Herps in Society

Snakes in Society

Being in this course really has opened my eyes to how easy it is for people to kill a snake in their backyard just because it's a snake. I even remember my Grandfather telling me as a young girl "A good snake is a dead snake."

Why is it people freak out over snakes? Doing a little internet research I came across a countdown of the top ten phobias from 2011 and slithering snakes was number 1. Even Beat out spiders, heights and being in the dark. I thought it was interesting this site thinks that being afraid of snakes is an evolutionary trait that we have carried since the beginning of time (Bryner, J. 2011). Generally, being able to spot a snake increases one's chance of survival. Therefore, our fear of snakes is really an evolved survival trait. This makes sense to me because well, if you know what can kill you, you will steer clear of it to live. That doesn't mean our society should be this afraid of snakes or kill one if it's in your way of a hike. I blame this in part to movies that show snakes as venomous creatures that will always kill you if you don't kill it first. This probably enhanced the snake terror among society. After all, terror sells.

The Anaconda's movies always freaked me out as a child. I mean, just look how horrifying the movie poster was. Doesn't help society cope with snakes.

Then there was Indiana Jones and his famous "I hate snakes" line. Or, "Snakes? Why did it have to be snakes?" It's a line easily quoted and imprinted in one's mind forever.

Worse is the use of venomous snakes to assassinate someone. This has been used in a lot of movies and T.V. shows. Take Snakes on a Plane for instance.

If you weren't scared of snakes and planes before, you are now.

It doesn't help people to get over their innate fear of snakes by pranking them like in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqHtgNajFxs

Sure it's funny for our enjoyment but it doesn't help people get over their fear of snakes.What does? I've seen people get over their fear of snakes by seeing celebrities interact with them. Like, back when Britney Spears was in her prime. This actually taught a few of us girls it's ok to touch non venomous snakes because well, they're non venomous and beautiful creatures. And in Britney's case, a nice LIVING accessory. No need to kill these beautiful creatures for their patterned skins.

Notice she's holding the constrictor at angle where it can't wrap around her neck. Above all, one needs to be careful when handling any snake ever.

And who could forget our favorite Aussie Steve Irwin? He was amazing at showing people around the world it's ok to be afraid of snakes and would show us which ones to not be afraid of. However, he always had to add a disclaimer to not pick up the poisonous snakes and play with them like he did. Advice well taken Mr. Irwin.

So what it all comes down to is simply being educated about these creatures; which was the life goal of Steve Irwin. We spent a good bit of this semester learning how to identify our local venomous snakes and its mimics as well as the harmless snakes. Now I can go home and convince my family over the summer that not all good snakes have to be dead ones in their minds. Yes, there are some to steer clear of but for the most part people do not need to be afraid of them. Hollywood likes to make snakes the bad guys but they're really good guys, for the most part. Just keep an eye out for them especially since it's warming up!

Work Cited:
Bryner, J. What Really Scares People: Top 10 Phobias | Fear of Snakes, Fear of Heights, Fear of Flying | LiveScience . Science News – Science Articles and Current Events | LiveScience. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.livescience.com/13434-phobias-fears-acrophobia-heights-agoraphobia-arachnophobia.html