So, my Stepdad hates any animal kept as a 'pet' other than cats and dogs. (Raising livestock aside; we're talking indoor pets). He absolutely despises reptiles. Last night, we got into a huge debate, but my Mom says it was more of an argument.
It all started when my Mom mentioned that our new neighbor breeds lavender bearded dragons, and would sell or trade one to us at breeder's price. Hey, way cool; I can get a gorgeous lizard for an affordable price. Instantly when she said this, my Stepdad rolled his eyes and got all huffy. Mom asked what his problem was and he just starts going off on how reptiles were never meant to be pets and how much he hates them. I come back at him and calmly try to explain that they are in reality fascinating creatures, and that he shouldn't leap down my throat for something I enjoy having. Weird thing is; He isn't uneducated, per se, about them. He's not terrified of them because he knows that they really couldn't hurt him if they tried. Yet, he doesn't want to be in the same room, even across the room as my corn snake. He can't stand to even look at the snake, yet he says he does appreciate their beauty. He acts as if a corn snake or beardie is equivalent to a Burmese python. Then he argues that I think that every animal in existence is cute. It is true that I do appreciate beauty in every species. But this brought up something else that really irks me: Just because it isn't fuzzy and cuddly, it is automatically either useless (i.e, fish) or a demonized creature who has no place on this planet (i.e, snakes, lizards, insects). My Stepdad argues that he has no such felings about these creatures, yet he scoffs and is disgusted at the thought of me getting another reptile. I really can't understand his argument- It makes no sense to me. To me, viewing one creature as cute and lovable just because it has fur and acts cute, and thinking another creature is some satan-spawn just because it has scales and is virtually emotionless is similar to racism. (No, it's not nearly on the same level as racism; It's simply an analogy.)
I just don't know how to feel about it. I respect that he doesn't like them. That's fine. But to be very outwardly disgusted by them toward someone who loves them is quite irritating, and rude in my opinion. He has no say in whether I get more lizards or not, but I do want to respect his opinion about them. But it really pisses me off when he won't respect mine.
