulate their body temperature like mammals can and require external heat sources to maintain their body temperatures at an optimal level. I'm sure since the Burmese python is a tropical Asian snake, that the indoor temperature of most likely 72 degrees Fahrenheit was far too cold for them and they were attempting to reduce surface area to reduce heat loss - 'stay warm' for the layman. Snakes are constantly persecuted by ignorant people like you, and your article only further perpetuates myths and untruths.

Keeping snakes near an elementary school is irrelevant. People keep pit bulls and other notoriously aggressive dogs near elementary schools. In fact, if you had taken the time to do some research, you would have discovered that dogs attacks kill/injure far more children than snakes do. Try as I might, I have been unable to find a single case where a child has walked by a house that contained a snake where the snake has rushed out of the house, through the yard and attacked a child. Sadly, several cases where dogs were kept, this exact thing is common. Snakes do NOT chase people. They do NOT hunt people. They do NOT attack for revenge or hate. Snakes bite people when they are threatened and escape is not possible. Given a choice, every snake will flee rather than confront a human.

There is nothing wrong with keeping snakes (and reptiles) responsibly as pets. They just have not been in human dwelling as pets for the past 6,000 years like cats, or 20,000 for dogs.

Snakes have not been a fixture in human nightmares since we began walking upright. Go to any farm and ask a farmer what he thinks of snakes. I'm sure he will tell you he thinks they're a blessing, they keep the rats and mice from destroying his silage for his animals.

Yes, it is conceivable to live under the same roof with a snake. Or several for that matter. You know where it will be without thinking about it, because responsible pet owners keep their reptiles securely in enclosures when not working with them, much like responsible dog owners don't let their dogs loose in their neighborhood. In fact, most news stories that involve fatal snake/human interaction are the results of the few idiots that allow their large snakes to free roam their homes.

Most anyone that keeps a snake as a pet has seen an 8 foot snake. Do you have any idea of the number of people in the United States that keep reptiles for pets, especially snakes? Let me guess, you didn't research that either.

The only snakes that have fangs are venomous ones. Not poisonous. Poisonous means if you EAT it, you may get sick or die. Venomous means if IT bites you AND injects venom, you may get sick or die. Less than 1% of people bitten by venomous snakes (in the USA) die from the bite. Those that do are often the very young, very elderly or in poor health. A large percentage (about 50%) of the time, they do not even inject venom. They do not see us as prey, which is what the venom is for. Immobilizing their prey and beginning the digestion process. They don't normally waste their precious venom on humans unless repeatedly provoked by hoe wielding idiots.

God did not give us hoes to kill snakes. Man created hoes to rid his garden of weeds. That is an irrational, paranoid fear which you are promoting with this poorly thought out and poorly researched article. I think it must have been a slow news day and you found out about some snakes that were stolen and used that as a vehicle to espouse your own irrational fears to the public. That same hoe can be used to remove the snake from said deck/patio and transported to a different area. More likely than not, the snake will attempt to flee from you if at all possible.

I think it is hysterical that a full grown adult male would be so deathly afraid of a 9" inch snake. I'll say it again, a 9" snake. The average adult male is 5'9" ( 69&quot

tall and 150 pounds. If you trapped it in tupperware, you could have simply taken it outside and released it rather than "give it a good killing in the morning". I find it even more ridiculous that you risked you life and that of other motorists slamming on your brakes because a 9" snake was loose in your vehicle. No doubt, if given the chance, the 9" snake would have killed you and then eaten all 150 pounds of you. And don't let the flying pigs land on you either. Check your closet before you go to bed tonight, the boogeyman might be hiding in there too. Again, if you had simply taken the snake outside and released it, all of that risk to human life could have been avoided.

Snakes do not prefer human habitation. If humans were not invading every environment of every animal on earth, and mostly destroying it as they go, there would be far less of these encounters. And of the encounters that did occur, if people stopped being exposed to the tripe of articles like this and instead received informative, researched information, things would be a lot less stressful for both snake and human. Hatred of snakes in not inbred, it is learned. Take any small child (toddler) and show them a snake, and if their parents have not already biased them with a hatred of snakes, they will view it with the same wonder and joy as they do any other animal, legs or no legs, fur or no fur.

I've enclosed several links and sources below, both as reference and if you're open minded enough, perhaps educational. I don't expect this article to ever see the light of day. Who can blame you, it would make you look like a horse's hindquarters. The truth has a way of doing that to irrational stories induced by unfounded fears.

Dog attacks:
http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/09/15/deadly.dogs.ap/
http://www.legallawhelp.com/safety_a...ous/dog_bites/
http://www.hsus.org/ace/11843

Snake Bite FACTS:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasd/docs/as31600.html
http://www.geocities.com/lildragonlady_sco/edback

Salmonella:
http://www.gctts.org/salmonella.risks.html

Reptile Education:
http://www.geocities.com/reptilezoo_2000/

Reptile Pets in the USA:
http://www.traffic.org/dispatches/archives/september98/

It took me about 10 minutes to find all the above links. Go online to www.google.com, it's a excellent place to find information.
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#13 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 07:05 PM

I also sent it as a letter to the editor at this address insight@orlandosentinel.com

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JC86 · #14 (**permalink**) 05-16-2002, 11:57 PM

Instead of writing letters to him, I would write letters to their editorial department. I don't care what he thinks, I want to set the public straight.

Scott
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#15 (**permalink**) 05-17-2002, 03:35 AM

I covered both bases [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Dude, you're relatively close, go pound the fool [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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JC86 · #16 (**permalink**) 05-17-2002, 06:09 AM

Yeah I was thinking about it. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] Hehe you guys paypal me the gas money and I'll go see what I can do. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]

Scott
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bensnacks · #17 (**permalink**) 05-17-2002, 03:29 PM

I wonder (though seriously doubt) if the editors
will have the the guts to print the replies.???
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Ed_r · #18 (**permalink**) 05-17-2002, 04:36 PM

Good God Living in Florida how does this guy leave his house everyday? I'd say he's bucking to be one of those Television evangelists. He's definately qualified, loves giving his uneducated and wrong oppinions to everyone. If he was going to report on anything it should be if the animals were miscared for, and the steps taken to get them the proper care if this was the case. Not on describing the satanic messenger of death serpents. I'd be surprised if he has a job after this.
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Dvine · #19 (**permalink**) 05-17-2002, 07:19 PM

Thanx for the welcome Morti ... *waving* ... I work just off of I65 and can see the 5/3 building from the back of the lot.

And no offense intended Eddie ... I'm sure lots of children pull the wings off of flies and turn out to be outstanding adults ....... Besides, your parents aren't s'posed to understand you.

I was wondering if anyone had heard back from these people? I talked my brother into actually going to their offices, but of course they wouldn't let him in to see this shmuck. He wasn't available at the moment .. (big surprise) ... but my bro said he'd keep going back until someone saw him. Just thought I'd let ya know.

D
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Radkon4 · #20 (**permalink**) 05-17-2002, 07:32 PM

I hope your bro is big and scary [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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