Why do peole have to be so horrible!

small minds

Sadly, there are more of THEM out there than there are of US. :D

I get very mixed reactions when I tell people about my animals, and I've started scrutinizing closely before mentioning the snakes to avoid some of the really heated comments. Still, whenever I say that I have 15 snakes I get some really wide-eyed looks...even from the folks that like reptiles.

The basic fact is that snakes have a very bad reputation that has been created over hundreds of years. Yes, it's inaccurate and incorrect, but that doesn't matter to the truly close-minded. The main thing to do is educate those who are still open to information and laugh off the idiots who are too stubborn to hear a word of truth. People like that really hate it when you laugh at them. :D And it's a lot more rewarding than wasting your breath trying to explain.

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Originally Posted by nobody

yeah i know how it is. why is it that whenever i tell someone i have snakes they instantly tell me about that one time they ran one over with the lawn mower, or chopped one up with a shovel. i know how aggrivating it is.

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I have in-laws in South Dakota that do the same exact thing, Aaron! When I went out there to visit, the Grandma was delighted that I wasn't having any luck finding snakes around their place. She was stoked, and bragged that just a few years ago, you'd find garter snakes under just about everything in their backyard, but she's since chopped off all their heads with the shovel.

I told them how I like snakes, and own a couple of garter snakes.

"You should have seen Uncle Stupid last year, he seen this big ol snake crawling away, so he chased it down and grabbed it by the tail and started swinging it above his head like a rope!"

Yes, people suck.
I feel lucky they're only in-laws... and they're halfway across the country.

The hardest part of this, the part that I don't get, is why so many people want to hurt/maim/kill an animal that is so beneficial to us. I can't even find it in me to kill a wild mouse in the house, I trap them and set them free outside.
I argued once with a local hunter, telling him what he was doing was wrong, not because he shot and killed an animal, because he only wanted its head for a trophy, and at the butcher shop he was asked if he wanted to donate the rest of the meat, and he said NO.


People should not kill for fun:colbert:! If it is for food, ok. If it is for survival, ok.

If a wild snake bites you it is your own fault!

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Originally Posted by scutechute

I have in-laws in South Dakota ....
I feel lucky they're only in-laws... and they're halfway across the country.

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I wish mine where that far away.....can we come live with you.:tears:

I've really never gotten terribly adverse reactions. People laugh and shake their head and things of that nature. Thats about all. :D

Most people I've told have been quite interested. One girl at school said it was cool. :D
But I understand that not all are accepting of snakes..and than again, I dislike most of humanity.

I totally understand your feelings. People are idiots some times. I try really hard to be nice but sometimes you just get the most ridiculus things said to you. Like how so and so's uncle had a 15 foot ball python that ate his cat. I tried to "educate" the guy that balls don't get that big but he argued until he walked away. I have also heard that all snakes should be banned as pets because of all those giant snakes in the everglades. I asked that guy if he had a cat and when he responded that he did I told him that pet cats do more damage to native fauna than any other pet animal I knew of he just huffed and stormed away.

The fact is reptiles in general have not had good PR people from the beginning. All we can do is keep trying and ignore the idiots.

Good luck!