NationStates Jolt Archive

I was on a hike today with a group of friends. We didn’t have much success in locating very many animals. Only a couple frogs and a turtle. I turned over some decaying bark and there was a water snake all coiled up. One of my friends quickly backed up, while I just stayed still and looked at it. Then the one who backed away came back with a big stick and tried to club the darn thing.
I shouted “WTF is your problem?”
He replied, “I hate snakes.”

The snake wasn’t venomous, in fact there weren’t any venomous snakes anywhere near where we went hiking. So do you think he was just a pansy, ignorant, or an ignorant pansy? I would have to go with the latter. But why are people afraid of snakes? Most snakes are harmless. They would only strike out at you if they were aggravated, or if they thought that your hand was food. I have never heard of a snake striking at someone who didn’t deserve being bitten.
Thought? Comments?

I love snakes... they're so pretty and it's the neatest thing to hold one..

When I was a lad I used to have garter snakes that would occasionally make their way into my back yard. I would grab them and carry them to the woods out back and release them. I was never bit while doing so either.

I'll say pansy because you can eat pansies. I never thought so, but one time I went out and ordered a salad, and BAM!, there they were. But you can eat snakes too. Maybe that's what your friend was trying to do. They taste like chicken, you know.

I'll say pansy because you can eat pansies. I never thought so, but one time I went out and ordered a salad, and BAM!, there they were. But you can eat snakes too. Maybe that's what your friend was trying to do. They taste like chicken, you know.
But he said that he hated snakes

Black snakes aren't venomous but they can bite like an angry cat.
I still know two different ordinary people who live with many such snakes, loose in the house.
I like snakes. they're not that different from humans. At least they have bones, and lungs, and a recognizable mouth, tongue, eyes...
Now, spiders are a whole 'nuther story.

when i was a kid i loved catching snakes. water snakes were the biggest challenge. they are aggressive, fairly fast and generally have wholes under rocks to large to move. i was always amazed at how many people either thought they were venomous for just generally hated them, even a lot of the ranmgers at the state park we went to alot.

the one concern with water snakes is since they eat fish and small mammels they do have fairly dirty mouth and they will break the skin if they bite and therefore there is a signifigant risk of infection. we always used work gloves and fishing nets to catch them. milk snakes, black snakes and some very large garter snakes can also bite hard if you grab them. ringnecks, redbellies, grass snakes and brown snakes never bit. this was about the extent of the snakes we caught in nw pennsylvania. we have rattlesnakes but i never ran across a live one in the wild.

i was always amazed at how many people either thought they were venomous for just generally hated them
I know. If people are going to live in any area, they should at least be aware of any potential health risks of living in that area. Venomous snakes are a potential health risk. It’s good to know what snakes are venomous and what snakes aren’t venomous. Where I live there aren’t any venomous snakes that occur naturally. The only venomous snakes that might be around are those that have escaped from captivity. But if I ever do un across a snake that I can't identify, I won't mess around with it. Even if I can identify it I wont mess around with it without a good reason.

when i was a kid i loved catching snakes. water snakes were the biggest challenge. they are aggressive, fairly fast and generally have wholes under rocks to large to move. i was always amazed at how many people either thought they were venomous for just generally hated them, even a lot of the ranmgers at the state park we went to alot.

the one concern with water snakes is since they eat fish and small mammels they do have fairly dirty mouth and they will break the skin if they bite and therefore there is a signifigant risk of infection. we always used work gloves and fishing nets to catch them. milk snakes, black snakes and some very large garter snakes can also bite hard if you grab them. ringnecks, redbellies, grass snakes and brown snakes never bit. this was about the extent of the snakes we caught in nw pennsylvania. we have rattlesnakes but i never ran across a live one in the wild.

I was on a survey crew in the Kennerdell Bend on the Allegheny south of Oil City and we roused a bunch of rattlers. Big beefy ones.

ignorant pansy.
snakes are cool.
i saw a water snake (small) swallowing a fish (big) whole once. it was pretty cool.

why are you ignorant or a pansy if you hate snakes? i dont hate snakes but i hate bugs, and kill them whenever i get the chance :?

Because there is no really good reason to hate snakes. They mostly don’t want to be bothered by people. In fact they are more reasonably afraid of humans than humans are afraid of snakes. There is no reason to fear or hate snakes, except through ignorance or being a pansy.

Okay, so you're afraid of snakes. Then just back away and leave the thing alone! That doesn't mean you have to kill it. It's harmless. If it's venomous, just back the heck away and leave it alone. The only reason it would strike was to protect itself.