Am African, and seems to me am the only one whos not scared, but i like them, i think they are facinating and great creatures. the Africans that i know say am crazy for liking snakes, they told me that they wont visit me if i ever got snake, i dont make sense to me?
2007-02-15 10:29:24 · 16 answers · asked by GetYaPopcorn 3 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
I know about snakes, ican recognize almost all the types of venomous and non venomous, but my thing is if i see a type of snake i dont know, i dont mess with it
2007-02-15 12:16:22 · update #1
GET A BIT BY MAMBA and ask the same question
2007-02-23 01:35:09 · answer #1 · answered by xxsanxx 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are two reasons that I can think of why Africans do not like snakes. One is that snakes have been biting and subsequently killing people for as long as man has been around. There is no anti-venom available to treat snake bites so if you are unfortunate enough to be bitten you will likely die. If a family member or friend dies from a snake bite then you might harbor a fear and hatred for snakes. The second thing I can think of is that in most cultures snakes are viewed as an evil or demonic. In Christianity the snake told Eve to eat the forbidden fruit (apple). The snake was thought of as the devil. So in African culture the snake probably has some sort of evil or unholy myth attached to it as well. Traditions like these are passed down from parent to child for generations, thus making the fear and hatred more severe. You should not generalize though, I am sure that not ALL Africans dislike snakes. It just happens that the people you have spoken to have had those feelings.
2007-02-15 18:48:53 · answer #2 · answered by chanajane3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the majority of venomous snakes live in Africa and with all the reports of people loosing limbs and dieing from all those snake bites, African Americans fear that the snakes will bite them, but the reason that they fear almost all the snake even the non poisonous one is because the majority of the African Americans don't know which snake are venomous or not.
2007-02-23 00:10:38 · answer #3 · answered by jake boothby 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This was an excellent question. I used to work in the reptile department here in PA. My experience was a little bit different than yours: About half of the African-Americans that came over to the reptile dept. were afraid of snakes, and about half weren't. However, and this is the funny part, I found that about 75% of men (any race) were terrified of snakes, and would not come anywhere near me if I was showing someone a snake, even a baby corn snake! More women were comfortable with these animals than men were, and the women who were usually afraid were older. Just goes to show you how snakes are becoming a "mainstream" pet, and it seems that education about these beautiful animals is changing the attitude towards snakes. I guess some people just still have an unwarranted fear of them.
2007-02-15 20:38:05 · answer #4 · answered by malice6372 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are several reasons why people are afraid of snakes. The most common are (1) a bad personal experience (2) being raised by someone who fears them (3) not having enough information regarding them and (4) judging things by the way your "peers" react to them.
2007-02-22 19:01:31 · answer #5 · answered by LostMyMind 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its probably because in their native country, most of the snakes are poisonous so they think that all snakes are poisonous and have a natural fear or maybe beacuse they can not recognize the difference of being venemous or not, by the way, snakes are awesome, i have one myself, if you want a snake then get one, dont let your friends holed you back. they dont live with you so they dont really have a say.
2007-02-22 02:04:38 · answer #6 · answered by stix246 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Majority of Africans? Heck, majority of humans are afraid of snakes not just Africans.
2007-02-21 20:10:20 · answer #7 · answered by Lee C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would guess that in places where there is a large amount of venomous snakes associated with death there would be more people scared of them like africa, australia, etc.
2007-02-16 20:03:19 · answer #8 · answered by rock 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My parents are from Africa and don't have a problem with snakes. Many people are scared of snakes simply because they are known to bite. Snakes are just misunderstood creatures.
2007-02-22 18:53:58 · answer #9 · answered by Skippy 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Good question I have a black friend he is also scared of snakes, along with much more including heights, water, campfires,dogs,cats, and many other common activities,, maybe I will get some answers off your question!?
2007-02-16 00:58:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i understand ur Q but i cant say that also. i am african american, ie my parents are from african, and im born and raised in america; i just think that there are folktales behind snakes, so it gives them a scare. but i dont think every african is afraid of snakes, after all, i m not that scared of them...
2007-02-15 18:38:32 · answer #11 · answered by welcome2miami04 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋