Is there really a huge controversy over reptile ownership??

[dkatz4]

To be brutally honest, i am intentionally secretive about being a snake-owner. I dont own a giant (or even a "big") but there is definitely a stigma attached to keeping snakes that i just dont care to be assaulted with. If someone flat out asks what kind of pets i have i dont lie about it, but i must admit i do sort of deliver it with this "this is totally crazy, but..." tone, as if to voice my own disapproval with myself, not proud of it, but i do. Then i base my follow up on the reaction; sometimes i get a positive reaction at which point i turn into a kid on xmas morning. I was talking with an old college friend recently and the pet thing came up and i mentioned Irwin and then my friend lit up and told me he had a bearded dragon with this delighted relief in his voice, like we were two lost tribesman who had found each other in the wilderness. But more often i get shock and thinly veiled judgment and i'll assure them that its just a little snake and really its b/c my kid wanted one; shameful.
Snakes are just not regarded positively. You have all sorts of cultural and religious bias, and i'm not even talking about, "god says you're gross for liking snakes", but when the best known snake in all of western literature is satan himself, its no wonder there is a collective aversion to serpents. So when someone sees you have an affinity for something they regard as bad/gross/evil, it creates dissonance that has to be dealt with, sometimes by reassessing and then restructuring their own constructs, but more often by quickly establishing a moral hierarchy between the two of you with themselves on top.
I think the "true" controversies involving giant snakes, either their danger to people or to the environment are just fuel for these preexisting biases, i've yet to meet someone who truly thinks snake are great but admonishes snake owners out of a genuine concern for the everglades.
-sorry for the rant, i guess i just feel guilty for being a self-loathing snake owner.