A disgusting experience with stupid democrats....

[Parisle]

--- As I got home today from an unusual Sunday in the office, I found my neighbors and housemates clustered around a corner of the yard,... and the cluster turned out to be occasioned by the trapping of a copperhead snake. They were actually debating all the ways they could deal with the snake, rather than kill it.

--- Some wanted to contain it somehow, and drive it out to the real outlands. Some would have been happy just to pitch it into the neighboring yard. A demented few wanted to call some stupid-ass phone number purporting to deal with shit like this.

--- I have scarcely been more embarrassed in my life. These people were my friends and neighbors,..... teachers,.. educators, every one of them,...... and they were fucking debating about how to deal with a poisonous copperhead snake.

--- I walked up to the cluster,.. got the info on the situation,... also got offered a beer, which I heartily accepted,... and then I walked over to the trapped snake, stomped on its head, and used my Buck knife to sever it in two. Problem solved, right? Uh-huh.

--- One neighbor (Ok, my least favorite of the group) wanted to hurry her kids home, lest they learn that I had actually killed the snake. So barbaric, eh? My apartment mates weren't much better -- They mourned the snake in various ways, never failing to remind me what a "shame" it was for me to kill it.

--- It was a fucking poisonous copperhead snake.

--- Good democrats worrying about me killing a dangerous poisonous snake. How the fuck am I supposed to believe that these same people will deal appropriately with the goddamned neocons?

[Pierre.Suave]

1. ?

I think I may have missed the point of this rant.

[wake.up.america]

34. Beyond my ability to comprehend.... Are you saying...

Are you saying the Demos not have the intestinal fortitude to go after the Neocons?

[Cabcere]

2. Is this a chain e-mail or something?

:shrug: Not trying to be rude, but it sort of sounds like the kind of thing that people forward to others to make a point about how stupid and/or weak Democrats are.

[rusty charly]

6. Enlightened survivalist!

Jeffersonian ideals! Constitutional patriotism!

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cabcere]

14. As you may have noticed from several of the other responses here,

I'm not the only one who was wondering a bit about the truthfulness of your story, so it's really not necessary to personally attack me (or anyone else who doesn't automatically trust everything that is said on a message board) - especially since there are some people who actually DO "waste (their) valuable time trying to jerk (people) around."

[yellowcanine]

106. Well said. Though to be fair to the flamebaiter - most flamebaiters don't

actually realise that is what they are doing. They just can't help it. It is a form of narcissism.

[Morgana LaFey]

161. Good point! nt

[ToeBot]

57. But yet, that is exactly what you did..

Moments of my life I can't get back, reading such utter bullshit. Go pat yourself on the back!!

[still_one]

3. interesting generalization, or is there something more to your post

than pseudo stero types?

[Syncronaut Seven]

4. Do not despair!

Darwin will weed out a few.

My shovel has dispatched 6' rattlers, never felt that my karma was affected negatively.


The Scorpion and the Frog
One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So he set out on a journey through the forests and hills. He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going until he reached a river.
The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver, all the while thinking that he might have to turn back.

Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He decided to ask the frog for help getting across the stream.

"Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?"

"Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog hesitantly.

"Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"

Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"

"This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the river!"

"Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the frog.

"Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once you've taken me to the other side of this river, I will be so grateful for your help, that it would hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would it?!"

So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid into the river. The muddy water swirled around them, but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly against the current.

Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.

"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?"

The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drownings frog's back.

"I could not help myself. It is my nature."

Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the swiftly flowing river.

[sandnsea]

5. If you can't fuck it, kill it

Is that your life's philosophy?

I vote with the people who wanted to call animal control. All animals have a purpose on the planet. Even copperheads.

I've lived in rural Montana, 30 miles from 30 miles from nowhere. We didn't kill animals if we could remove them.

[pnwmom]

39. Animal control doesn't come here. When I called after spotting a

probably rabid racoon, they told me to hire a trapper. They were too busy to deal with individual homeowner problems.

(And of course, that made no sense. By the time any trapper had gotten here, the racoon would have been long gone.)

[sandnsea]

43. Fish & Wildlife, Forest Service, Animal Control

I've never seen an animal in trouble, or that's a danger, anywhere that I couldn't get a professional's attention. A racoon that will run off? Yeah, that's a different thing. We have them in my neighborhood too. We don't bother them, they run around and eat everybody's dog and cat food.

[pnwmom]

55. I spent a couple hours on the phone calling every number I could think of,

and every number that anyone referred me to, including the local and state animal control and wildlife divisions.

Even if I knew for a fact that the racoon was rabid, they said they wouldn't send someone out -- they just kept repeating that I needed to hire a trapper to come out and set a trap on my property. They said they didn't have the staff in my state to handle individual homeowner complaints, unless it had been a bear or a cougar.

[sandnsea]

59. Yeah, it's a friggin' raccoon

Leave them alone. They aren't going to bother you.

[pnwmom]

79. Raccoons are one of the animals that can carry rabies, and this one

was lurching around the yard and acting very strange -- in the middle of the day.

I'm accustomed to seeing raccoons around here at night and they're not a concern. Except that one was.

[sandnsea]

60. Here

Here's a long list of things to do about various raccoon scenarios.

http://www.projectwildlife.org/living-raccoons.htm

[mtnsnake]

71. Thank you for your posts in this thread and for speaking on behalf of wildlife

I know you and I have had our times, but it's refreshing and heart warming for me to know that we have something important in common. Nothing touches me more than knowing someone else cares about wildlife as much as I do. Thanks again.

[pnwmom]

81. Thank you. That's useful for various scenarios other than potential rabies.

My sister in another state will appreciate the suggestions for dealing with raccoons in her chimney, which are an annual problem.

I've been doing a little research and found out that my state's main vector for rabies is bats, whereas in other states I've lived in it has been raccoons. But seeing a raccoon in a yard stumbling around like a drunk human in broad daylight should raise anyone's suspicions, even here in WA.

http://www.metrokc.gov/health/providers/epidemiology/health-alert-061201.htm

We agree that currently the risk of rabies from the bite of a raccoon that does not exhibit abnormal behavior appears to be low. However, the lack of an active surveillance system for rabies in Washington State makes it incorrect to assume that there are no raccoons or other wild terrestrial carnivores with rabies in our state. Rabies is a dynamic disease among animal populations and may be introduced into a new geographic area through animal translocation, natural disease spread into new areas, and development of new hosts. Since 2000, Oregon has reported fox rabies, and Idaho , California and British Columbia have reported skunk rabies. Furthermore, the spillover of bat-rabies into terrestrial mammals leading to a sustained epizootic has been documented in Arizona.3 In light of this information from other states, and in the absence of an active rabies surveillance system in our state, we cannot be certain that rabies is not present below our threshold to detect it in our area. We also expect that if an emerging rabies epizootic were to occur, there would be a delay in our detection of the disease.

Therefore, after consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health – Seattle & King County continues to recommend rabies PEP for raccoon and other wild terrestrial carnivore bites when the animal is not available for rabies testing. The decision to administer rabies PEP after an animal bite should be made by the health care provider and the bite victim after consideration of the species involved, circumstances of the exposure, the risk for rabies, and risks and benefits of PEP.

[yellowcanine]

117. The comparison of rabid raccoons and poisonous snakes is just a little misleading.

Apples and oranges, imo. Rabid animals have no fear of humans or other animals and are thus a big threat to people and domestic animals. Poisonous snakes will leave humans and domestic animals alone if they are left alone. And in fact, poisonous snakes will normally avoid contact with humans and domestic animals. If not, it is realatively easy to scare them away, unlike rabid animals, which can be aggressive, at least in the early stages of the illness. Later on they become fairly helpless and are no longer much of a threat, with some reasonable care they can be dispached and removed. There really is no comparison with poisonous snakes.

[pnwmom]

124. But a poisonous snake could be a threat to children playing in a

backyard, or to pets, couldn't it?

As I said, I'm only asking theoretically -- the only thing we have around here is the garter snake.

[yellowcanine]

132. Only hypoothetically. The pet is much more dangerous to small children, whether a dog or a cat.

Children can be taught to stay away from snakes and children too young to be taught should not be playing in the back yard by themselves. As for the threat of poisonous snakes and dogs or cats, again, the threat is very small. Dogs should not be premitted to run in wooded areas where they are most likely to encounter poisonous snakes. The chances of encountering one in the back yard is fairly miniscule and killing any that one might encounter near or in the back yard will do little to protect the dog long term.

[Buzz Clik]

7. Errr..... equating copperheads and neocons?

I've always been curious about people who deal with their fear of things by killing them. If that was an adult copperhead, juveniles are about as well. Copperheads are docile snakes and will not strike a human unless literally stepped upon, but it happens. Getting the snake out of the yard was a responsible thing to do. Crushing its head and cutting it in half was bizarre.

So, I'm curious -- is this your approach to your political opponents, too? Swagger around with false bravado hoping threatening to crush them? I'd like to buy tickets to that confrontation.

[Parisle]

11. Doesn't work that way....

--- Killing the snake was not my means of "dealing with my fear,"..... it was my way of dealing with the problem of poisonous snakes in the neighborhood.

--- I also once interrupted a would-be rape-in-progress,.... early seventies,.. I imagine you would say I used excessive force in that case, too. But the girl got home intact, and the would-be rapist would never pose a threat again. Problem solved, I would say,... but I know you have ways of dragging it on. Go for it.

[DubiousLee]

16. talking in bullet points kicks ass....

like stompin' copperheads and pounding brewskies. rawk on!

[Bunny]

61. HAHA!

:thumbsup: Welcome to DU!

[Buzz Clik]

19. Wow. You're something.

Killing the snake was not my means of "dealing with my fear,"..... it was my way of dealing with the problem of poisonous snakes in the neighborhood.

If you weren't afraid of the snake, you would not have killed it. Period. You overreacted to the situation, and you solved nothing. I guarantee you that there are more snakes, and you are now under the false impression that you saved your neighborhood.

I also once interrupted a would-be rape-in-progress,.... early seventies,.. I imagine you would say I used excessive force in that case, too. But the girl got home intact, and the would-be rapist would never pose a threat again. Problem solved, I would say,... but I know you have ways of dragging it on. Go for it.

Fucking amazing. I object to you killing a snake, and suddenly I'm in favor of letting rapists get away with their crime.

Holy shit.

[Parisle]

29. Well,,..... You are definitely a democrat

--- But hopefully not the philosophical fulcrum of the We the People movement.

[Cabcere]

32. Not to be snarky, but...

this is "Democratic Underground." ;)

[Buzz Clik]

62. Indeed... Democrat and damned proud of it!

I've never killed a copperhead, but I've held a live one in my hands. And I didn't die, nor did I wet my pants in fear.

This "crush your enemies before they get you" approach is exactly the brainless bullshit that got us into Iraq. So, yeah, if I am a Democrat because of my approach of understanding how to deal with my "enemies" before I lop their heads off, I don't see that as an insult.

[Labors of Hercules]

113. here here! Democrats preserve the ecological balance...

If we follow Parisle's logic, any animals deemed dangerous should be killed when they are discovered in human territory. While I agree we have to balance the risks when coexisting with wildlife, the fact is, they have just as much right to live there as we do. But to Parisle I say this: You're the dominant species on that acre of land, so you have every right to remove them. Killing them however, unless there is no other way to avoid being injured, only further disrupts the natural ecological balance and is just plain bad karma...

The solution for my copperhead problem came into my chicken coup one afternoon. she's an 8-foot-long black snake named Tasha, so docile I picked her up and relocated her to the barn. within 2 days the copperheads had relocated themselves completely out of her new territory, which is roughly 32 acres.

Even for poisonous snakes, black widows and cockroaches, there is always an eco-friendly and humanitarian solution.

[Morgana LaFey]

164. WONDERFUL post

I do hope, however, you were able to keep her out of the chicken coop thereafter.

[Forkboy]

31. You go buddy! Rawk on with your bad self!

:silly:

[DuaneBidoux]

84. No, this would be more like you just jumped a potential rapist.

If the snake had been actually going after someone that would be a cause to use force. But just to kill it because it was there--well that's a little like hunting down a convicted rapist who isn't doing anything (but they could!) and killing them.

Whether you admit it or not, I think you have a deep seated fear of snakes (something that is in fact inherently a part of our make-up--so nothing to be ashamed of).

Many snakes, including Copperheads, play a very beneficial part in keeping rodents down. You killing of that one snake probably guaranteed the future of a number of rodents that would have otherwise been eaten. It's not really that your intentions are bad, they're just misplaced.

[Morgana LaFey]

162. "would never pose a threat again"

hmmmmm. I have to admit there's a part of me who rather relishes the thought of that, but then I recognize that's for FANTASIES, not real life.

On the matter of the snake, you had no right to make the decision FOR the crowd and take matters into your own hands.

[NashVegas]

63. Reasonable Fears v Unreasonable Fears

I think most people would tell you that it's reasonable to fear the harm a copperhead could cause, in your yard.

[Buzz Clik]

74. Agreed. I don't think anyone would dispute that removing the snake was unreasonable.

However, crushing the head of a captive animal is barbaric.

[Parisle]

76. You ARE a vegetarian, right?

--- Barbaric is as barbaric does. Had a burger, lately?

[Buzz Clik]

80. Woohoo! And away we go.

So, Tarzan, you were just following the laws of the jungle, right?

"Snake bad! Me kill snake!" stomp stomp slice hack.

Did you follow that up with beating your chest and howling at the moon?

A captive snake is not an immediate danger. I've held copperheads in my hand. You killed it because you couldn't control yourself, and there's no getting around it. Either out of ignorance (maybe) and/or abject fear (probably) you killed a captive copperhead for no goddam reason.

And then, to top it all off, you make some political inference that neocons should be treated the same way. And elsewhere in this thread, you suggest that the death of all neocons would be okay with you.

WTF!

[RebelOne]

85. Well, I am a vegetarian and I think your act was barbaric.

[yellowcanine]

110. I eat meat and I think what you did was stupid. Not barbaric. A barbarian would know better than

to stomp a poisonous snake with his foot. He would use a big stick to give him some distance in case the shake moved and he missed the first time.

[SemperEadem]

156. from your responses, it's pretty clear that you're easily threatened

and lash out as if you're going to be harmed in some way, even when there is no real threat to your person---just to your perception.

You might want to look into that little thing with a therapist.

[DemGa]

65. Yes, bizzare. That was my reaction too.

[Journeyman]

9. So your neighbors had a dangerous snake trapped and contained . . .

and they were debating how best to deal with the problem when you stepped forward and, without consulting with your neighbors, but with a heavy boot and quick knife, dealt harshly with the situation, preemptively, if you will. And this, it seems, presumably in the presence of children, without first gaining their parent's opinion for the child's sensibilities or providing them the opportunity to shield said children.

And the problem, you say, is with the others, those who constituted the majority in the situation, those who seemed to be most interested in a rational, consensus decision.

This all seems vaguely familiar. . . maybe something from Aesop, perhaps. Or I could be wrong.

[Parisle]

23. I like your reply

--- I realize that you're not trying to cut me any slack,... but I just admire the way that you worded your objection. Well done. And you really got the greatest part of it correct, too. I salute you for that, too. Thanks,.... not many would be as honest as you.

--- But,... yeah, kids occasionally have to see poisonous snakes killed. Maybe they have to see rabid foxes killed. Maybe they just watch the news. Death can't be stopped,..... it can only be directed. Do you think I would mourn the deaths of all the neocons? Would you?

[qwlauren35]

67. Yes, I would mourn the deaths of all neocons.

I think they have a place in the world. I believe in balance, and I'm not convinced that they are 100% wrong any more than I believe that I am always 100% right.

I think there's a difference between opposing someone politically or even imprisoning them for criminal acts vs. wanting them dead. I'm in the former camp.

Please don't get me wrong. I don't object to the fact that you killed a snake. But you've now taken things into the realm of wishing people with different views were dead.

Can't back you on that one.

[Buzz Clik]

75. And here it is: "Do you think I would mourn the deaths of all the neocons?"

Yes, Mr. Macho. I would mourn the death of a single neocon. They are my political opponents, not my mortal enemies. They include members of my family.

Therapies exist that could be of great assistance.

[uppityperson]

153. poisonous snakes can be safely relocated, rabid animals not.

[renaissanceguy]

82. Good perspective.

Had it been me alone dealing with the situation, I probably would have killed the poisonous snake.

But if others are taking care of it and if they want to bother with taking it out into the wilderness, I'd be free to walk away and do nothing. Better to do that than to scare a child.


http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues

[TwilightGardener]

10. Pretty sick stuff, guy. He could have been trapped and removed

without killing him. Another poor animal, just trying to live.

[rusty charly]

12. A disgusting experience with stupid cavemen....

--- As I got home today from an unusual Sunday in the Forest, I found my neighbors and cavemates clustered around a corner of the clearing,... and the cluster turned out to be occasioned by the trapping of a copperhead snake. They were actually debating all the ways they could deal with the snake, rather than kill it.

--- Some wanted to contain it somehow, and drive it out to the real outlands. Some would have been happy just to pitch it into the neighboring clearing. A demented few wanted to call some stupid-ass goddess purporting to deal with shit like this.

--- I have scarcely been more embarrassed in my life. These people were my friends and neighbors,..... hunters,.. gatherers, every one of them,...... and they were fucking debating about how to deal with a poisonous copperhead snake.

--- I walked up to the cluster,.. got the info on the situation,... also got offered a berry, which I heartily accepted,... and then I walked over to the trapped snake, stomped on its head, and used my stone edge to sever it in two. Problem solved, right? Ungh.

--- One neighbor (Ok, my least favorite of the group) wanted to hurry her littles home, lest they learn that I had actually killed the snake. So barbaric, eh? My cavemates weren't much better -- They mourned the snake in various ways, never failing to remind me what a "shame" it was for me to kill it.

--- It was a fucking poisonous copperhead snake.

--- Good cavemen worrying about me killing a dangerous poisonous snake. How the fuck am I supposed to believe that these same people will deal appropriately with the goddamned Tricophodons?

[Forkboy]

13. You took charge like a greased cougar from the planet Big Bollocks!

How the fuck am I supposed to believe that these same people will deal appropriately with the goddamned neocons?

After this episode they're probably more concerned with you.

[DubiousLee]

15. you rawk!! no "stupid democrat" are you.

kickin ass and taking names.

[Cabcere]

18. Welcome to DU, DubiousLee!

:hi: Cool username, btw. ;)

[DubiousLee]

22. Thanks. I heard this was where all the delusional, self centered...

"stupid democrats" hung out. :)

[Colobo]

17. You didn't do anything wrong in my book

[bling bling]

20. Why are you calling them stupid "democrats"?

You think Republicans would all be ok with what you did? I doubt it. To some people finding a copperhead snake is like a treat in a bizarre way. It probably threw an interesting twist in their usual day-to-day routines and "saving" the animal might have made them feel good about something.

I don't think it's an intelligence vs. stupid argument. You took their brainstorming fun and then saving-the-snake fun from them AND, AND you killed something they wanted to help.

That makes you a little bit callous, insensitive, and humorless in this situation. But it doesn't make them stupid Democrats. You're the odd one out here, I'm thinking. I'm sure everyone will get over it. Well, except that copperhead of course.

[Parisle]

26. I hear ya,.....

--- Some people solve snake problems,... and some people just talk about them. Isn't that about where we stand? If your personal identity derives from what you say,... then good luck with it. I deal in results.

[Forkboy]

33. "I deal in results."

So did Ollie North!!!!! :patriot:

[Webster Green]

21. The snakes were there long before your stupid neighborhood...

Hopefully they will still survive after the arrogant human invaders are long gone.

[pnwmom]

40. Deadly snakes and people cannot co-exist.

They don't belong in areas where people live. What if that snake had bitten a child?

[Webster Green]

47. Snakebites are bad.

Look, I've killed huge rattlers that took to hanging out at my place, and I felt horrible afterwards. I don't even like killing insects.

I guess the OP bragging about his heroic deed just rubbed me the wrong way....which led to my wise-ass, but still valid reply.

[TygrBright]

50. ummm.... I live in an area where deadly snakes and people co-exist...

...quite successfully.

Also deadly insects and even a few deadly mammals. We generally manage to relocate venomous and/or carnivorous critters without killing them, before they kill any people. Sometimes we fail, and a critter is killed, but we do generally think it's worth the effort to deal with them without summarilly whacking them. Most of them are not interested in summarily whacking us... they'd rather avoid us and resort to whacking attempts only when we give them no other options.

The deadliest creature we co-exist with (and that on a constant basis) is homo sapiens, but summarily whacking each other hasn't been condoned as the consensus problem-solving technique for an awfully long time. If we can manage to deal with critters as dangerous as us without resorting to summary whacking I'm guessing we can manage to do it with the far less dangerous venomous and carnivorous neighbors who are just trying to survive and pass on their genes as part of the complicated ecosystem that sustains all of us.

thoughtfully,
Bright

[pnwmom]

53. Who is the "we" who relocate them? You appear to be living in an unusual

place.

In my experience with a rural community where deadly snakes might cross a person's path, most of the locals -- no matter what their political party --would kill them, not try to "relocate" them.

[TygrBright]

56. Local (mostly County) animal control authorities, but sometimes also...

...State wildlife and even Federal agencies, not to mention tribal governments. And some private wildlife protection and human/animal conflict groups. Where I live is technically in the city but there's so much county land around here (high desert, mostly) that it's usually the county. For some species, like the cougar who came to town last year and started noshing on kittycats, it's the Feds.

Yes, we have plenty of folks who do the reflexive "kill it!" thing, but by and large northern New Mexico values its wildlife --even the potentially lethal kind-- too much to make that the method of choice for most folks.

Deadly snakes "crossing one's path" aren't usually considered a problem since if you let them know you're around they'll avoid you, or tell you they're there (like rattlers) so you can avoid them. We had a couple of rattlers take up residence in the greenbelt behind our subdivision last year and since it's an area where kids and dogs hang out regularly, the County sent out some folks to trap and relocate them.

But there are folks who want them around to clean out prairie dog nests during babymaking season, too.

diffidently,
Bright

[mtnsnake]

72. Sorry, but you got it backwards. Snakes have every right to live where they already lived

They don't belong in areas where people live. What if that snake had bitten a child?

It's people who encroached on their habitat, not the other way around. If you live where snakes live, then deal with it, but don't be cruel to them just because they happen to cross paths with you once in a while. As far as your worries about a child getting bitten, nobody wants to see that happen, but chances of it are pretty remote, and in the unfortunate case where it might happen, there would be only a remote chance of serous ramifications from a copperhead's bite.

People need to get educated about snakes. The venom from copperheads, for example, is not that potent to humans and rarely results in anything with remotely serious consequences. Anti-venom is usually not even considered in the event of copperhead bites.

The snake that has the greatest chance of killing you in the United States is the rare coral snake, and that's because its venom attacks the nervous system in the same manner that cobras utilize. Don't worry, chances of crossing paths with a coral snake are pretty remote. Bites from the rest of the poisonous snakes...copperheads, rattlesnakes, and water moccasins...normally will only make you from slightly sick to very sick...but rarely kill, although I think there are something like 10 or 12 deaths a year. Life is full of chances. Snakes should have a right, along with every other wild creature, to live on this earth.

[yellowcanine]

104. a) Children can be taught how to keep from being bitten by a snake.

b) And those too young to be taught this should not be playing in an area where snakes might be lurking. This is known as proper parenting or child rearing.

c) The guy who stomped on the snake's head was at greater risk than most children. Most children would have had the good sense to keep their distance.

d) With appropriate medical attention, most people, including most children, would survive a copperhead bite.

e) Children and adults are at greater risk from the family dog or cat, not to mention stray dogs and cats, than a copperhead invading the backyard. Are you going to kill all dogs and cats running loose on sight?

[mitchtv]

143. The snake was trapped!

get a forked stick and a pillow case and take it where it is out of danger. Before some idiot kills it. oh

[SemperEadem]

159. I remember something someone said about wildlife

if you dont' want to deal with bears, cougars, snakes, etc., then go live in Chicago.

When you make your home in the middle of their habitat, guess what? They don't have a realtor to call because your house has distrupted their ancient hunting grounds and they need to move.

Ann Coulter, also, believes that humans have dominion over all living things on earth and it all was put her for humans to rape and plunder at will...

[zulchzulu]

24. I could see their point, but you did the right thing as well

I wouldn't necessarily call the Democrats as a comdemnation though. I would have done the same thing.

They sound more Green Party to me...

:sarcasm:

[zalinda]

25. I am for not killing wild life unless necessary

It is the rule in my house that any bug outside is safe, but once it comes in the house, it's fair game. I feel the same way about a poisonous snake. If it is out in the country, it is safe from me, but when it invades a neighborhood, it's fair game.

The only reason I wouldn't kill it, is because I wouldn't know how to do it safely for me and painlessly for the snake. I know when to call the experts.

Not every dem has to have a killing lust for the neocons, some will cut them off at the knees with out the neocons even knowing what happened. The trick is to let them think that they are in charge. I think we have some dems who know the game well enough that there will be a big fall. You don't want to just hurt them, you want to destroy their movement, and the only way to do that is to hang a Nixon on them.

zalinda

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cabcere]

30. Are you really advocating

the murder of Americans (neocons though they may be)? I'm not saying that extreme pacifism always works...but then again, mass killings usually don't either. (If you were speaking figuratively, forgive me - it's kind of late here and I can't always distinguish these things on the internets.) :)

[NashVegas]

64. Nevermind

I just re-read. He's a fruitloop.

[TygrBright]

51. Gallows are for fascists and other authoritarian regimes to solve their political differences with.

I think stripping the neocons and other criminals of their ill-gotten gains and putting them in prison is quite enough, thanks. I'm not sure I'd want to live in a place that erected mass gallows as a "solution" to crimes committed by the previous bunch in power, even if it was called "America."

It wouldn't be MY America. Or my parents'. Or my grandparents. Or further-back generations of forebears, who came here precisely to escape places where mass gallows and the like were part of the routine when political power changed hands.

uncompromisingly,
Bright

[Vidar]

52. I'd favor a guillotine, but otherwise we agree.

[global1]

28. I Seemed To Recall That Saddam Hussain Was Trapped And Contained In Iraq....

no fly zones; etc. Then ole * became pResident. Also got offered a beer - well at least he was the type of guy you would like to have a beer with - and then 'shock and awed' the contained Saddam - pre-emptively. Problem solved, right?

It wasn't the Dems that killed the poisonous snake - it was the goddamned neocons!!!!!

[alarimer]

35. What is disgusting is killing a snake for no reason

I want no part of it, if that's how you deal with neo-cons.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Forkboy]

38. You should be fine then.

[alarimer]

93. Go Cheney yourself n/t

You are a pig

[lizbitchwitchy]

37. Snakes

Hi, I am new here but I just had to comment. Of COURSE you kill snakes like Copperheads and rattlers. I live in the Santa Cruz mountains and have seen 3 rattlesnakes one hung out in my back yard. I have a dog and that is what you do with rattle snakes in your back freakin yard. You don't dump them off at your neighbors or risk trying to trap it or whatever - you kill it. If it is in your back yard there is no place else he would rather be and that is sad. One got killed - the other two I saw hiking near my place they survived. The thing is with rattlers is that they are very non-aggressive and they will warn you plenty by shaking their tail at you before they strike that is if you don't accidentally step on one. My dog, on the other hand was curious and luckily I heard the thing rattling at her - in time - to call her away before she got killed by the snake. Now going out and hunting rattle snakes is different. They are un welcomed guests and they pose a threat to the lives and safety of those people and pets that are welcomed. You let that one hang out - it has a boyfriend - then next thing you know you have a neighborhood infested with snakes. Not good. Any of those neighbors whose kids got bitten would have felt much differently about what you did. It's sensible and it's right. It's amazing that we can do nothing to save the Iraqi people but for christ's sake, people, let's freak over the killing of a poisonous snake. Badger all those democrats who funded the Iraq war with a bill with a supposed pull out date with all kinds of holes in it instead. What this guy did was perfectly sane.

Well I am sure I am not off to a good start here but just had to say what I had to say.

[pnwmom]

41. Thanks for the common sense, lizbitchwitchy.

And welcome to DU!

[Parisle]

42. Thank you

--- Thank you. Serious good rebuttal. Glad to know there's a few reasonable folks left out there.

[sandnsea]

45. Copperheads are not rattlers

They're actually fairly docile. With some gloves and long tongs of some sort, you can move them fairly easily. The OP way over-reacted and is actually showing what a wuss he is. Rattlers, on the other hand, well I give them pretty wide berth myself. I think I'd call a professional on that one for sure, and wouldn't care how they handled it.

[lizbitchwitchy]

46. and my back yard is not a snake pit

They all bite if accidentally stepped on or provoked by someone or something whether intentional or accidental. That is all that I know. Nobody means to get bitten and it's always an accident.

[sandnsea]

48. You choose to live in the mountains

You choose to have a back yard that is home to snakes. Your attitude is how we ended up with an endangered species list in the first place. You go out in the woods, wear heavy boots and jeans. If you're worried about your dog, don't take it into the woods. The snakes belong there, not you and certainly not your dog.

[lizbitchwitchy]

97. My Attitude

Is hardly the problem of the near extinction of certain species. You could start by talking to the wildlife loving friends of yours who keep having babies to begin with. I have no children and realize that the population on this earth is the number one problem environmentally.

As I try to make clear in my first post, I do not hunt rattlers. If I go out on a hike and run into one I walk away. Rattlers give plenty of warning before they strike. I do not however, choose to accidentally step on one in my back yard. I know the one I run into while hiking will not have an on-going relationship with me. The one in my back yard obviously thinks it lives there. Since one can not reason with animals like snakes, my other option would be to get chickens who will peck it to death and like most birds they are not affected by their venom. Would you prefer I get rid of them the natural way and cause them a slow and torturous death - since that does seem to be the american way and our politicians even have policies for torture. Either that or I could call you and you could come and rescue it from it's demise.

I love wildlife and have no problem with any wildlife that doesn't pose a threat to the life's of those I love or can't be deterred with a gun shot or a good shoeing. However, spiders, snakes and rabid rabbits, skunks, possums etc are out of the question.

I also saw two mountain lions since living here. One walked right up to the house and looked into the window where I was standing looking at it - once it noticed me it ran off. Since mountain lions have a territory of up to a hundred square miles and it's reaction to me - I figured that mountain lion was not living under my back porch - and wouldn't be hanging out - so I didn't bother calling the fish and game commission (which I am supposed to do) which would undoubtedly kill it (if they re-locate them they return so it's useless). The other mountain lion I saw was across the way and not in my yard. I had to get my binoculars to see it fairly well - so since he wasn't in my back yard nor appearing to be staking out my boyfriend, me or my dog for dinner - I didn't call the fish and game commission on him either.

The thing with snake bites is that they are never intentional - they are always accidental and nobody means to get bitten. It's too easy to step on one or encounter one and not see where it was shaking it's rattles from until it was too late. I don't care to live with a rattle snake and my back yard is not the woods.

The problem is not those who put the rattle snakes to death that happen in their back yards but of those people who have babies knowing how overpopulated this earth is and taking up more and more of the natural habitat that these creatures live in - when that happens they move into people's back yards and pose a life threatening problem to those people and their loved ones. The problem is also those people who make money off of rattle snake skin and hunt them - to sell to boot manufacturers and purse designers etc. The problem is those ivory collectors and you better not be wearing leather shoes - unless they are road kill skins. And you better not have any warm furry mitten unless they were crocheted by you or your grand mom. And you better not have any suede in that collection of jackets and clothes and hats. That is the problem, not my attitude.

If you are out hiking in the woods and a bear attacks your kid - do you sit there while the think kills your kid thinking, well I am in it's territory - and I don't want to add to the extinction of the bear population and I can always have another kid or do you do whatever it takes to ensure your kid stays alive? unlike a bear or a mountain lion, a human can not reason with snakes and spiders and rabid animals - by scaring it off and hope it doesn't come back or it's over for that creature. Just like anything, person or animal - who poses a threat to my life or any of my loved ones lives - they are not welcomed to hang out in my back yard - snakes do not have territories of 100 square miles So do not try to twist my statement to mean something it does not mean. I never said anything about hunting or killing wildlife of any kind unless it is life threatening and living in my back yard or my house. I never said I wanted or tried or even would try to kill all the snakes in the mountains - I never even inferred such a thing.

Give me your number and I will call you next time I see one and you can come over and rescue it and let it live with you and your loved ones on your free range rattlesnake farm. For Christ sake.

[pnwmom]

54. And what if the rattler disappeared before the professional got there?

And later managed to get a pet or a child before you had stopped it?

[sandnsea]

58. It's the mountains, are you kidding me??

You think getting rid of one rattler can prevent a snake bite?? You can't kill all the rattlers in the mountains you know. She lives in the mountains, or did you miss that? And are you seriously telling me you're going to attack a rattlesnake yourself?? Unless its stretched out, I'm not going to try and kill a rattler. Were people around here never taught to stand still and let the rattler crawl away??

[Tsiyu]

103. You make so much sense

lately, just want to say that.

The attacks on childbearing are just too much. Makes me think somebody should've talked THEIR moms out of ...never mind.

I live in an extremely rural area, home to timber rattlers, coopperheads, cottonmouths. I live and let live. In 10 years of living here, I've never had to kill a snake and no one I know has ever been bitten. If you find a snake on your property, it's after something - a rodent, a place to shed skin - because they are normally very reclusive.

If you have a rat/rodent problem, snakes will keep showing up. So killing the snake, rather than trying to figure out why it came around in the first place is pretty stupid.

I'd kill a snake if it was aggressive or in a position to hurt someone. but funny, I've seen a lot of snakes here and never once freaked out.

How can someone that skeered of a snake have the courage and fortitude to even get out of bed in the morning?

[pnwmom]

112. I'm not going to kill a rattler myself.

But I have relatives who live hours away from medical help in rattlesnake country. And I wouldn't be surprised or upset to hear that they've killed a few, along with anything else that threatens the livestock.

[yellowcanine]

128. This was I believe, suburban Virginia, NOT rattlesnake country. And NOT hours away

from rattlesnake country. Not to mention that the chances of getting bitten, let alone dying from a copperhead bite, is way way smaller than the chances of being attacked by a family dog. I guess those folks out in the country "hours away from medical help" (doubtful, by the way, at least anywhere in the "lower 48." Alaska, maybe. And probably not by air even most places there) should not keep dogs. And have you ever seen what a cat bite can do to you? You better get antibiotics within 12 hours. It's a tossup as to whether one would rather submit to a copperhead bite or a cat bite. Certainly the CHANCES of being bitten by a cat are way up there compared to the chances of being bitten by a poisonous snake - ANY poisonous snake.

[SemperEadem]

163. what if.. what if... what if

we can sit here and speculate by mainlining fear all day long...

You, your children and your dog have a better chance of being bitten by a brown recluse spider or a black widow in your bedroom than being bitten by a copperhead out back in the yard underneath rocks and brush.

[citizen snips]

90. welcome to DU

:hi:

[lizbitchwitchy]

98. Thanks Mattman

I guess you are the official welcome matt? he he he - sorry about the bad punning but you better get used to it. I have the pun bug

[yellowcanine]

91. Some false choices here and some really mixed up metaphors.

Plus some sloppy thinking just like the original poster. The choice wasn't between killing it or trapping it/dumping it in the neighbor's yard. The snake was apparently "contained." It could have been safely removed by someone who knew what they were doing. Some people actually collect copperheads, believe it or not - the venom is valuable. Actually based on the level of argument that the orginal poster engaged in, I wonder if it even was a copperhead. A lot of people confuse other snakes with copperheads. And it was the original poster who was freaking out about a copper head - not those responding. Don't let your dog run wild and you won't have to worry about it mixing it up with a rattlesnake - or getting hit by a car either. If you want to walk it off lead get some training so it is under voice command.

[lizbitchwitchy]

100. You are the one who is mixed up

I never said I let my dog run wild - I let my dog run in my back yard. I never said it was a copperhead - I said my experience involved a rattle snake - I know a rattle snake when I see it and hear it. It was in my back yard - and I know nobody who collects them. I also don't know anyone who "knows what they are doing" with rattlers. In the wild I walk away because they give ample warning - in my back yard - I insist that it stay rattlesnake free -

I was simply sharing my story which is similiar to the original posters story. And recommending that he is the sane one - I have never seen a copperhead but I assume the original poster knows what a copper head is or he wouldn't have eliminated it.

[Tsiyu]

105. Just want to say

Glad you're not having kids! :hi:

[yellowcanine]

109. The copperhead was the OP's claim....Didn't say it was yours's.

If I had a continuing problem with rattlesnakes in my backyard, I would reconsider letting the dog run out there - killing the ones you happen to see is hardly going to solve the problem long term. There will be more. You might want to consider keeping the dog on a leash when it is outside if you can't figure out a way to snakeproof the yard (it can be done) And yes, there are people who know what they are doing with rattlers and would be happy to capture them and collect the venom from them.

The sane one? Stomping what you think is a copperhead? Right.

The fact that the OP killed the copperhead means he thinks it was a copperhead, it doesn't mean it was one.

[mtnsnake]

131. Probably wasn't even a copperhead

The way this guy makes shit up, it was probably just a nightcrawler.

[yellowcanine]

137. My guess is a brown water snake of the genus Nerodia.....

often mistaken for copperheads, rattlesnakes, and cotton mouths but are completely harmless - unless you happen to be a small fish - then of course they will eat you. In spite of them being water snakes, they often are found on land. Other fun fact about Nerodia is that they give live birth.

[Mz Pip]

44. Works fo me

Killing the snake - not ragging on those who objected who might have been Democrats.

When my son was in college he lived in a vegetarian co-op. Mostly nice, liberal students, sharing a common food philosophy. They had a rat problem. Some of the people in the co-op seriously wanted to adopt an attitude of peaceful co-existance. The rats were just trying to get by and didn't deserve to be trapped or exterminated. My son's attitude was, "They're fucking rats and I don't want to share my kitchen counter with them." He ended up moving out. Peaceful co-existance with rats was not part of his housing contract.

I don't think dealing with snakes or rats is some prerequisite to dealing with neo-cons, though. Sometimes people just get lost in the moment.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[KT2000]

49. If they were good democrats

what does that make you?
A better democrat or
a repub posting on a democratic web site?

[mmonk]

66. The point of your post?

[mtnsnake]

68. Anyone who kills a valuable copperhead in that fashion is a disgusting coward

and an ignorant mother fucking dipshit who has no idea how to deal with a minor crisis. What a fucking loser as well as a the biggest deuchebag on the face of the earth.

What I find pathetic is that some people wanted to find a way to remove that beautiful creature and let it live, but some cowardly moron (you if you really did it), not only had to prove what an asshole you were but then had to come here and justify killing it.

BTW, you're not fooling anyone with your post in post #11 about how you broke up a rape and blah blah blah. No such thing ever happened. Real heroes don't brag about shit like that unless asked about the specific incident. You're a coward, you know it, and you tried to right it by stomping on a snake and coming here to brag about it.

That copperhead had every right to live, and considering there were neighbors who wanted to remove it without killing it, you broke a cardinal rule of life. Copperheads are valuable parts of the food chain because they help keep the rodent population in check. Depending where they live, their staple can often be rats. Maybe that's why you felt the cowardly urge to kill it, for self preservation.

[DubiousLee]

70. But he pounded a brewskie too...eom.

[yellowcanine]

107. Carries a Buck knife with him to work at the office also.....just in case he gets caught in a storm

and has to camp out overnight, I guess. This reads like a Hardy Boy's episode.

[Hav]

116. .

:spray:

"Hardy Boy then jumped into his huge, huge truck. And suddenly he smiled and enjoyed the moment as he closed his eyes to think about his big dream coming true...and for a few seconds, he did indeed believe that he almost had a penis!"

[Forkboy]

126. *SNARF*

:rofl:

[Parisle]

73. Aw,.. come on,...... please,...... no sugar-coating,...

--- I enjoyed your reply, but I felt you were holding back somehow. Heh heh. The progress of this thread has become somewhat amazing to me, if I may say so. Fifty years ago (when I was a kid) killing copperheads was a fairly pragmatic routine. We have a lot of them in Virginia,... hell, I once found a snakeskin that had been shedded in my grandmother's silverware drawer. I don't know about you, but shit like that strikes me as worrisome and excessive.

--- "Deuchebag?" I would expect a Hillary supporter to at least know how to spell "douche."

--- The copperhead had the same right to live that you and I share,... along with fire ants, Dick Cheney and the avian flu virus. Viruses are a form of life, eh? Bacteria? When was your last "cowardly" dose of antibiotics? Could a copperhead get a lawyer? I'd be in deep shit then, eh? Do you understand how this whole "evolution" business works?

--- And BTW, yes, I did stop a rape.. I've also put a heroin dealer "out of business," and a crooked corporate-type out of a job. Did I violate their rights, too? Killing a dangerous snake is not something that one "brags" about,.... that is purely your inference, based upon the points you are trying to make. I think I can survive your not liking me.

[Buzz Clik]

78. "Killing a dangerous snake is not something that one 'brags' about"...LOL!

Oh, please. This has been one long brag session for you as you try to prove how tough you are and what pansies the rest of us are.

"I killed a snake. I stopped a rape, and he'll never attack anyone again. I put a heroin dealer out of business." Bragging? Oh, hell no!

I haven't seen this much swagger since I quit posting on knuckledragger sites.

The next step is for you to tell me how easy it would be for you to "put me out of my misery." Well?

[Parisle]

92. I prefer to call it "citizen activism"

--- Gee whiz, Buzz. Lighten up. Is it "bragging" because you've never done anything comparable,... or because you prefer to confine your own contributions to society to little snips on message boards such as this?

--- Just for the record, maybe I AM a "tough guy." Sounds funny to be saying it,... I'm actually a professor of Shakespearean literature (wrote a book) and a former newspaper editor and ad agency writer,.... but I do other things, and maybe I have an "attitude" about the bad guys. Too many Batman comic books when I was a kid, perhaps. Sorry if it inconveniences your egalitarian mindset.

--- You accuse me of "bragging?" Is that all it is to you? God, I bet you hate old John Wayne movies. I wrote an original post about my incredulity that my friends and neighbors couldn't decide how to deal with a poisonous snake,..... the fact is that none of them had ever been in that position before. They had never camped out, dealt with bears, fired a gun, or slept outside of their homes. I've made no comment faulting them for that. There are people who can kill snakes and people who can't. I don't have a problem with that. And copperheads are not exactly an endangered species.

--- I don't like "bragging," either,,... but I can distinguish it from ordinary reporting. The problem is not with me.

[Buzz Clik]

94. Just for the record, Mercutio, reporting on oneself is bragging.

Last comments and I'm out:

1. Copperheads in the wild are only marginally dangerous. Like most bears. If you see them, avoid them. They will definitely take pains to avoid you.

2. A captive copperhead is dangerous only to the person who decides to liberate it. Crushing the head of a captive snake did nothing to protect your neighborhood.

3. There are no parallels between killing snakes and confronting political opponents.

4. I would mourn the deaths of neocons. That seems to set us apart in a huge way.

The final word is yours. I'll read your comments, but I'm done here.

[yellowcanine]

99. I thought it was bragging also. And to tell others to "lighten up" after your rant

about your neighbors over an encounter with a copperhead snake in which you managed somehow to associate attitudes toward wildlife in general and poisonous snakes in particular with political persuasion, well maybe it is you who needs to "lighten up" and consider whether you have things in proper perspective. I also love it how you assume you know everything there is to know about the wilderness experiences of your housemates and neighbors based on how they handled a situation involving a poisonous snake (not like you so they obviously were unschooled in wilderness living, in your mind). Jump to conclusions much?

[Dora]

115. "I've made no comment faulting them for that."

No, you didn't fault your neighbors for their inexperience. You just called them "stupid Democrats," faulting them for their value of the sanctity of life, regardless of the snake's potential threat.

I'll say it. Your behavior showed you as a bully and a blowhard.

Go eat a pizza. You doth offend.

[mtnsnake]

86. Copperheads can sniff out moles a hundred feet away. You're an imposter

but not a very good one. No real Democrat would ever use a pathetic story like yours to generalize about other Democrats in such a fashion and try to make them look silly as you did in your OP. When I went back and re-read your ignorant post, I could tell the entire thing was a fake from the first corny sentence to the last figment of your imagination.

And BTW, yes, I did stop a rape.. I've also put a heroin dealer "out of business," and a crooked corporate-type out of a job. Did I violate their rights, too? Killing a dangerous snake is not something that one "brags" about,

Unless the people you stopped were yourself in all those instances, none of the above ever happened...with the possible exception of killing a vicious earthworm maybe.

"Deuchebag?" I would expect a Hillary supporter to at least know how to spell "douche."

Doesn't matter how it's spelled, it's how it's pronounced and how you understand the shoe fits you perfectly.

How's it feel to be busted?

[skipos]

69. If it would have been easy to trap it and relocate it

There would be nothing wrong with doing that. I prefer to err on the side of preserving life when it is safe and easy. I have caught wild animals around my house all the time, and taking them somewhere where they can live far away from humans has been a piece of cake. After all, those kinds of animals have been living around here for hundreds of thousands of years, it was the people who moved in recently.

I don't see how this has anything to do with politics, plenty of Republicans respect animal life to.

[Norquist Nemesis]

77. Looks like flamebait to me

:shrug:

[citizen snips]

83. Less talk make it happen.

you should be that guy in the RBS commericals.

[yellowcanine]

87. Lot of pentup anger there. It is not always necessary to kill a poisonous snake.

Copperheads feed on mice, etc. and thus are a net benefit in an ecosystem. If there is a way to safely let it go on its way I would tend to do that, just as I would leave a grizzly bear alone if it was not bothering me or someone else. Comparing how people feel about dealing with snakes with their political persuasion is just ludicrous. I doubt very much that there is a correlation between party affiliation and how one would handle this situation. And even if there is --- so what? Ill-informed people also connect Iraq and al Quaida and think all Muslims are terrorists. You exhibit some really sloppy reasoning/thinking here. Also I would say there is a certain macho smugness in your post that is quite unbecoming.

[Vickers]

88. This is about the most douchebagged post I've seen on DU yet.

And lemme tellya, I've seen some DOOZIES!

There were a couple of people in history who were OK at using parables to make a point (Jesus, Aesop, etc.), but trust me hero, you ain't one of 'em.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

89. When you look a 'protected' poisonous creature in the eye

The wrath from the Dept Environment may not be as bad as the result of a copperhead bite.

[ecstatic]

95. Exchange "disgusting" with "frustrating"

I think frustrating might be the more appropriate word, if in fact this story is true. Of course, when the situation is applied to Iraq then it does get kind of disgusting.

[Parisle]

108. You're right

--- I should have gone with "frustrating."

[ileus]

96. One less copperhead, not a bad choice IMHO.

[Tsiyu]

101. Way to out yourself, there!

IBTL

Snakes are our friends. They kill rats and other rodents, who carry terroristic-type diseases to stupid people who kill all the snakes around them so that the rodents overpopulate.

So thanks for doing something which may help rid us of the denser members of the gene pool!

[dsweet]

102. Here's one: Osama bin Hanta

[Dora]

111. Wow, All those hyphens make you look so THOUGHTFUL. n/t

[Javaman]

114. And this is in the General discussions: Political forum, why?

seems a better fit for the lounge.

[yellowcanine]

119. Probably because the OP compared poisonous snake coddlers to Democrats.

Go figure.

[sandnsea]

121. Wildlife protection is a GD issue

Even though that wasn't the OP's motive in posting.

[Javaman]

129. okay then gereral discussion, but certainly not political. nt

[sandnsea]

138. Oh I see

I didn't see that this was actually GDP. I don't pay that close of attention. Yeah, kind of a bullshit thread for GDP.

[Czolgosz]

118. I hate Richard Perle as much as the next guy but I'm not going to stomp on his head and cut him in

two with a buck knife. At least not with the kids gathered around.

[yellowcanine]

120. But what would you do with a mallet and a wooden stake?

[flaminbats]

122. don't take things so hard!!

we all do things we dwell on too much later on.

killing a Copperhead isn't a good thing to think about, and anyone can criticize..but not everyone has to face the situation. I have faced many poisonous snakes in my lifetime, but if I leave them alone they usually leave me alone!

when I was a boy I chased a copperhead down the hill. when my dad found me the snake and I were just staring each other face to face by the lakeside. My dad grabbed me away before anything happened, but I was lucky!

I enjoyed chasing the snake, and watching it curl up and spring away again such a long distance..but after I found out that snake was poisonous, I never did it again. Still I'm not the best person to come to for snake advice! ;)

I think you did the right thing considering all your neighbors were gathered around it. but it seems to me that it was your neighbors' fault, and it wouldn't of been an issue if they had only left the snake alone! your neighbors will probably forget about it in a month or so, so hang in there!

[depakid]

123. Unless this is a clever metaphor

then it seems to me that the stupid on is the person that either refused to drive the snake away or better yet, just leave the critter be- and let it dine on rodents (which may carry disease).

[dsweet]

125. Pedantic Additions

It's a venomous snake, not a poisonous snake.

::sorry::

[Forkboy]

127. Is this clown still here?

[mtnsnake]

136. He had to take off. Commissioner Gordon just sent him a bat-signal

I guess there's a mugger on the prowl in Gotham City who uses copperhead venom to weaken his victims before he robs them. Batman is out sick today, but Commissioner Gordon just happened to have perused DU today, so he knew who to turn to.

[Forkboy]

139. You're on a roll today!

:rofl:

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

130. I for one, am trembling with fear & awe of the OP.

He is a manly man. He knew exactly what to do! He drank his beer & pulled out his trusty (buck) knife to kill this snake. His neighbors are nothing to him!

He also took care of a rapist who will never, ever bother anyone again.(How this could be or how the OP would know this is I admit, beyond me. Maybe he killed the rapist? Ooohhh, what a manly man.)

He also single handedly put a heroin dealer 'out of business'. Did he kill him too? Perhaps with his ever present (buck) knife? And to cap it all, he got a 'crooked corporate-type out of a job'.

That is my kind of Dem. We are to bow before him.

:eyes:

[ProudDad]

133. Sorry, Charlie

A reverence for Life is not "stupidity".

However, an argument could be made for the stupidity of one who show callous disregard for other's feelings.

A truly smart person would have helped devise a humane way to move the creature rather than commit a barbarous act designed to Shock and Awe.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

134. Well, that was just stupid

While I realize that in your uneducated opinion it was just, "a fucking poisonous copperhead snake." In the right hands is much more than that. There is a protein in the venom of copperhead snakes which we're learning retards growth in cancer cells. This makes them valuable for research purposes. While it's not recommended that anyone without the proper training trap venomous snakes, as any trapped creature becomes more dangerous, but since this one was already "trapped" the right thing to do would have been to hand it over to someone trained in dealing with venomous snake removal, since they would know how to minimize the potential for damage, while maximizing the potential for future good.

[ProudDad]

135. Well, congratulations

you got what you wanted.

Enjoy your 6 hours of "fame"...

[Forkboy]

140. 6 hours of ridicule for being a dumbass.

If lack of brains was a penalty he'd have earned a game misconduct.

[yellowcanine]

141. Amazing thing is he had two or three strong defenders. It really is true that some people think

snakes are just bad and they have no right to exist. Plus there is an inordinate fear of all things poisonous even though the chances of getting harmed by a family dog or cat are way higher than the chances of being bitten by a copperhead in the back yard. And not only that, few people die of copperhead bites - or even get that sick - compared to cat and dog bites.

[Forkboy]

142. Well I'm not saying poisonous snakes are a good thing to have around,mind you

But the Rambo shit shown throughout this thread by the OP is so funny and obviously lies that I can't take anything else seriously.It's like HeeHaw with an attitude.

You'd think the snake was some kind of land shark (another animal that people have a totally disproportionate fear of).

Some people's kids! :)

[yellowcanine]

144. The key is preserve habitat for snakes as well as other animals - then

there will be less conflict between people and wild animals, including snakes. And I will still take my chances with a copperhead in the backyard than with Felix the cat sinking his bacteria laden teeth into my hand or arm.

[Forkboy]

146. Don't forget Felix's magic bag either!

You wouldn't wanna mess with that!

[Cabcere]

145. IMO, the snake isn't even the real issue here.

Sure, maybe the situation the OP posted did happen, but it's the way it was phrased - couched in terms that made it sound, as I mentioned earlier, very much like some kind of a chain letter sent by people who are trying to make a political point (out of something that, IMO, isn't even really political). :shrug: That's just my take on the issue.

[Forkboy]

147. It just stinks all around

Like a busy cow field. :)

[Cabcere]

148. Hah!

Nice analogy. :hi:

[Forkboy]

150. Thanks. I've got more analogies than....um......er.....

aw crap...nevermind.

:hi:

[ecstatic]

152. I'm neutral regarding the snake murder, but if you view the story as a metaphor

Then in some ways I can see where he is coming from. A part of me is screaming: WE HAVE BUSH&CO CORNERED!!1 WTF are we waiting for??? Much like the poisonous snake, we have the worst Prez in history, the guy who stole democracy backed into a corner. Do we play nice with murderous thugs or treat them like the trash they are? If the story is viewed in that light then I can see where it becomes disgusting.

[slackmaster]

149. Just one, well two, questions

1. Did you eat it?

2. How did it taste?

[Dr Fate]

151. Reminds me of some stupid idiot DEMS who wanted to bake pie.

The idiots wanted to put blue-berries in it. The smart one merely cracked open a beer and agreed with Bush and wanted to bomb more terra-ists, then make the pie later.

If you love America and agree, then please forward this message to everyone you know.

[Forkboy]

165. You kill me

:rofl:

[uppityperson]

167. Very good.

[SemperEadem]

154. I think the way that you handled this was unnecessary

what they were contemplating was proper. No one's life was in immediate danger from the snake. It was contained. Taking the snake out to the wilderness or calling animal control was probably the best way to handle the situation.

Anyone can justify being a thug given the chance; doesn't mean it is right.

What makes you think that they would not deal appropriately with neocons just because they wanted to spare an animal who can better serve nature by being in the wilderness killing vermin?

[Beacho]

155. You actually endangered yourself and your neighbors

The snake was probably in a frozen position, it's first defense against danger, and would have stayed that way until the threat passed, and it would have just went on its way. When you jumped forward, to 'take care of it', you would be forcing its hand and it would have used its last line of defense, which is to bite. It might have bitten someone else, then where would you be tough guy?

Your move was a actually a stupid one and shows ignorance of Copperhead behavior. BTW, the critter *is* one of your neighbors and quite a useful one, since it does eat rodents and other pests.

Your rough n tough, he man move was a dumb ass mistake and mistakes like yours are what leads to the majority of snake bites in this country.

Lame Ass

[VOX]

157. He make snake dead. He shame soft liberals with dead snake. He drink fire water. He great warrior.

We will sing songs about him. When more snake come, his name will be our war-cry: "Make Snake Dead!"

[Dr Fate]

158. LOL! You made my day with that one!

n/t

[Forkboy]

166. I love this place

:rofl:

[w4rma]

160. Oh I agree that too many liberals are much too soft on neo-cons. And much too forgiving.

I should also note that the liberals who are soft are the DLC-type liberals. The liberals in the old sense of the word. The liberals that would have been Republicans back during Herbert Hoover's Presidency. The liberals who "have theirs" that support the economic BS that harms the average American because, in their mind, we have to "help" the 3rd/2nd world countries civilize themselves.

The ones that believe that the Republican Party isn't what it used to be. News flash: The Republican Party is exactly what it used to be, it's just that their BS is being brought out into the open now for more people to see.

I don't think that progressives today are very soft though. Progressives just don't have enough power to override the soft Herbert Hoover liberals.

[tigereye]

168. locking

This is flamebait. Thank you.