Man faces jail for killing rattler in self-defense

[Jedi Knight]

This is commie-environmentalism run amok.

'I'm stunned that the snake had more rights than a human being' (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32380)

Jesus H. Christ, that is ridiculous.

JK

[jj]

For a while I thought you were in treatment, but I see you're back.

[corplinx]

I dunno JK, this guys story is fishy. Supposedly he had enough skill to pin it with a stick, transport it to another location, set it free in the parking lot; and then all of a sudden Mr. Wild Kingdom needed a _shovel_ to put it in the woods?

Something smell's like day-old dead baloney, and im not talking about the dead snake.

[Jedi Knight]

Originally posted by jj
For a while I thought you were in treatment, but I see you're back.

Everytime I need "treatment", JJ, I tap into your misery and it makes my day.

JK

[Jedi Knight]

Originally posted by corplinx
I dunno JK, this guys story is fishy. Supposedly he had enough skill to pin it with a stick, transport it to another location, set it free in the parking lot; and then all of a sudden Mr. Wild Kingdom needed a _shovel_ to put it in the woods?

Something smell's like day-old dead baloney, and im not talking about the dead snake.

I think it was yesterday that the leftist media showed a crocodile getting dragged down the street then pumped full of lead by some cops when it entered a residential neighborhood.

But this guy kills a poisonous snake and he is the anti-Christ. I am glad he killed that snake. I hope he kills more of them.

JK

[jj]

Originally posted by Jedi Knight


Everytime I need "treatment", JJ, I tap into your misery and it makes my day.

JK

You remind me of several people I've known who foolishly assume that my life is just like theirs. I suggest that you get some medical treatment, it's worked for others.

[peptoabysmal]

Holy spotted owls!

Here's some other amusing animal "tails":

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030430/od_nm/odd_fish_dc_1

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030429/od_nm/germany_hamburgers_dc_1

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030414/od_nm/odd_chickens_dc_1

[The Fool]

Originally posted by Jedi Knight


I think it was yesterday that the leftist media showed a crocodile getting dragged down the street then pumped full of lead by some cops when it entered a residential neighborhood.

But this guy kills a poisonous snake and he is the anti-Christ. I am glad he killed that snake. I hope he kills more of them.

JK
I notice you use the term "anti-christ" in refering to this killing of a protected reptile. Unfortunately, this belief of Christian Fundies like yourself that snakes are evil has been one of the reasons that these animals need protection. I know that your Chistian fundy beliefs make you want to rid the world of snakes....Unfortunately you will just have to accept the law in this case. You cannot kill protected animals no matter what your fundie belief system drives you to do...
anyway...where is the usual conspiracy theory? surely Feminists are in on this somewhere. Maybe they drove this guy to kill the snake because it is penis shaped???? Come on JK, you must be able to work penetration into this story somewhere.

[Thumper]

So let me get this straight,... since I'm a Christian I need to go around killing snakes?

Whatever you're smoking, can I have some of it, too?

Seriously, can you say ad hominem?

(Can I spell ad hominem?):)

[corplinx]

Originally posted by Jedi Knight


I think it was yesterday that the leftist media showed a crocodile getting dragged down the street then pumped full of lead by some cops when it entered a residential neighborhood.

But this guy kills a poisonous snake and he is the anti-Christ. I am glad he killed that snake. I hope he kills more of them.

JK

Yes yes, they showed it but didnt explain that the alligator probably wasnt hurt by being tugged along by the truck.

Now look JK, this guy seemed to be getting his jolly whacking a snake. He found it somewhere, caught it, took it to the dock to show ihs drinking buddy, and then instead of releasing back into the wild to kill rodents; his lazy ass killed it in the parking lot with a shovel. This guy isnt a hero, he needs a ass whipping. I think you of all people should see that.

[subgenius]

And the guy the "leftist" media showed with the gator, nothing happened to. Where does that leave the "theory'?
The guy in Michigan was a liar.
Why do we bother trying to reason with this nitwit?

[The Fool]

Originally posted by Thumper
So let me get this straight,... since I'm a Christian I need to go around killing snakes?

Whatever you're smoking, can I have some of it, too?

Seriously, can you say ad hominem?

(Can I spell ad hominem?):)
yes, you are driven to kill snakes.....By mind control from mobile phone towers. I'm amazed you don't know about this....

Have I also told you that the Republican party is full of Communists?

[Nikk]

Originally posted by Jedi Knight
This is commie-environmentalism run amok.

'I'm stunned that the snake had more rights than a human being' (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32380)

Jesus H. Christ, that is ridiculous.

JK

JK why do you link environmentalism and communism?

The Soviet Union was a disaster zone from an environmental point of view and the communist party there was indifferent if not hostile to environmental issues. Much the same point could be made re other communist states and indeed could be made about China today.

So why do you make the connection?

By the way I came across a poisonous snake a fortnight ago while walking with two young children. I left it alone and it disappeared in the bushes. This guy could have done the same.

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by Nikk


By the way I came across a poisonous snake a fortnight ago while walking with two young children. I left it alone and it disappeared in the bushes. This guy could have done the same.



You just leave them alone, and they leave you alone. I saw one next to the path I was riding on a few months ago. It took off as soon as it realised it was being watched.

[Tricky]

It's confirmed! Jedi Knight is Bigfig's (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&postid=153728&highlight=snake+bigfig#post153728) sock puppet!
originally ranted by Bigfig
The nasty little thing coiled around and started striking at me when I looked down to inspect it. I took a stick and beat him to a pulp.

Guess I showed that snake who was the better debater that day.

[WildCat]

When I was 8, my family spent a week at a dude ranch in Arizona. On one of the trail rides the lead wrangler encountered a rattlesnake and killed it because he was afraid it would spook one of the horses, which could injure it's rider. He cut off the rattle and gave it to me, it was one of my prized possesions until my little sister brought it to show-and-tell and lost it. :(
Of course, rattlesnakes weren't (and aren't) an endangered species in AZ.

[Jedi Knight]

Originally posted by Nikk


JK why do you link environmentalism and communism?

The Soviet Union was a disaster zone from an environmental point of view and the communist party there was indifferent if not hostile to environmental issues. Much the same point could be made re other communist states and indeed could be made about China today.

So why do you make the connection?

By the way I came across a poisonous snake a fortnight ago while walking with two young children. I left it alone and it disappeared in the bushes. This guy could have done the same.

The radical enviro-movement that got that law enacted to protect that stupid snake is part of larger commie movement to subvert private property rights, a key commie trait.

Ask yourself, is the enviro-movement right-wing? What does making laws protecting marginal species that no one has ever heard of before do for anyone? Did the radical enviro-movement save the millions of species of animals from extinction before man started civilization? No. They were extinct before man even surfaced on this planet from Mars.

Environmentalism is just communism with a seedling edge.

JK

[Jedi Knight]

Originally posted by jj


You remind me of several people I've known who foolishly assume that my life is just like theirs. I suggest that you get some medical treatment, it's worked for others.

Fatboy go back to your cubicle and chow down another lard-pie. When you are wearing a geriatric diaper (not long off), I will still be out there kicking on strong.

JK

[Bjorn]

Originally posted by Jedi Knight
Ask yourself, is the enviro-movement right-wing?

Environmentalism is just communism with a seedling edge.

JK “America and the world share this common goal: we must foster economic growth in ways that protect our environment. We must encourage growth that will provide a better life for citizens, while protecting the land, the water, and the air that sustain life.”

President George W. Bush .... in a speech yesterday.

That commie!! :mad:

[schplurg]

Where I live Rattlesnakes are a "dime a dozen". This story would not be unusual in the slightest. I've killed a few snakes myself. So my first reaction to this story was:
"Oh my gawd, what a load of crap!"

Since this snake is protected I guess that changes things legally. But I want to point out a few things.

Nowhere in the story does it say the guy took the snake to show off to his "drinking buddies". It said he took it to a dock where his son's were, and killed it in the parking lot. Maybe the dock was very near where he found it. Maybe he wanted his sons to be able to identify a poisonous snake and showed it to them. Maybe he didn't know that the snake was protected. Ignorance is no excuse I know, but in California and Arizona, his actions would not be criminal, and may in fact be applauded by the people who witnessed it. People I know don't generally think the human is the bad guy vs a Rattler. I don't exactly keep a list of "endangered species" in my wallet when I'm camping etc. Does anyone here?

These comments that we've all added here in this thread paint the guy to be some back-woods redneck drunk, when in reality he was possibly just a scared, computer geek dad who doesn't know jack about snakes and their behavior. The skeptic in me gives him the benefit of the doubt in that he probably thought he was doing the smart thing, as there is nothing in the story to suggest otherwise.

It did say however that he grabbed the shovel after he carried it to the parking lot. Now if he carried it that far, why would he need the shovel to release it? The story is rather vague though, but does state that he intended to release it. Maybe the snake got away and started hissing so he grabbed a shovel to pick it back up more safely? Maybe. Nowhere does it say that he was cavalier about it, or showing off or being cruel to the snake. It does appear that he probably intended to kill it all along, but if he isn't a snake expert, he might have felt that that was the safe way to go.

In court, an expert testified he doubted Galloway's story, since the Eastern Massasauga is generally a shy snake that usually will flee in the presence of humans. Note the term "expert". So because the guy is not an "expert", he's a heartless snake murderer?

I mean think about it...average guy (non-clearthinking JREF member) sees a threatening, possibly poisonous rattler around children. Children are scared. Man thinks poisonous snake + kids = bad. If he lets it go, it may come back (he thinks). Man kills snake. Although illegal, are his actions inexcuseable or that abhorrable (is that a word)?

What he did was illegal, but I don't think he should be condemned here for doing something that he may have felt was in protection of other people. I'm not sure how well schooled your average Ann Arbor resident is in snake handling and snake facts. He may have felt he did the right thing. I guess that's my point.

[fishbob]

The Bald Eagle is also a protected species. Last year a guy up here was convicted of killing 3 or 4 of them. Was he merely ignorant of the law or just a mean old f***wit?

The snake is protected because it is endangered. Too bad for the snake that it is not as photogenic as the Bald Eagle.

I say, if you kill it, you have to eat it.

[schplurg]

The Bald Eagle is also a protected species. Last year a guy up here was convicted of killing 3 or 4 of them. Was he merely ignorant of the law or just a mean old f***wit? I don't know, were the eagles acting in a threatening manner?

And I doubt this guy truly thought people's lives were at stake with the snake either. But that's just my opinion, he may have. Snakes do bite people and I can more understand a person being fearful of snakes than birds. So for an "average joe" to kill a snake is not unheard of.

I'm not saying it wasn't illegal, but unless he's some evil snake skin collector with rattles from his kills on his wall at home, I don't think he needs an "ass whippin", or was "getting his jollies" as was suggested. Just trying to remain critical and realistic with the info given.

[Nikk]

Originally posted by Jedi Knight


The radical enviro-movement that got that law enacted to protect that stupid snake is part of larger commie movement to subvert private property rights, a key commie trait.

Ask yourself, is the enviro-movement right-wing? What does making laws protecting marginal species that no one has ever heard of before do for anyone? Did the radical enviro-movement save the millions of species of animals from extinction before man started civilization? No. They were extinct before man even surfaced on this planet from Mars.

Environmentalism is just communism with a seedling edge.

JK

I don't see why you need to force environmentalism into a left/right political spectrum. It seems to be an issue that transcends normal political conflicts which are mostly concerned with the distribution of power and wealth within any given society. As I pointed out communists in power have shown no interest in environmental issues.

The basic argument of environmentalists is that we should try to conserve the ecological system we have, if only for reasons of self interest. We simply don't know how much damage we can do to the system within a short time scale without suffering serious consequences. If anything such an approach should appeal to right wingers who I believe sometimes refer to themselves as conservatives even in the US.;)

By the way if you seriously believe that we come from Mars then I assume you would agree that its present state is hardly a tribute to intelligent environmental management. It clearly must have been run by communists! :p

[muckraker]

I'm not saying it wasn't illegal, but unless he's some evil snake skin collector with rattles from his kills on his wall at home, I don't think he needs an "ass whippin", or was "getting his jollies" as was suggested.

The article in the link said he cut off the head AND THE RATTLE.

Maybe he thought the beheaded snake would whip somebody to death?

Any guy who pulls a "Crocodile Hunter" and pins a poisoinous snake with a forked stick, then picks it up and walks around with it is obviously not afraid of snakes. He's either very, very stupid, or he has experience handling snakes.

Then, after capturing and carrying around this snake, he suddenly decides that for some reason he needs a shovel to set it free?

His story just doesn't make sense.

[Pyrrho]

I agree that Galloway's story doesn't wash.


Galloway says he took the snake to a parking lot preparing to use a shovel to scoop up the snake and release it into the woods. But the snake then came toward him, said Galloway, and, feeling threatened, he used the shovel to cut off its head and rattle.

Picture it: After carrying it to the dock where his sons were, a risky move by itself, the man carries the snake to the parking lot, where he had to have put it down in order to scoop it up with a shovel. That's incredibly stupid, if true. First he picked it up, then he put it down, so he could pick it up again -- with a shovel. You cannot scoop up a living snake with a shovel; the snake won't simply curl up on the shovel and go along for the ride. What's more, placing the snake on the ground is a risk, because, well, duh, Galloway had to relinquish control. If he had truly intended to release the snake into the woods he could have done so without going to a parking lot to "scoop it up with a shovel". It doesn't wash. I think he went to the parking lot intending to do exactly what he did -- kill a wild animal that, like any good conservative, had been minding its own business.

Galloway shouldn't have handled the snake in the first place, and he's lucky it didn't bite him. I almost wish it had bitten him; some people need to learn to leave things alone.

Say what you want about "leftists", but most of them are smart enough not to bother a rattlesnake.