This is just something that has been greatly brought to my attention over the past few months. I am the Animal care specialist at the pet store I work at, meaning I take care and handle all of the animals regularly.
Every time I have a snake out, whether it be a red tail, a ball python, or another type of harmless snake, 9 out of 10 people scream and run in the other direction; even though they see me from all the way across the store. It seems like their fear completely overcomes their logic, I mean do you REALLY think that this snake will grow wings, fly out of my hand and attack you?? Then I put the snake up and approach them, and the conversation usually goes as follows:
Me: have you ever had a bad experience with a snake?
Customer: no.
Me: have you ever been bitten by a snake?
Customer: no.
Me: have you ever held a snake?
Customer: no.
Me: then HOW can you be afraid of them?!
Customer: I don't know, I just am.
The reason I think people are so afraid of snakes is because they know nothing about them, and base everything they know off of what they see in movies, or hear from the media and/or their peers. Understandably, if I knew NOTHING about snakes and saw the movie "Snakes On A Plane" or "Anaconda" , I would probably be terrified of snakes as well. Snakes don't even get a chance from people to be understood, as the most irritating, incorrect statement that I have ever heard is "the only good snake is a dead snake". WRONG. Though there are snakes out there that can cause harm, people seem to accept every snake on the earth as one that will kill and eat a human any chance it gets. Wrong again. I have a good friend that has been terrified his entire life, and after he overcame the fact that I was holding my ball python Irwin near him, he decided to hold her and he FELL IN LOVE WITH HER!! This is just my little rant on the subject. Any similar thoughts?
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