The unstoppable RH... every year a bit more bizarre... and aggravating... But that's why he does it I guess. Doesn't use hooks because he "loves" them, but rips their venom glands out without a thought...
Jamie
It's hard to believe, but there was a time long before he had the huge internet hate following, that he was actually permitted to communicate with us on the various herp lists. Even then, he would share the typical banter with the likes of David Williams & JW, but it always seemed to be a mutual disagreement, rather than the outright hatred that is directed towards him now. Hell, he was even invited to talk at a Mac Herps meeting !
I actually admired the guy. His Reptiles & Frogs book was the first "proper" herp book I ever bought (way back in 89), and I still have it to this day. I met him a bunch of times in a non-herp situation. He would lug a big bag of his books around on his shoulder, catch the train to a random station, get off and then travel from one end of the town to the other visiting the shops and businesses attempting to flog his books. I always thought this was a great work ethic. Granted, his fashion sense was a bit off, but I always found him to be pretty articulate, and quite humorous/witty.
So I come back to the hobby after a 10 year absence and the mere mention of the name RH creates an absolute shipstorm !
Do I still admire the guy ? Well a lot has happened in that 10 years, and the few times I've tried watching his youtube channel or reading his site it seems his attention is solely dedicated to fending himself against the slew of adversaries he now has, that I've pretty much lost interest. I mean, a 15 minute video dedicated to FB trolls,
really ?
Would I go and watch him do a talk ? Most definitely, provided he left the voids at home, along with all his troll talk.
As for the whole venomoid thing - This all happened (or became widely known) during my absence, so when I found out about it I naturally wanted to read more. In his explanation he stated that he thought it was cruel and stressful to handle snakes by pinning and using tongs, and free-handling was unsafe in a public situation. Fair enough, I thought. Then I watched some video's of him forcing these snakes to bite himself (and others, which I won't even bother going into). How is that not cruel and stressful to the animal ?
LOL. I just realised how long this post is. Kind of a waste really, as this thread will surely self-destruct.