Political snakes

[dkatz4]

Watching the debates tonight with my boa around my shoulders, I was reminded that for him and for future snakes I often think about naming them after political figures whom I admire. But then it occurs to me that there are certain people I know who have very different political opinions than I have Who would no doubt invoke the negative connotations snakes have to insult whomever I had named the snake after thereby royally infuriating me on two separate fronts.
Has anyone any experience with this? Has anyone named their snake after political figure and had the reaction that I am describing?

PS, no political commentary please – this post is just about people's reactions to your snakes and their names, not about anyone's personal political beliefs.

[Coluber42]

I've never named a pet after a public figure. I think the reason why I wouldn't do it is that we inevitably view them as larger-than-life characters that we only see the public side of, and we see them through the clouded lenses of our own expectations, hopes, and biases. They are like tofu, that takes the flavor of what you cook it with, or Rorschach blots in which you see what you expect or want to see.
But they will inevitably disappoint us, because under the airbrushing they are real people with human failings. They get cranky when they miss breakfast, they stink up bathrooms, they make mistakes, they say things they later regret, and their private lives can't ever live up to the pretty pictures.

So I'd rather give a pet a name that's decoupled from all that baggage, identity politics, expectation, etc. I prefer places, fictional characters, astronomical phenomena, etc. My BP is named after a railroad tunnel.

[butterballpython]

I used to go riding and borrow a leopard Appaloosa named Ronald Reagan. (Reagan was president when he got his name.) This horse was a real character with a sense of humor. He'd grab our bottles of soda between his teeth and toss his head up to take a swig. Of course, some would run down his neck, then he'd enjoy watching us fuss over cleaning him up. He also knew how to work gates. He didn't want to go anywhere, he'd just stand there until someone noticed and would fuss at him and put him back. I loved that horse. His owners did too, and wouldn't sell him. Nobody cared about his political name.

[noodlestsc]

I think you're thinking into it way way to much. I've never personally known or heard of someone feeling differently about an animal simply because of it's name. I would however have certain feelings towards the owner if for instance they named their pet Hitler

That being said my BP's name is Jake (Old school WWF fans will get the reference)

[dkatz4]

I get what coluber and is saying, but I'm less worried about my own perception of the pet more about other peoples – and specifically with a snake wear non-Herpers are very quick to assume anything associated with the snake is negative. Like, let's say my snake was named Ronald Ragan because I really liked him (not saying I do or I don't, just using the example at hand) and then someone who was very anti-Reagan would learn his name and say something like " that's a perfect name for a snake, that snake in the grass was the worst president ever " or some such commentary. And then I would be wickedly butt hurt because not only had he consulted someone who admired but also assumed that my pet was an inherently negative Thing. As opposed to a horse that doesn't have such connotations surrounding it (Ronald Ragan is also an appropriate name for a horse because of all the cowboy movies he did)

[Coluber42]

Another reason: Let's say you named a snake after a figure who was well respected at the time, such as Bill Cosby, Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, Bernie Madoff, etc. At one time they were all respected, admired, considered to be successful and effective, etc. And then it turned out that Cosby used date rape drugs, Spitzer spent a lot of time with expensive prostitutes, Weiner texted dirty pictures, and Madoff ran a ponzi scheme. And then it's like, "That guy's so slimy, no wonder you named a snake after him" or "That guy's such a treacherous liar, no wonder he has snakes named after him". It would still be unfortunate to have a dog named Madoff and a horse named Cosby, but at least dog and horse owners don't generally have to worry about fighting the perception that their animals are slimy or treacherous.

[bcr229]

I name my snakes after gods and heroes in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology. I would not insult them by naming them after a politician.