Mature, scientific, analytical reasoning afforded the following explanation. Most people don t want to know more than diddle about snakes. I can do nothing about the fact that some are poisonous, but I can deal with points 1 and 2. In columns past, I have addressed the idea that learning more about snakes might turn fear into interest, loathing into respect. I am not asking that you love snakes, only that you recognize that they play a role in the ecosystem and share the earth with us like every other animal.
More people die of hypothermia each year than of snake bites.
No, but you must respect what it can do to you. SOME are potentially dangerous, so you must respect them all. We live on an earth that comes with certain natural hazards. That s just how it is. We can t eliminate them all, nor should we try.