[Spectrum R3] 29. Snakes: Love Them or Leave Them? - Hoyoung

 

Snakes: Love Them or Leave Them? 

Why do you think snakes are not popular?

 

I think it is safe to say that most people really don’t like snakes. It would be hard to find a person who is neutral, or simply doesn’t care one way or the other. What I can’t figure out is why something that doesn’t even have any legs causes such alarm.

 

Snakes are reptiles, of course, not mammals. Do you think there is some ancient hatred between mammals and reptiles? Maybe their cold- bloodedness is what makes us dislike snakes. Or perhaps age-old stories about frightening creatures with scales cause us to turn away from our neighbors, the snakes.

 

 

Snakes are quite useful, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Snakes help control the rodent population. Without snakes, perhaps we would be overrun with mice. Most of us, however, would rather see a mouse than a snake.

 

The poison argument is a strong one. Some snakes are poisonous, and people all over the world do die from snake bites each year. However, the poisonous varieties are only a small percentage of the world’s snakes. We can’t say the whole batch is bad just because of a few rotten ones

 

And what do we do with the people who really like snakes? They like snakes even more strongly than we dislike them. These people learn about them, seek them out, and observe them. Why? The only reason I can think of is that these people are truly generous and open-minded. They are able to put aside differences and welcome the snake as a fellow living being.

 

Whatever the reason for our like or dislike, snakes are a vital part of the circle of life. They would prefer to be left alone, and that is what we should do. If you’re lucky, you might not run across more than a few of them in an entire lifetime. That would be fine with most of us.