More and more it seems people are practically told to be afraid of snakes, or told that they are afraid of snakes, so when a snake is presented obviously the first thing they do is say "oh I don't like snakes/how they feel" without ever attempting to hold one.

One of my classmates is terrified of snakes and kept an eye on Quetzal the entire time I had him out once. Eventually I just told her to touch him and get it over with because I know this girl and I know that fear of the unknown was holding her back. She poked him in the side, shivered, and retreated... so she might not have lost her fear, but once she did that she was able to relax with me having him in my hands sitting next to her. She stopped watching him out of the corner of her eye like a trapped deer and began to curiously observe his behaviors instead, asking questions about why he did this or that. She might never touch another snake, she might never lose her fear, but she realized that she was making him seem a lot worse than he really is.

I think that's the cause of a lot of the fears. The unknown, so they just psych themselves out about it before they even get near the thing and by the time they're presented with it they just lose it. Good on ya for showing that to someone, we could always use an ally :3