Posted by MsTT on February 04, 19100 at 22:55:04:
In Reply to: A couple of great posts! More... posted by Jaffo on February 04, 19100 at 21:07:31:
: When was the last time you heard somebody tell someone else the "proper" way to ride a horse so nobody gets the wrong idea?
When was the last time you heard about people pressing for really strict horse regulations to prevent private citizens from keeping horses? I guarantee that if the social and legal environment for horse keepers got as tight and nasty as it has gotten for venomous keepers, you would see much more peer pressure in that community directed at making sure people did not do things that publicized the negative aspects of horse keeping. It is not morality, but plain and simple self-preservation.
: The average non-snake keeper thinks those of us who get close enough to hook a rattlesnake are crazy, and most hot snake keepers may think that Dave is crazy for handling his "fixed" snakes the way he chooses. So don't handle snakes like Dave does. Seems simple to me.
I do not agree with Dave's statement that "trust" is possible (and reliable) between a snake and a handler, but he is an adult and he has the right to choose the risks he wishes to take. I have no right to tell him he may not do this. But I will point out that since he does risk directly impacting other venomous keepers if his gamble fails, he is likely to get some flak for posting pictures of high-risk handling techniques. I don't think it's appropriate to use abusive language towards him personally or call him names, however.
: We might think someone is crazy for speeding on the highway, driving drunk, shooting guns, skydiving, swimming with sharks, cheating on spouses, eating fatty foods, and sitting in front of a damn computer all day.
I don't personally care what the mental state is of the person who puts me at direct risk by speeding drunk on the highway next to me. I will point out that I don't appreciate the behavior because it could have a nasty impact on me. If someone wants to skydive sans parachute, eat plastique and take a kerosene high colonic, cheat on their spouse with a Haitian hemophiliac, etc, this is simply not my business as it has no effect on me. Unless I was the spouse in question, of course, in which case the guy would be gator food. ;)
: Everyone does things a little differently, and takes chances within their own personal comfortability level, and they will have to either reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of their behavior ON A PERSONAL LEVEL.
: Go ahead, have an opinion. In fact, go ahead and share it. But it doesn't mean anything more than anyone elses opinion.
: Who are we to judge another person's personal conduct.
We are people who can be directly affected by it. That is why the flak happens. Life isn't fair; in an ideal world, all individuals would be judged on their own merit and nobody would make blanket judgements about all venomous keepers, all African-Americans, all Jews, etc, because they met one that was a total jerk. But this isn't an ideal world, and we do stand to suffer collectively as a group if one of us does something that the public percieves as stupidly dangerous and threatening to their safety. Sad but true.
: Sure, posting pics of ourselves doing anything will invite comments-- that should be expected, accepted, and I believe the person who posts a pic like that is LOOKING for attention of some sort, but we should leave it at that.
He looked for it, he found it. Sounds reasonable to me.
: If we don't get tagged and envenomated by a hot snake, then we have succeeded in being careful enough for our own good. If one or two of us DO get tagged, is it really a reflection of all venomous keepers?
It should not be, but in the eyes of the lay public and more importantly in the eyes of the people making the laws, it is.
Regards,
MsTT