Why People Are Afraid Of Snakes

[BAMReptiles]

i have to agree with pretty much everyone else, im a christian and obviously dont fear them, never have. and i dont know of any other christians who fear them from a religious standpoint as you suggested. not saying no one does, but im sure the number of religious fearers vs people who fear them for other reasons is greatly skewed towards people who fear them for other reasons.

i think for the most part its gunna boil down to people fearing something they know nothing or very little about, especially with how much misinformation is constantly circulated about snakes. and all the recent FL bs drama sure doesnt help either, or the media painting every snake as the impending doom of human kind lol

[alittleFREE]

To be honest, I think a lot of people are afraid of snakes because they are taught to be afraid of them by their parents/other early influences. They grow up with the idea that they are 'scary' and as such they become afraid of them.

How many children of snake-owners do you see that are afraid of snakes?

[mr. s]

How many children of snake-owners do you see that are afraid of snakes?

True that.

[stevepoppers]

Because they're scary!

DUH!

[jallenfl]

Because when you watch the news for instance they dont state why the snakes are dangerous or the situation that made them that way. I.E. Open enclosure, Laziness, Hunger from lack of food, and so on..

The media will simply state

"Young child missing, Python found with remains inside."
or "Child missing, Python found around remains."

This is a conspiracy a friend and I had a while ago when authorities found a Burm that had tried eating a kid.

After the investigation is done the parents were put in JAIL. The investigation found the kid had been shaken or beaten to unconsiousness. Is it far fetched to believe that the parents did the ultimate evil and only knew one way to cover it up and that was the "snakes FAULT"

Here is the story:
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/19914383/detail.html#

This is why snakes are seen as evil. Not that people with bad intentions are any better. And again for the sake of those who might post, this was a conspiracy theory a friend and I had but the story itself is true. As far as weather or not the parents injured the kid and tried covering it up this is not proven.

J

[stevepoppers]

12 people in 30 years... I always wonder what the numbers for cars are. I think every death statistic should be compared with those of cars, as they are something we tolerate, use, encourage, every day everywhere for nearly everyone.

[coldblooded]

I don't think people fear snakes just because of religion.. but I have heard it used as a jusification for their fears. "Well, I kill them/am afraid of them/avoid them/think they're gross because..."

Children learn to fear things from their parents. It is a learned behavior. There are also people with phobias (which are unreasonable fears).

Example:
I was an arachniphobe for the longest time until I actually made myself hold a tarantula. It was like a switch got flipped in my brain. I'm no longer petrified of spiders due to making myself realize that my fears were irrational. This is not to say that you'll see me out trying to find spiders to play with, haha.

Reptiles are also much harder for humans to 'relate' to. We can empathize with other mammals because they tend to dispaly behaviors that are similar to our own. Reptiles do not.

There is no one single reason, but I will say this: All we can do is continue to educate!

[barres]

Why do people fear sharks?
Why do people fear bears?
Why do people fear wolf packs?

Some snakes are venomous, and therefore dangerous to human beings, but your average Joe isn't going to take the time to see if a snake is poisonous before he gets his hatchet, shovel, or whatever.

You want to know the animal responsible for more human deaths than any other animal in the US (other than other humans)?




Deer.

But the bite of a shark off the Florida coast will get more media attention than a few dozen car accidents caused by deer across the US. As others have said, we've been taught that some snakes are dangerous, but we (American society as a whole, not those of us here on BP.net, obviously) are too lazy to identify a snake as dangerous before we kill it.

BTW, there is also a reference in the New Testament:

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

[krinklebearcat]

Ever wonder WHY early christians chose the snake in the story of the garden of Eden? In pagan religions the snake was a symbol of feminine power/wisdom. The early Catholic church chose the snake purposefully as a means of establishing women as second class citizens. Choosing a pagan symbol made sense since the Church grew by converting pagans.

My mom studied theology for a while and told me about this. Pretty interesting I think.

[unspecified42]

Many people have legitimate phobias, which by definition are irrational and do not have a root cause. Likely it's something in the psyche that evolved as a result of the fact that there are species that can be fatal to humans.

When my sister had a snake in her classroom her students told her they found it creepy because you can't see how they move. They just seem to...go. I can see that. Plus they bite. And it's rather violent and startling when they eat something live.