So you shoot him four times when you can't see him, causing tremendous suffering, but then eeeeewwww, don't want to see him get his head chopped off. A sadist with a weak stomach -- not exactly a winning combination.

Reminds me of the Iraq "flypaper" strategy, though ....

Aaron,

And what about the tremendous suffering my sister would have undergone if she would have been bit by the snake? Does that matter to you? It's so nice of you to call someone you don't even know a "sadist" because I killed a poisonous snake -- which was about 10 feet from my sister's back door -- when my sister asked me to. Tell me, would you defend your family if necessary, or would that be "sadistic"?

I couldn't see the snake very well and did the best I could. I wish I could have taken him out with one shot, but I'm not that good of a shot...yet.

No, I don't have a "weak stomach", but I didn't want to watch my sister do the merciful thing and finish him off. I guess I'm not a very good sadist after all.

And what the hell does this have to do with the Iraq war, anyway? (My sister will really be amused by that comment, since she doesn't support the war at all.)

This is hysterical. I'm proud of you. Trust me, a thing with a brain the size of the finernail on your pinky finger didn't suffer...much. And if he did, he probably deserved it.

Thanks, Bill! :-) Like I said, I hate snakes...particularly the poisonous kind. If they stay far away, I won't mess with them. But if they come around where I or a member of my family lives, all bets are off.

I forgot to ask that great arbiter of pacifist morality Aaron what he would have done in the same situation. He's not banned (yet), so he's welcome to tell me.

There's a couple things I might have done, depending on what equipment I had. If I even decided to kill it ... which wasn't necessarily a bad thing in itself, since it was in a place where it did pose a threat. Ideally, though, I'd have pinned it down with a long garden tool and stuck it in a bag, then released it miles away. If you're not feeling all crocodile-hunterish, at least pin it down and kill it quicklike, the way your sister did. What, you've got a pistol, but no machete?

I just wouldn't have blasted away at it randomly with a gun. I definitely get the impression from your post that you got a rush from shooting the gun, which was a pretty inappropriate weapon to use in the situation. The way you described shooting it again and again, as it twitched in agony was pretty wretched. You said "I shot a snake today" not "a snake had to die a painful, slow death today, because I was too chicken to put in the effort/risk necessary to share space peacefully with it."

As for the parallels to the Iraq "flypaper" strategy -- inappropriate, excessive use of force, refusal to look at the consequences (we don't show civilian bodies on U.S. TV if they're killed by Americans). Plus, the sense of satisfaction, or "rush" if you will, among pro-war folks that we've done SOMETHING about the threat -- as well as disdain for those who point out that maybe it was kinda the wrong, brutish, selfish, obnoxious and sadistic thing.

Just a few things Aaron, then I'm through with you:

* No, we did not have a machete. My sister had an axe with a short handle and that's it. Neither of us was going to get close enough (since these snakes can move very fast) to kill it with an axe without at least disabling it first. Yes, I guess we should have put both of our lives in danger playing Crocodile Hunter so that we wouldn't end up having to use one of those eee-vil guns.

* I'm so glad you think you're enough of a tough macho man to think you could easily bag a snake and release him somewhere. Bully for you...the Crocodile Hunter has nothing on you, dude.

* I did not "blast randomly" with a gun. This should be clear if you actual read what I wrote. I could see part of the snake and I fired at the areas I could see. I took my time and aimed very carefully. When my sister told me where his head was, I estimated where to aim based on the information she gave me. And, again, since these snake are aggressive and move very fast, you don't want to get too close. Perhaps because you assume I am just a lil ol' ditzy girl who couldn't possibly know how to handle a gun, you assumed I blasted randomly at the snake.

* I shot it again and again because I was trying to make sure it was dead -- BECAUSE MY SISTER ASKED ME TO. She asked me to shoot it again so that she could be sure it was dead or at least incapacitated. And she will really love your comment on how she should have "shared space peacefully" with a large, poisonous, aggressive snake next to her patio. I'm so glad you are so at peace with such things, nature-boy, but please keep in mind that most of us are not as enlightened and gosh-darned wonderful as you are.

* "I definitely get the impression from your post that you got a rush from shooting the gun..." Ah, here is the real problem you have with me. I didn't shoot the gun with shame and with a long face, streaked with tears. Actually, I did not enjoy shooting the snake, but I did enjoy the opportunity to shoot again. I also was glad to help my sister out of a difficult situation. The thing is, I didn't even want to bring the pistol over and shoot the snake in the first place -- I wanted her to call animal control, but she was not able to do so.

Look Mr. Smart Guy, think what you want of me...that I'm an obnoxious brute or whatever. Well, here's what I think of you -- you are an obnoxious, arrogant, sanctimonious jerk who thinks he knows it all but is really completely full of crap.

And since I'm a big, mean brute and sadist, I may as well ban you as well.

But Susan! I'm shocked to find out that you're an anti-snakist! What Aaron is saying is that you have to understand why the snake hated your sister! Obviously it was just following its cultural beliefs by lying ten feet from her doorway waiting for a juicy piece of ankle. And after all, we humans are interlopers in the snake's world -- the snake was here first! If we would only try to see it from the snake's point of view, we'd be willingly offering our lives (or better yet, the lives of other, less-enlightened White-American Oppressors) to slake the needs of poisonous snakes everywhere! And then there wouldn't be any wars, man, and everything would be cool and stuff, because, because, well... we'd all be dead.

This Heartfelt Cry From the Depths of Moonbattery has been brought to you by the Sarcasm Department of Spleenville International, Ltd.

LOL! Thanks, Andrea...I needed that! :-D

Hee. "Anti-snakist". I'm glad you saved your sister's life!! A water moccasin isn't a garter snake, that's for sure. All-in-all, it sounds like one of those adventures you and your sister will get to remember for a LONG time.

You know, when we had a rattlesnake near one of our entrances at work a couple of years ago, Animal Control wouldn't get it because they weren't allowed to dispose of a live snake. They will, however, get rid of dead ones. Dunno if that's the same policy where you live. :-)

Hi Jami,

Thanks! :-)

Animal Control wouldn't get it because they weren't allowed to dispose of a live snake. They will, however, get rid of dead ones. Dunno if that's the same policy where you live.

It probably is. My personal experience with animal control around here is that it's hard to get them to come out and do anything.

I got them to remove a dead vulture that I saw on the grass next to a dead squirrel on my walk to work. (I have no idea how both these creatures ended up dead in the same place but it creeped me out.) Anyway, I think the fact that Orlando is such a tourist haven makes our Animal Control people a bit more responsive. Or maybe I wasn't the only one who complained -- the dead critters were right in front of one of those pricey gated communities we have around here.

Andrea,

It sounds like animal control in Orlando is more responsive than it is here. Once, at my Dad's house when he was sick with cancer, a peacock had gotten up into an oak tree one evening and was carrying on. My sister called them and they told her they didn't handle things like that. The peacock went on its way the next day, anyway. I also called about a rooster that had taken up residence between my yard and my neighbors' yard. They said they had no one to send out with a trap because of the holiday. The holiday was on a Monday -- did they decide to take the whole week off or something? I blogged about this incident when it happened -- here and here.

Yes, that's right Aaron -- the eee-vil gun-owning sadist did not go after the rooster with a gun. I would never have done such a thing. I tried to catch the poor fellow so animal control could come get him. I was unable to do this because handling beasts is a lot harder than they make it look on Animal Planet.

But I guess my disabled sister and a woman whose elderly mother lives with her should have risked their lives trying to bag a water moccasin like the Crocodile Hunter wannabe Aaron would have done. I mean, it looks so easy on TV, why couldn't we do it? Better than me (a **snort** woman) using an eee-vil pistol, right?

Look, you sound like a somewhat mean person to me, one who doesn't particularly care about other living things unless it is immediately in her interest to do so. When I point it out, you rage and foam and ban me, which doesn't make you appear less mean.

That obviously bothers you, somewhat (enough to ban me), which speaks better of you than if it didn't, or if you didn't understand the implications of what I'm saying.

Many conservatives celebrate killing "bad people"
these days (your "Eyown voter" banner is another fine example), and mock kindness and sympathy/empathy. And apparently you aren't interested in listening to me point it out. So be it.

It seems you are attracted to simple, violent, power-driven solutions to problems. You live in a binary world where you and yours are "good" and anything in your way is "evil" (or at the very least "moonbats." If you have the power to kill your enemies, doing so is "good." If they have the power to kill you and do so, they're "evil." You have two-bit brains -- things are either one or the other. No complexity can possibly exist in your universe.

I think attitudes like yours are why violence in our world continues to escalate. Maybe I'm wrong ... but I certainly don't see you *reducing* the amount of violence in the world.

Aaron! You're back! I figured you would be. Since apparently you are on dial-up and you get a different IP address each time you connect, I knew IP banning would be worthless. However, I'm using my blacklist to force-moderate your comments, so if you are seeing your comment (and this response) it means I decided to approve it.

Yes, against my better judgment and advice from others that trolls should be starved, I decided to respond to your latest sanctimonious missive because you see the fact that I banned you because of your obnoxious (and weirdly obsessive) behavior as some sort of victory.

Look, you sound like a somewhat mean person to me, one who doesn't particularly care about other living things unless it is immediately in her interest to do so. When I point it out, you rage and foam and ban me, which doesn't make you appear less mean.

Most people who know me will tell you that I'm a generally nice person. Being an imperfect and sinful person, I do have a temper and I can be mean when provoked. When I was younger, when people were mean to me, I would fall apart and cry. Now, I have a tougher hide and I stand up for myself. Did you really expect to flounce into my comments, insult me and be rude to me and have me just smile and take it? And where the hell do you get off judging how much I care about other living things? You don't know anything about me. You know, people like me were ridiculed to no end because we believed that starving and dehydrating a disabled woman to death was wrong. And you know, maybe I had a few personal reasons for feeling that way, which I guess, in your book, would make me selfish. You make this sweeping judgment about me because I shot a venomous snake that was about 10 feet from my sister's back door. My sister has health problems and she is disabled from a back injury. Although we often disagree on things and argue sometimes, I love my sister with all my heart. What the hell was I supposed to do? Value a snake's life over my sister's? Tell my sister, "Gee, get a pillow case (since the fangs will go right through a Glad bag) and we'll use your broom handle to try and flush him out. Even though we are both scared to death of snakes, and even though a bite from this snake would kill either one of us in minutes, let's try to do the nice and loving thing and risk trying to bag him somehow so that we don't have to do anything mean like shoot him." If I would have said anything so preposterous to my sister, I guarantee you she would have kicked my ass -- and I would deserve it!

That obviously bothers you, somewhat (enough to ban me), which speaks better of you than if it didn't, or if you didn't understand the implications of what I'm saying.

What bothers me is being slandered and insulted. But, like I said, you will think what you want of me and nothing I say or do will change that. Your mind is made up and closed shut.

Many conservatives celebrate killing "bad people" these days (your "Eyown voter" banner is another fine example), and mock kindness and sympathy/empathy. And apparently you aren't interested in listening to me point it out. So be it.

Wow, that Eowyn Voter thing really gets to you, doesn't it? (And to think I removed it a while back in an attempt to cut down on clutter, only to decide to bring it back later. I'm glad I did!) Did you click on that to see what it's all about? It's about being willing to defend those you love if someone tries to harm them. I mean, that is kindness and compassion. Nobody "celebrates" killing bad people. Defense of self and others is sometimes a necessity and sometimes defense involves killing someone who is trying to harm someone else. And I certainly do not mock genuine kindness and sympathy/empathy. Again, I must remind you of the relentless mockery of people like me who were against dehydrating Terri Schiavo. However, I may mock someone who puts on sanctimonious airs of sympathy and empathy so he can look down his nose at other people.

It seems you are attracted to simple, violent, power-driven solutions to problems. You live in a binary world where you and yours are "good" and anything in your way is "evil" (or at the very least "moonbats." If you have the power to kill your enemies, doing so is "good." If they have the power to kill you and do so, they're "evil." You have two-bit brains -- things are either one or the other. No complexity can possibly exist in your universe.

It's incredible how you think you know so much about me based on a quick perusal of my blog. And you call me simplistic. Since we're making snap judgments on a scant amount of information here, I must assume you are a person who thinks everything is shades of gray and there is no black and white. I agree, there are many shades of gray, but there is also black and white -- because gray cannot exist without black and white. There is an objective good and evil. (And you yourself seem to believe in good and evil -- I mean you certainly are convinced that I'm evil.) We have a moral obligation to stand up to evil. Unfortunately, sometimes standing up to evil involves force. Again, I remind you that we live in a fallen world with fallen people. We don't live in heaven and we are not angels. Yes, violence should be avoided if possible, but sometimes it's not possible. You seem to be a rather young and naive person. Maybe someday you will see the world as it really is rather than how you wish it would be.

I think attitudes like yours are why violence in our world continues to escalate. Maybe I'm wrong ... but I certainly don't see you *reducing* the amount of violence in the world.

Well, thanks for laying the sins of the world on my shoulders because I shot a venomous snake by my sister's patio. I just have to laugh at the pure ridiculousness of it...

This is my final post on all this, and I feel I've just wasted a ridiculous amount of time in responding to you. I have a feeling it was about as productive as ramming my head against a brick wall.

BTW, I'm closing this comment thread.