Saturday, March 9, 2013

I Am A Tree Hugging Idiot Rounding Up Sweetwater Rattlesnakes

The 2013 Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup started up this past Thursday, March 7, with the Roundup ending tomorrow, Sunday, March 10.

I do not know if there is a moratorium on the rattlesnake executions on Sunday.

I suspect today, that being Saturday, is the day when the most rattlesnake beheadings take place.

If you've never seen a rattlesnake beheaded and skinned and seeing that is on your Texas Bucket List, well, I guess you should make your way to Sweetwater today.

Last month I blogged about the upcoming rattlesnake beheadings. This generated some very earnest comments yesterday. One from someone named Anonymous, with someone named jh360 making a variation of the same comment twice, apparently due to not noticing that the comments are moderated prior to being published.

First the comment from Anonymous, then the two from jh360....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Apparently Children Are Witnessing Rattlesnake Beheadings In Sweetwater Texas":

these snakes are killed to control the population. otherwise, the great state of Texas would be over ran by deadly venomous rattlesnakes.just fyi for the first idiot blogger who posted about the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Round-up. YOU TREE HUGGIN HIPPIE IDIOT!!!! 

jh360 has left a new comment on your post "Apparently Children Are Witnessing Rattlesnake Beheadings In Sweetwater Texas": 

what you tree hugging anti everything hippie idiots understand is that we in Texas must keep the rattlesnake population down. that is one of the main reasons for the round-up. if we didn't, Texas would be flooded with rattlesnakes. would you want your backyard and house filled with deadly snakes? what if one slithered its way into your house and bit one of your children? if they were allowed to breed uninhibited, the population would explode and make they're way to your state. must i remind you again, these aren't your cute little garden snakes. these are venomous and deadly rattlesnakes, that can and do kill people. 

jh360 has left a new comment on your post "Apparently Children Are Witnessing Rattlesnake Beheadings In Sweetwater Texas": 

for all you tree hugging anti everything hippie idiots, here's the story. if these snakes in Texas were not kept in check, we would have a rattlesnake population explosion. that would equal an infestation into our houses and yards, then they would make they're way to your state. how would you feel if a deadly rattlesnake got into your house and bit your child? must i remind you idiots, these aren't your cute little garden snakes, these are venomous, deadly snakes. if they bite you, they can and will kill you! 

I'm a tree hugging hippie idiot?

I did not realize, til reading these comments, that the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup is all that stands between the rest of America and a massive rattlesnake invasion.

Murdering rattlesnakes really seems to rattle a lot of people. I have only been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup once. I think it was the 2002 Roundup.

One Roundup was enough for me.

I bought my first video camera the week before I drove to Sweetwater. The video I made from what I saw at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup was the first video I made and the first I uploaded to YouTube. I've uploaded dozens upon dozens of videos to YouTube since the first one.

Sort of strangely, my Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup YouTube is the most viewed of my YouTube videos at a measly 37,488 views. Not quite viral. The video has generated 429 comments, most of the same quality level as those above. YouTube lets video viewers indicate if they like or dislike a video. My Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup video has 21 likes and 34 dislikes.

I suspect the likes are pro rattlesnake amnesty people, while the dislikes are from those who favor rattlesnake extermination.

I'm conflicted on the issue. I would be perfectly happy to live in a world with no venomous snakes. But, I don't know if mass extermination rattlesnake roundups are all that good an idea.

Below is my Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup video. Don't watch if you are even remotely squeamish....

1 comment:

Leave Rattlesnakes Alone said...

I figure that rattlesnakes have a hard enough time finding some peace and quiet from humans.
I just wish they would leave the rattlesnakes alone in Sweetwater.
If the criteria for what we kill is whether they are dangerous to humans, well there are a lot of humans collectively working to wreck the planet for human habitation.
Humans are much more dangerous than rattlesnakes trying to find a little room in the bottom of their burrow.
I figure rabbits or mice have something to complain about rattlesnakes. People? nah.