the ignorance really bothers me too but so far i've only encountered it from 1 child in my neighborhood when my daughter brought her over to see my female mojo.
i had the snake out for a handling session and this girl immediately went right into the story about a florida family's pet python that killed their little girl...
i was like
"ok. this snake is NOT going to get big enough to do anything like that and there's more to THAT story then you know."
i explained the difference between my python and that "killer snake" in florida (4-5 ft ball python vs. the 10-20 ft burmese). once i got that cleared up she relaxed a little.
my bf's dad has asked me how the snake was doing and followed that with a "what does it eat?"
i couldnt resist answering him with a "she eats small kids." response.
thank heavens he realized i was joking and i told him i feed her small rats.
but back to the topic at hand...
i make a point NOT to discuss my snake with anyone who doesnt already know about it and who hasnt asked me anything about it. this way i only have to answer the questions i'm asked and i avoid the whole "that snake is gonna eat your kids!" fiasco.