Ok yeah, people who think there shouldn’t be any consequences to hating snakes are just as annoying as spider haters. The absolute lack of regard for life, and the emotions of others is staggering. Fuck people like that.
I used to work with snakes at a nature center and I would have a snake in hand and be talking about how important they were and people would joyfully tell me how they decapitated one with a shovel the other day. Ghoulish behavior.
Ugh, I had a almost identical experience when I had snakes. People in Australia are so weirdly proud of killing our native snakes, its really gross to listen to. But SO ingrained.
I had said I never experienced any phobia like arachnophobia but I think I was just mentally blocking out all the horrid things I’ve heard about snakes growing up. We don’t even have super dangerous species here either. People just kill them because of hatred.
Phobias are very real and impactful but I’m so tired of people using their phobias as an excuse to be outright hateful to already maligned animals. If I use the word “spider” in a post, it is up to you to figure out how to filter that out rather than demand others cater to you on their own profile.
I know this comes off as incredibly rude but I have had people be so nasty to me for expressing love for spiders and their kin and then saying they have a phobia as if that excuses sitting down and typing a violent comment. I’ve never experienced that with any other phobia.
If someone commented “burn it with fire” on a picture of a puppy, people would be up in arms, but I’m just supposed to accept it because someone has a phobia of spiders? Phobia or not, quit being an asshole to animals that are more important for the environment than any domesticated animal could be.
For full transparent: this is not a thread to mock people with phobias, as they can be debilitating! This is meant to point out hypocrisy, using diagnoses to avoid accountability, and how some animals are seen as deserving of hatred as compared to others.
There's people commenting the same insane stuff on pictures of pet chickens, cows, pigs etc without any phobia associated. They just can't see most animals as anything worthy and have no empathy whatsoever.
I've never understood that, even as someone with a spider phobia. You can have a phobia of a creature, but still respect it and those who love it.
Using a phobia as an excuse to be a terrible person is a bad look.
Especially when someone does it to pet spiders/bugs? HELLO????
i once had a friend of my parents comment how she found my pet leopard gecko disgusting so yeah. Some people just really dislike have some baseline of politeness. I get not everyone likes every animal but I think some people really just don't know how to talk to others.
As someone who is terrified of spiders, I completely agree with you. I've also learned to live with them and I've always loved them. I can't help my fear entirely but I can mitigate it, try to understand it and live in harmony with and appreciate spiders. They certainly deserve less hate.
Youre 100% right. As someone who as a teen used to demand other people censor/avoid topics that upset me, I later realized this behavior is actually cruel and controlling of others. You have to learn to curate your own space instead of demanding others change for you
If your fear of spiders or bugs is so severe that you cannot even read the word spider, that is something to talk to a mental health professional about if you can afford it. Spiders will always be here, it is in your best interest to learn how you can better coexist with them
Well said! I try to be cognizant about tagging gore and SA, but for the most part, the world keeps turning and we only have control over ourselves in how we engage with it. It’s much easier to work on ourselves than demand the world tiptoe around our own personal hangups.
I have SO many hangups with the world, but it was coming to the realization that I can only moderate my own space so trying to make others conform to my ideals was a losing battle and harmful to everyone involved.
I have a purely physical fear of spiders (I think they're cool animals but my body doesn't agree lol) and always tell people "if it's not okay to say about someone's pet dog, it's not okay to say about someone's pet spider". fear is not an excuse for violence, ever.
I feel the same about wolves & sharks tbh. I used to have arachnophobia too but hubby got me to take photos of them and look at how beautiful they are.
Yikes are people mastodoning about spiders here now? Idk they probably just block me on sight, and if that's how they feel then that's what they should do
People can be incredibly cruel to any animal that isn't a dog regardless of a phobia or not and I just don't understand why. If you're afraid, why are you purposely interacting with your fear? As someone with a cockroach phobia, I almost never see those posts because I muted the word. However, -c-
A biologist once called this “vertebrate chauvinism” - even if people hate snakes they’re less likely to smoosh them because snakes are more closely related to us. There’s “mammal chauvinism” too ofc.
Me, I always catch and release spiders. They’re my allies in the war on bugs 🕷️🕸️
I had/have terrible arachnophobia - I never liked having it, because I knew it wasn't rational & spiders are rad! I now own 25 diff species of tarantulas - they are absolutely incredible creatures who deserve the world
But I think ppl have to confront phobias & actively *want* to change them
Whoa I used to have cynophobia when I was younger. Never knew the name for it! I have severe arachnophobia and can spot a spider photo coming a mile away. I blur my vision and scroll past it quickly. I recognize spiders are friends though and I catch and release (even though it makes me BARFY!)
I had to Google that one. I don’t have arachnophobia but I do dislike spiders. They heebie my jeebies. The non-huntsman daddy long legs are welcome in my home though but it’s because the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and they mind their business.
Right there close up on your screen suddenly is more of a jump scare? They’re not as commonly seen in posts. And I think people that are afraid of dogs are just sort of forced to get used to seeing them everywhere. It’s not something that’s commonly TALKED about like arachnophobia either.
I don't expect it but I greatly appreciate when folks consider my phobias, it's not up to any individual to cater to thousands when it's easy to continue scrolling.
I have a severe case of arachnophobia but I do my part by muting words or hiding posts. I don't blame the individual.
Like, it's not your fault I or any others have this phobia, and if you don't, honestly embrace that cuz that's awesome. Keep posting your crawly friends, they deserve to be appreciated as much as any cat video.
Comments
Using a phobia as an excuse to be a terrible person is a bad look.
Especially when someone does it to pet spiders/bugs? HELLO????
I kinda love them now! 🕷️
Just have to calm that down.
Me, I always catch and release spiders. They’re my allies in the war on bugs 🕷️🕸️
But I think ppl have to confront phobias & actively *want* to change them
I wonder if the tagging thing is because spiders
I have a severe case of arachnophobia but I do my part by muting words or hiding posts. I don't blame the individual.