I am lucky in that I was raised on a beef ranch and have had lots of different pets(cockatiels, cats, dogs, horses, ducks, chickens, etc). My uncle owned a scorpion at one point in time, but as far as I know my BP that I brought home was the first reptile in my family.
The first time my mother came to visit after I brought my BP home, she was genuinely interested, spent 30 minutes holding her, and was a bit sad I had fed two days prior, as she was very interested in watching the whole eating process.
My girlfriend's mother on the other hand is extremely afraid of snakes. When her parents came for a visit, we covered Kensa's cage with a light blanket as even the sight of one would send her mother into a fit. People react differently, and you just have to be respectful of them and their fears. I would love to try and help her overcome her fear, as Kensa is very important in my life, unfortunately I don't see it changing anytime soon.
In my opinion, you can't push your friends, you must be open to answer any questions they have, but forcing them to touch or hold them may only reaffirm their fears.
Unfortunately this is something all snake keepers will experience at some point in time I am sure. How we handle these situations may help or hurt our hobby in the future.
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