LAWL Apparently we're all sadists.

[SpartaDog]

i can say that i honestly believe, and someone of the faith correct me if my wrong here, that catholics hate snakes cuz the devil appeared as one in the bible and we all know he's the villain there.

I'm not saying Catholics hate snakes because the devil appeared as one. I'm saying HE hates snakes because the devil appeared as one. I've got a close friend who is also a devout Catholic, and though she was nervous (not afraid, however) around snakes at first, she's warming up to mine quickly and now wants one of her own. So no, this kid is not meant to be a posterchild for the religion, I'm just theorizing his logic.

i'm sorry you had such a rough time with that guy but please understand that he is right on his point that you should take care of who you approach about the snake issue,especially the feeding topic, it's a very sensitive issue & some people are just not as enthusiastic about it and most of them cant help it if they've been taught that way.
no i'm not saying him calling you a sadist is right but i can also see how he thinks watching a snake eat is sadistic, it makes sense, though his way of expressing that wasnt very nice.

I am careful. I specifically choose who to invite and who not to invite. I thought that maybe, since he was so enveloped in science, he might find it fascinating, like I do. And other people who were not interested responded with a simple "No, sorry. I don't have the stomach for it." rather than his nasty comments. I respect that he does not want to see it, but that's why I asked instead of just giving him the link and letting him unwittingly click it.

And no, it doesn't make sense. The definition of a sadist is a person who enjoys inflicting pain. The rat is dead, and therefore incapable of feeling pain, so I am not a sadist. And if I had to feed live, I would still not be a sadist, because I would enjoy watching the snake be a snake, not watching the rat die.


ALSO an update: I got on the bus today to find him in the seat behind mine. I was the mature individual and didn't say anything, but he said that he was there to apologize to me. Apparently, his definition of "apologize" is different than the rest of the world, because he said it was my fault for riling him up while he was busy. So basically, "Sorry you were wrong." Then this:
Him: You need to learn to take a joke.
Me: You need to learn to convey emotion across text better.
Him: I don't NEED to do anything.
Me: Neither do I.
Other person (talking to him): You need to breathe.
Him: I do need to breathe. Actually, I don't. I could stop right now.
Me (with a big smile and an obviously joking tone): Please do.
Him: SEE!? You want me to stop breathing! You ARE a sadist!
Me: You'd be stopping yourself from breathing. So you'd be a masochist, I'd be an innocent bystander who happened to be laughing.

He got up and left after the kids that sit in that area (most are my friends) ousted him. Apparently, he expects me to take a joke online over text with no smileys or anything to let me know he was joking, but he can't take one in person with a smile and a vocal intonation. So yeah. We'll see where things go from here.

[Melody]

[hoax]

At least, according to this kid on my school bus. I asked him if he wanted to watch my snakes eat yesterday (I broadcast feeding on Livestream every weekend), and after a short conversation about how busy he was, he responded, "From your first comment, I thought you were a sadist." I asked him to explain himself, and he never answered.

I asked him again today, and the conversation went like this (these are all DIRECT quotes):
Me: Hey you.
Him: can't talk. busy.
Me: No no, you can take a minute to answer a question.
Him: uh, no, I can't, i'm extremely busy and you're not gonna tell me what i can and cannot waste my time on
Me: No. But YOU can't insult me and then not explain yourself. I let you get away with it last night. And how the hell is answering my question "wasting your time"? You're ruder than you admit.
Him: by calling you a sadist? get over yourself i was obviously kidding
though taking pleasure out of one species consuming another species live is sadistic
Me: Excuse me? I do NOT feed my snakes live prey, first of all. Second, I enjoy watching my snakes being snakes. I'm sorry.
Him: why did you want me to look at them than? sharing the consumption of a species with me?
Me: Third, snakes don't consume their prey live. They kill it first.
Him: that is sadistic, and you cannot deny that
Me: Yes, I can.
Him: whether they kill it or not, if you take pleasure out of it, it is sadism
Me: I thought maybe, seeing that you go to a biology school, you might enjoy seeing what an evolutionary wonder they are.
Him: i dont go to a biology school. I go to a mathematics, science, and technology school. of which those sciences are mainly environmental. not biological
Me: Biology falls under science, dear.
Him: dear?
Me: Yes, dear.
Him: whatever. nevertheless you thought wrong. and frankly i don't care if i offended you. whether i said im sorry or not your opinion of me would not change
Me: So next time, do yourself a favor. Say "Sorry, no thanks, that's not my thing" instead of calling me a sadist. Save yourself the trouble.
Well now, no, it won't. But if you hadn't said it in the first place, I'd think a hell of a lot higher of you.
Him: look, if you took serious offense to calling you a sadist, im sorry
maybe you shouldn't start off with something that clearly makes you sound like one. and just an fyi. i don't curse, have sex, do drugs, kill insects for the fun
i save them. im the person who goes around and saves them from the pool. im a devout catholic. community service is #1 in my life. well, #2 after God. there is nothing about me that makes me a bad person
Me: I did not say you were a bad person.
Him: and if something so insignificant like the joke i said last night bothers you and puts me on the same level as drug dealers, pot smokers, deliquants, and other sc*m, than you clearly have no sense of right or wrong
Me: Woah woah woah. When the hell did I compare you to drug dealers?
Him: you didn't but you said you thought less of me
Me: And I think a hell of a lot less of drug dealers.
Him: whatever. do you take pleasure in your snakes eating process? yes or no
Me: Yes. But not because I enjoy the rat's death. THAT would be sadism. I enjoy seeing the snakes doing what they were designed to do. The same way I would enjoy seeing birds fly.
Him: whatever. it is totally different
Me: It is not.
Him: it is. like i said you have WASTED my time. don't talk to me, i am busy
Me: No, it's not. Because I don't enjoy pit bulls tearing each other apart in a ring.
Him: "Want to watch snakes eat?" wanting someone to share in the same apparent euphoria that you felt about snakes eating. share it with someone else next time. i don't care about your snakes
Me: There are nicer ways to tell me that the first time.
Him: oh well, ill know for the next time someone is crazy enough to want to share that sort of thing with me
Me: What the hell? Why are you personally attacking me like this?
Btw, scum is not a curse. It's okay, you can type it out.
Him: it is ignorant, however
Me: What? That doesn't even make sense. Scum is a film found on the bottom of still bodies of water and a solid coating of soap found in bathtubs.
He never responded to that.

So yeah. It may be petty to post this here, but I wanted to ask you guys what you thought of this. Note, I've never had a legitimate problem with this kid before, but being the in-your-face, down-your-throat bible thumper he is, he thinks that I'm Satan incarnate or hellspawn or something because I'm an atheist. So he looks down on me (then again, he looks down on everyone who disagrees with him). I've done nothing but be nice to him ever since I met him, even tolerated him trying to convert me, but now, forget it.

Anyway, yep, all of us who watch our snakes eat, either out of fascination or to make sure they don't get hurt, we're all sadists now. Just thought I should let you guys know in case you want to see a therapist about it or something.

And PLEASE note, I have NO problem with Catholics or Catholicism or any other religious practice. This is not about religion or anything like that. It's about an ignorant individual insulting me for my fascination with a necessary part of nature.

I hope this doesn't get deleted, cuz I find it hilarious.

So a person who is routinely rude and closed minded was rude and close minded towards you and your curious about what happened?

Mike

[ed4281]

The OP sounds very young. This is a life lesson on how to deal with people. Others are entitled to their own opinions. it's a free country however you are just as entitled to disagree. No matter what you do, what you believe, how you act and how you treat other people not everyone is going to agree with you or even like you. You need to learn to say BITE ME! and move on.

In this instance that's what I would have done, some people are beyond trying to reason with and your never gonna change them.

The thing I can't stand though is when people use god to explain their hatred and ignorance, they just haven't realized yet that that's not how god works.

[Lolo76]

Oh, I agree whole heartedly.. They were made for a reason.. Just like with spiders, I'm terrified of them, however, I don't like messing with them if they have a web or something outside our door or whatnot, because they keep the skeetos and bug population in this apartment down. Specially when we live in the basement apartment and its bug galore.. The creepy little things benefit us..

I'm the same way... can't STAND spiders, but unless they're crawling right for me (inside), I pretty much leave them alone. There are spiderwebs galore on the stairwell outside of my apartment, and whenever I start to get creeped out, I just think "at least they're keeping bugs away."

Same with snakes, they keep the rat/mouse population down.. Just because we choose to have them as a pet, doesn't mean its alright to starve them. They can't fend for themselves, we sure as ....... can't feed them hotdogs, or carrots, so what are we to do? Circle of life.. I respect it.

There's actually a guy on my corn snake forum who's fed his snakes COOKED CHICKEN... everyone thinks he's crazy, but he is convinced this will be the next big thing. Ummmm, yeah.

[EAllen84]

The OP sounds very young. This is a life lesson on how to deal with people. Others are entitled to their own opinions. it's a free country however you are just as entitled to disagree. No matter what you do, what you believe, how you act and how you treat other people not everyone is going to agree with you or even like you. You need to learn to say BITE ME! and move on.

In this instance that's what I would have done, some people are beyond trying to reason with and your never gonna change them.

The thing I can't stand though is when people use god to explain their hatred and ignorance, they just haven't realized yet that that's not how god works.

yes. Yes. YES. Life lesson = let it go. Religion is too touchy of a subject for so many that it's completely not worth the time to discuss. Just avoid all conversations with him regarding religion as you will not convince him of your thoughts and he will not convince you of his.

This kid has a right to be Catholic. I have a right to be Atheist (although in the deep south, it's not exactly welcomed). And we all have a right to enjoy watching our snakes be snakes.

[EAllen84]

There's actually a guy on my corn snake forum who's fed his snakes COOKED CHICKEN... everyone thinks he's crazy, but he is convinced this will be the next big thing. Ummmm, yeah.

From what I understood.. snakes can't digest anything cooked? ?

[Redneck_Crow]

From what I understood.. snakes can't digest anything cooked? ?

I don't know if they can or can't. Lizards sure can--my nile and my tegus were quite fond of cooked meat. What I do know is that snakes need all of the prey, their guts, organs, brains, and bones. And what is the point of feeding cooked rats anyways? Don't the poor snakes suffer enough indignity by having to eat ratsicles?

I'm not sadistic enough to want to feed cooked rats to my snakes. And even if I were, I'm not masochistic enough to want to cook for them.

[Cendalla]

Even setting religion aside its still impossible to argue an intelligent informed point or opinion when all the other party will respond with is 'its not the same.'

How is it not the same thing? An animal needs to eat a healthy diet to survive. Snake=rodants
lions=gazells
cats=anything that moves

Why is caring for a pet reptile a nefarious crime? Why is us eating cows and chickens not the same thing. I've had the same problem. But I eventually learned to roll my eyes and tune out the stupidity. Otherwise you get caught in a loop.

[SpartaDog]

Okay, guys.

Yes, I am young. I am 17. I know I have a lot to learn about a lot of things. I dealt with it the way I saw fit to deal with it. Had it just been some random person, I would have told him to go screw himself, but since I deal with him in person on a daily basis, and since I know he'd shove a surrender in my face every single day, so I defended myself.

I handled it the way I wanted to handle it, and as of right now, the whole thing is over. I didn't learn any "life lessons" because each person needs to be dealt with differently. Anything I learned from dealing with him can only be used when dealing with him, and since he's graduating in two weeks, it's not really worth it anyway.

I did not attack his religion at all and never have. I've made it clear to him that I'm an atheist and Catholicism does not make sense to me, but I have never attacked him for being Catholic. In fact, he did quite the opposite and told me I was going to hell on several occasions. He's entitled to his own opinion and religion, but he is not entitled to personally insult me like that with no plausible cause. THAT is the issue here, not that he doesn't like snakes or watching them eat or anything.

He called me a sadist, a waste of his time, and crazy, and accused me of taking pleasure in an animal's pain, of having no sense of right and wrong, and of comparing him to drug dealers in order to make himself the victim. I don't know about you guys, but I am NOT the type to just roll over and take that kind of attack.