Just exactly how uninformed is the general public?

8 leg wonder

Arachnoangel
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I have found that a number of people in the small community I live in, actually, have some knowledge, (not extensive) in this field, most are just curious and want to know more, We have a great petshop here that is willing to answer any questions you have and if they dont know, they ask someone who does, and they dont just improvise on the spot. People here are either interested or not, and they ones that are, are worth the 10mins or so to answer there questions.
 

MizM

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ddale said:
Another problem I have found is that many of these "educational guest speakers" perpetuate inaccuracies. No offense to those of you who give these "educational presentations"
Great point!! I have WAY MORE respect for someone who says "I don't know the answer to that question, but I'll find out for you." than the guy who makes up an answer. In my presentations, if I don't know the answer to a queston, I freely admit it, and use that as a tool to help urge the kids find out more. I like to give them the information on WHERE they can find out the correct answer and let them run with it!
 

protheus

Arachnoknight
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Pheonixx said:
well folks i agree the general public is pretty stupid, but to me the rest of you are the general public. And to you i am part of the general public. that is to say from a certian point of view we all dont know much about things that others know alot about.
Ok, but stupidity is not so much in what you don't know, as it is in what everyone else doesn't know. If I were to admit that I don't know something, that's fine. If I were to behave like, for instance, just about every pet store employee (ok, most of them...), that's something else, entirely.

Pheonixx said:
P.S. for those of us in NY they are planning a statewide ban on venomous pets "including but not limited to...certian reptiles, cricidilia, and almost every montior i know of.
Venomous pets including (presumedly) non-venomous monitors? Yeah, that's a good one. Hooray for the politicians!

... and Terri, I'll buy a copy when you get it pressed :)

Chris
 

Crotalus

Arachnoking
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protheus said:
Ok, but ripping one's hand off? It only has two teeth, and weighs less than your lunch ;)

Chris
Not really, they have small teeth inside the mouth.

/Lelle
 

protheus

Arachnoknight
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Crotalus said:
Not really, they have small teeth inside the mouth.
Well, I guess you learn something new every day.

Still don't think they're much to be afraid of. ;)
 

Jeri

Arachnoknight
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Peloquin said:
Tim was Scottish wasn't he?
"Tim" was John Cleese. As was the Black Knight, Lancelot, the French Taunter, the guy trying to get rid of his (not so) dead, and the newt. (as in "She turned me into...")

Jeri
"'They' dressed me up like this."
 

sojkas

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Hahaha {D

This scene ( Burning witch ) is the best.

And about ppl and their knowledge about spiders :
- I can agree that people don't have to know everything. I don't know much about cars and I can live w/o it. But I'm not trying to ban anything car-related. It would be pretty stupid if I would banned using something because other people were considering it dangerous. It is pretty unfair when politicians, instead of educating, are trying to get some votes by saying : "Look! We protect your children! We protect you! Choose us!"
 
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jesses

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protheus said:
Is this kind of thing common? How common? What does one do when confronted with something like this. On the one hand, I could have said something to them at the risk of offending them, given their unfathomable amount of knowledge on the subject. I didn't, but wonder whether I should have any way?
We openly laugh at them and thank god that our parents aren't brother and sister too
 

Tarangela

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Pheonixx said:
i know i dont know much about T's and spiders but i have been thinking of talking to the local school and the science dept. about some classes and you just helped me make my mind up. i'm gonna call when the next semester starts up at the local h.s. and middle school. perhaps you have some good ideas for me. i'm gonna have to read alot this summer.
Good! I hope I helped you decide to help educate your local schools. I don't
think I could handle being in a high school setting, I don't think it would be a serious enough setting. But then again, it depends on your classes. I think the middle schoolers are the best age groups.

I had a great time, and every answer I gave was accurate to the degree, and backed up by the ATS forum books, and The Tarantula Keepers Guide, along w/ the spider myths printed off the ATS site. I made it very interesting and to the point, and allowed questions at the end. And I had a lot of material printed out. I also found a picture of each and every tarantula I own, and printed them out on glossy paper to show :) I even brought the ATS medical guide with me, lol

Like I said, I would do it again in a heart beat! I would love to have a tarantula day at the pet store. Like a 1-3pm presentation. There are so many ideas! We have to help our beloved T's get better reputations!
 

Crotalus

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I can live with that the average Joe who are not interested in nature and dont bother to check if his info on tarantulas are correct or not. Personally I think its worse when petshops dont know what they talking about.
Im sure average Joe laugh at you too Jesses.

/Lelle
 

FryLock

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There’s "nowt stranger then folk" its said i find anyone who's fearful of anything that can not kill you odd i.e. in the battle between the world's most venomous spider and a 9 year old wearing boots all smart bets are on the kid ;) still to Joe Q Public were the oddballs, most of the politrickions that like to bring in laws covering "exotic's" do so because of the brownie points they believe they will get from the voting public or so the extreme animal rights groups tell them, supported no doubt by polls they have taken with questions like "would you want to live next door to some one with wild animals that could kill your kids should they escape” :rolleyes:
 

protheus

Arachnoknight
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FryLock said:
have taken with questions like "would you want to live next door to some one with wild animals that could kill your kids should they escape”
It's one thing to want to outlaw something that has even the most remote chance of killing or seriously injuring a normal person. (Deathstalker? "The world's most venomous spider?") I'm _not_ even for that, myself, but at least I can understand the fear as being something which isn't completely stupid. :) It's completely different to want to outlaw keeping savanah monitors, the chilean rose, emperor scorpions...

Chris
 

Rourke

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Each of us is incredibly naive about something. If we make assumptions about things we don't understand, or if we believe something from a clearly suspect source, with no corroborating data, that is where simple ignorance/naivete can be said to end, and stupidity takes the wheel.

When faced with preposterous statements like the one Chris cited to start this thread, the first step is to carefully classify it as ignorance, or stupidity (I could be leaving out potential categories--feel free to add!). If it's stupidity....well....perhaps not much can be done. You have to execute a quick cost/benefit analysis in your head (what are the chances of this person listening to you, and gaining something out of what you might say? What are the chances of you just looking like a dork? And do you mind looking like a dork? Many questions will figure into the decision of whether you intervene or ignore).

If it's ignorance, then the person obviously cannot be blamed, and can perhaps be educated, given the appropriate, diplomatic approach. Of course, any clear-headed respponse will depend on you being able to stop from laughing :), which in some cases, I know, can be trying! The worst is when you encounter complete ignorance (or stupidity) in a person who is in what I call a "position of credibility." For example, a pet shop employee. Or museum volunteer. When I moved to Tucson, long ago and before I was really heavy into tarantulas, I went to The Sonoran Desert Museum. A wonderful place, generally speaking. One of the first things I encountered was a docent, a very friendly older woman, holding a tarantula--probably Aphonopelma, but I didn't know that at the time--and displaying it for a group of curious on-lookers. I thought it was pretty nifty and asked "What kind of spider is that?" Her reply, slightly condescending in a manner which suggested she was going to absolutely fascinate me, was "It's...a......TARANTULA!" I moved on.

I've spent half my life in pet stores, it seems. I had several jobs in pet stores when I was younger, including a year-long gig in a retail mall shop, helping out my brother, who was a partial owner. Ignorance and stupidity constantly surface, and swirl and blend together furiously, generating nearly miraculous results. It seems like I must have seen/heard it all, then something new comes up. I've seen people bag saltwater fish in fresh water. I've seen people buy (and sell, and bag, and acclimate) fish which have been dead for 48 hours. Shortly after starting a job in a store in the south, I answered the phone to this: "Well, hello, I'm just freaking out here, I don't know what to do! We have a bird, it's a woodpecker, I think, and it just got its wing crushed in the car door. Can y'all fix that?"

Another phone favorite:
ME: Hello?
CALLER: Do you have anyone who knows a lot about reptiles?
ME: Well, I have some experience. Maybe I could help....what's your question?
CALLER: I need to know how to take care of an armadillo.

And the best I can recall:
ME: Can I help you, ma'am?
CUSTOMER: Yes, I need to get one of those little turtles for my granddaughter, but I can't find them anywhere?
ME: Uhh...what kind of turtle are you talking about?
CUSTOMER: You know, one of those that lives in a fishbowl? The little ones, just a little bigger than a quarter?
ME: Ahhh. Sorry, but the state prohibits sale of turtles under 4" due to the Salmonella risk.
CUSTOMER: (looks at me like I'm crazy)
ME: (long-winded explanation of Salmonella risk, kids putting turtles in mouths, etc.)
CUSTOMER: (finally accepts that she can't get one, looks momentarily distraught, then brightens) OK, what do you have that's LIKE a little turtle?
ME: (not laughing, swear to God) Another turtle. Only bigger.

Wow....speaking of long-winded :D. OK, I'll summarize and stop boring you. Forgive the ignorant, and educate where possible. The stupid, deal with on a case by case basis. Try, through it all, to maintain your sanity and your sense of humor. And if this kind of stuff bothers you. DON'T work in a pet store. And if it REALLY REALLY bothers you, don't GO in a pet store.
 

FryLock

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Mr. Rourke said:
Another phone favorite:
ME: Hello?
CALLER: Do you have anyone who knows a lot about reptiles?
ME: Well, I have some experience. Maybe I could help....what's your question?
CALLER: I need to know how to take care of an armadillo.
{D {D

protheus said:
but at least I can understand the fear as being something which isn't completely stupid. It's completely different to want to outlaw keeping savanah monitors, the chilean rose, emperor scorpions...
In the face of the lack of real facts most of the AR ppl will just use out of date information heavy distortions of what ever facts and figures are true and if all else fails even outright lie's to prove there point :mad:.
 

Pheonixx

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Rourke

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Pheonixx said:
The Bill text doesn't actually imply that monitors are venomous. It refers to "reptiles that are venomous" AND "the following species and families....."

That latter list includes monitors. This is of course a minor issue which doesn't change the nature of the Bill...
 

protheus

Arachnoknight
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Mr. Rourke said:
ME: Ahhh. Sorry, but the state prohibits sale of turtles under 4" due to the Salmonella risk.
CUSTOMER: (looks at me like I'm crazy)
ME: (long-winded explanation of Salmonella risk, kids putting turtles in mouths, etc.)
CUSTOMER: (finally accepts that she can't get one, looks momentarily distraught, then brightens) OK, what do you have that's LIKE a little turtle?
ME: (not laughing, swear to God) Another turtle. Only bigger.
Very much like a little turtle, complete with the salmonella risk, no? ;)

Hey, anyone who carries their pets around in their mouth deserves what they get.

Chris
 

MizM

Arachnoprincess
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Is this really the whole text of the petition?:

New york state has a bill ready to go into effect banning venemous pets. Not limited to but including;boas, pythons, monitors, crocodilians and venomous species of reptiles. if this law is passed owners will be required to obtain permits for the animals they currently have. Owners will not be allowed to breed them. If owners are not granted a permit, they will be required to hand the animal over to animal control. The animal will most likely be destroyed! we cant let this happen. What pets are next? cats and dogs. i dont remember the last time i saw someone get eaten by a snake or monitor lizzard on the news.
 

Pheonixx

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no i posted the text a few posts above...

thatsmy statement for the petition, it wont be sent with the signatures.
as i hope you can see i am writing that as if i was speaking to you (the reader)
 
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