Everyone is beautiful, there are no losers.

[BPHERP]

I post pictures here like everyone else.

I'm positive that some of my snakes aren't as nice as other peoples, while some really are super nice; basically, it varies widely.

Where am I going with this? We'll, I am honest with myself.

Sometimes I get sick of looking at pictures here because everything is sugar coated. Everyones everything is awesome.

Every time someone posts a pic of a herp all i hear is "congrats, super looking, or, awesome, or whatever. Could it be that everyone's everything is top notch?

No.

Its either 1) every snake is beautiful or 2) not every snake is beautiful; we just blow smoke up each others butts and pretend.

I guess this sorta makes sense though... if we look at this through the eyes of a parent; every parent thinks their kids are beautiful, when the reality is some kids are just plain hurtin. We can either be Politically correct or Honest.

I guess it takes a single person to be honest about this; I have no kids and no wife to nag me about this post. I can say the truth and there are no consequence for me.

I have a few ball pythons that are considered "poor expressions" of the type, and at least I know the difference.

This kind of "everyone is beautiful, there are no losers attitude" also reminds me of some horse-crap I heard about when kids fail in school now; its no longer called "failing", but some sugar-coated crap called "deferred success".

I'm still pretty young (i guess), but I come from a time where kids could still fail (and were allowed to fail), still get still get their asses kicked in school and through it all still take it all as an opportunity to rise above it and kick ass in our own rights.

BrandonsBalls

[azpythons]

hmm...
maybe were just on a forum where everyone likes snakes.
i personally really think every ball python i see is dope, even if it is, as some put a poor example of the morph. i have a 75 dollar pastel who i assume some would say it is not a good example, but i still think hes the coolest looking thing on the planet..

so i guess im going with number 1

and deferred success....are you serious....

[llovelace]

1) Every snake is Beautiful , and if you knew me you'd know I don't sugar coat anything I say what I mean & mean what I say.

[BPHERP]

yeah, I heard that somewhere, forgot where, but who knows.

[Michelle.C]

To me it comes down to my passion for animals. I think every animal is beautiful in it's own respect, because it is my passion. A Browned out Pastel, is still an animal, even though someone came along and said the browning out was not desirable. I find all species, morphs, normals, phases, etc. beautiful in it's own respect.

Because you don't think an animal is beautiful, don't say everyone is sugar coating. Honestly, I see some people posting "Beautiful Snake, yadda yadda" on certain threads, but everyone doesn't post on the same thread. Those people probably did have a difference of opinion and thought the snake was beautiful, while some people did not.

What generally makes me answer a thread with the "sugar coated gooeyness" is; the animal is unusual, the person is asking a care question, the person is asking a morph question, etc. While I find every single Snake, Tarantula, Lizard, Dog, Cat, Horse, etc. beautiful, I often don't have the time to be the 60th poster saying, "Wow! Beautiful snake!"

To add one more thought on that subject, who cares if people are sugar coating it? When people are first getting into this hobby, it is partly other people in this hobby that gives them the confidence to move forward and be pulled deeper into this addiction. If every single post contained, "Wow...now why did you pick out that snake? You know it's ugly, right? You have really sucky taste in animals..", I'd think there would be a few less people in this hobby, and a lot less people on this forum. This forum is popular because most people are nice and helpful. Including yourself! (oh noes!)

As far as children and failing; well, I guess if your passion is children, they will all be perfect. With a bit of support and compliments, a child gains confidence and a loser can be turned into a successful individual. When they grow into stupid, mean, or cruel adults, that might be different.

The comparison between children and snake morphs is a little of a stretch to me, seeing as you are looking at the personality of a child (which can be changed) and the physical features of the snake (which can not be changed).

I really like this thread, it's something out of the ordinary.

[Sanova]

I haven't sugar coated anything, if I think its just people being polite. If I don't have anything nice to say, i wont post anything at all. So, in turn, all you will see from me is "awesome, beatiful snake" etc etc.

[Louis Kirkland]

I've got a good many morphs but I still think normals are beautiful animals. So if someone posts a pic of a Pastel that's more brown than yellow, you're not going to hear me tell them, "thats an ugly Pastel" or "your animal is not up to par" or such.

And before someone says anything, I believe in selective breeding, and I think you should strive to use the best example of a morph you can find for your breeding projects, but not everyone intends to breed their animals.

As long as the animal appears to be in good health, well fed, no stuck sheds, in other words, if it looks well cared for, it's a beautiful Ball Python IMO. I've never seen a healthy BP that I thought was ugly. Sure some are nicer than others, but it's all good.

[Hyper Joe]

I haven't sugar coated anything, if I think its just people being polite. If I don't have anything nice to say, i wont post anything at all. So, in turn, all you will see from me is "awesome, beatiful snake" etc etc.

Yeah, for the most part I don't post if I think an animal is ugly or not kick .... I would only post if I thought highly of it. Noone wants their feelings hurt if they just spent $$ on an animal and someone goes ewwww that thing is hideous.

[Ineedtoborrowsweats]

Brandon, you can speak at my wedding anytime. I too am a man of truth and honesty. I totally agree with everything you've written and that's why I have never posted a picture of my male Spider. Its not that I'm embarrassed of his color and pattern, but rather I hate fake compliments and to tell you the truth, I don't think my Spider even really cares what people think. I don't need a compliment to feel good about myself, well... maybe sometimes, but the point is.... We all know the difference between a 200gr. $200 Spider and a 200gr. $500 Spider. I know he is not the Brad Pitt of Spiders, but hey....he's got....personality.

NOW, before anyone attempts to rip on me, let me just say: BY NO MEANS ARE THESE COMMENTS TO DISCOURAGE ANYONE FROM POSTING THEIR PICTURES. I HONESTLY really enjoy seeing all your snakes and hearing your war stories. I just love snakes. I was a broke kid once and just to have the opportunity to care and have a pet was one thing, but to share with others meant the world to me. KEEP POSTING YOUR PICS and even if I don't comment, hey, maybe I was too busy with something else. As long as you're happy, who cares!

[frankykeno]

I'm still pretty young (i guess), but I come from a time where kids could still fail (and were allowed to fail), still get still get their asses kicked in school and through it all still take it all as an opportunity to rise above it and kick ass in our own rights.

BrandonsBalls

I guess I'm not still pretty young LOL because I come from a time and place where the word "brutally" didn't always seem to go with the word "honest". This really is a soapbox thing for me, Brandon, so bear with me and please don't take this personally but I really don't get this sort of mindset.

When did being tactful, kind or non-judgemental turn into sugarcoating? When did it become okay to say anything that pops into a person's brain and justify it all by using "just sayin'"? When did we lose our internal filter that says "maybe in this case I should just keep my tongue behind my teeth and my opinion to myself"?

I guess the way I see it, when it comes to photos here, is that, for me anyways, any well kept snake that a person shows us is a gorgeous animal because it's able to live it's life well under that person's care. No one is asking us to stand judgement on whether the animal is the best example. This is not some sort of online snake show, nor are the majority of us qualified to give that kind of expert opinion anyways (no matter what our ego's would like to tell us). It's a different matter if a person is showing a photo and asking for an opinion on the quality of the morph in order to purchase it but even then, it's an opinion - your opinion, my opinion, not something written in stone by our egos. Personally I think it should be expressed as an opinion and done so without the big stick of "brutal honesty" swung so quickly all the time.

As for the non-snake rest of it, I don't think it would kill society to be just a tad less self-serving and immature. Manners are something that have gone out of vogue it seems in this world of "I call it like it is". I for one am very sorry to see them go by the wayside.