cruel world

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

Personally, I don't agree with taking snakes into 'public' places like you did. It is that sort of stuff that causes problems.

...last time we had to go to Baton Rouge to protest the restrictive legislation was because some guy kept a burm in his back yard and the neighbor decided they should be illegal to own because they could harm his kids.

...next time we will probably have to go fight legislation because a pissed off old man saw a guy walking around with a snake on his shoulder in public and was offended.

Keep your snakes at home. They are not dogs you take for a walk.

Not to mention the health risks to the reptile by being dragged around without proper conditions....

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AGAIN, comparing Burms to Balls, is like comparing house cats to Tigers. Not very good comparison at all. try again.

If it were me, i would have lashed out and said something like "Ask yourself: Are you a man or a mouse?" or something witty like that, because I'm not very good in situations like that and usually the person dies a little bit on the inside. Oh, and just for the record, I have a German shepard, and it is the friendliest dog you would ever meet, so I'm not sure if you were being serious or not but I apprieciate you not saying that dogs are gonna eat me at night. Every german shepard I have met is so friendly.

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

Personally, I don't agree with taking snakes into 'public' places like you did. It is that sort of stuff that causes problems.

...last time we had to go to Baton Rouge to protest the restrictive legislation was because some guy kept a burm in his back yard and the neighbor decided they should be illegal to own because they could harm his kids.

...next time we will probably have to go fight legislation because a pissed off old man saw a guy walking around with a snake on his shoulder in public and was offended.

Keep your snakes at home. They are not dogs you take for a walk.

Not to mention the health risks to the reptile by being dragged around without proper conditions....

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EXCELLENT POST!

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Originally Posted by python.princess

Many adults are too set in their opinions to have an open mind about new things. As they see it, you're flaunting these evil disgusting creatures in front of their faces and they aren't going to take it well.

Nobody is saying don't educate people. Go to schools. Cub Scouts. Brownies. Reach the children who don't already have this bias against reptiles. Most of the adults that react negatively, always will. And it's most likely because they had little to no exposure to snakes their whole lives. That combined with the stigma surrounding them, adds up to a deep seeded hatred for these animals that we love so much.

I guess what I'm saying is go to the root of the problem. Expose people to snakes and other reptiles before they decide not to like em. Call up schools or different organizations and offer to bring a few snakes to show the kids. Don't just take your snakes wherever and expect sunshine and daisies. Because, as you've seen firsthand, that's not always the case.

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I'm 14 and got my snake when I was 13 and my parents had nothing against snakes and reptiles.

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Originally Posted by CRAZY

I'm 14 and got my snake when I was 13 and my parents had nothing against snakes and reptiles.

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I'm not sure how that's relevant. We're talking about people who DO have something against them.

Exactly. We weren't saying that ALL adults have that pre-programmed hatred. But there's a lot of them out there.

I agree that going to the young source is the best way to educate. I shall tell a story:

Working at the zoo, I loved teaching about reptiles in particular. We had a wonderful Ball python named Naomi (the one who got me hooked on the species), adult female about 4' long, who was an excellent 'teaching snake'. Well, I had her outside on my lap one afternoon on the zoo grounds, letting older kids come up and pet her, and just talking about her to the public...when this 5-6 year old boy walked up with a torn look. When I told him he could over and see her, he told me that his parents had told him snakes were bad and would hurt him. Naturally, I checked a huge sigh and proceeded to explain that not ALL snakes were like that. I let him know that he should stay away from Rattlesnakes and the like since THEY could hurt him, but that Naomi and other snakes like her were good snakes. I had to keep my words simple, but oh man the results were great! The look in that kid's eyes was wonderful!
Well, he ran off to a woman I hadn't noticed standing quite a ways away, giving me 'that look'. You know, the one that says 'OMG how can you hold that thing'... The boy rushed over and started telling her that not all snakes are bad, and this one is really nice, and all that. Well, in the end she came a bit closer and eventually let me know that she had been bitten by a bull snake as a young child. That had given her the dislike of all snakes. She listened to what I had to say, and even let her son touch Naomi (I had sanitizer right next to me, of course). After all was said and done, I think she was ready to allow her son to like snakes...which I could tell he did before but felt bad about.

So, there are victories to be won...you just have to pick your battlefields carefully.

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Originally Posted by CRAZY

If it were me, i would have lashed out and said something like "Ask yourself: Are you a man or a mouse?" or something witty like that, because I'm not very good in situations like that and usually the person dies a little bit on the inside. Oh, and just for the record, I have a German shepard, and it is the friendliest dog you would ever meet, so I'm not sure if you were being serious or not but I apprieciate you not saying that dogs are gonna eat me at night. Every german shepard I have met is so friendly.

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I am 30 years old and have very pronounced scars on the back of my head from being attacked by a German Shepherd when I was 3 years old. It took 170 stitches and 8 hours of surgery to put me back together. It just further proves that one specimen doesn't define the breed.

when i made that post about german shepards i just picked a large breed i love dogs, but in all honesty i am more caustious around large gods than i am around my snakes. i know a girl that is disfigured for life due to a dog attacking her face as a child and a friend of mine had to have like 25 staples in his head from one. now thats 2 people in this small town im in and i know no one that has been seriously hurt by snakes. but i have large dogs and my brother and brother in laws raise pit bulls and even mastifs so i pretty much love all animals. but i do own the most vicsious animal alive she would rather kill you than to look at you, we call her the doodle. i will post a pic asap

Keep your snakes at home.

You and your snakes will be much happier and safer.

You have to respect the fact that many people will never accept them and may even try to do them(and you) harm.

Expecting people to think like you is asking alot of them.

I dont even let my neighbors know I have them because I dont expect everyone to understand.

Never under estimate the power of stupidity, it can be quite a powerful force!

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Originally Posted by nchapa

AGAIN, comparing Burms to Balls, is like comparing house cats to Tigers. Not very good comparison at all. try again.

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a snake is a snake to most people regardless of its size. whether they are 3ft or 30ft, they are all venomous and they can all kill you. just keep them in the privacy of your own home. theres no benefit to you or the animal to parade around with a snake around your neck.