Posted by:
Mike_Rochford
at Fri Oct 9 03:06:01 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Mike_Rochford ]
Ernie,
I have yet to insult you myself. I didn't choose that quote to insult you. I chose it because it shows the attitude of everyone who was involved in that thread, even people who like the Barkers. If you'd like though, I can dig through your posts and copy/paste the insults you've flung at me. I don't think that would do any good though. I would post a link to the entire thread from the other forum so people can read the whole thing but I think that violates the terms of service on this site. If it doesn't, I encourage you to post it. I will copy/paste your response though. I don't think it made the person "proven wrong in every possible way and embarrassed."
"I posted the first Barker piece for all to read . Judge for themselves . My only responses regarding the Barkers were directly to what I felt were unfair comments made while attempting to discredit them. I linked to some of their other various works . Pointing out that they do have long and credible backgrounds.
Besides the Gator shot where have I even mentioned anything about the papers they wrote or said that I agreed or disagree with their writings in full . The majority of what I posted has nothing to do with the Barkers.
I have to ask you how much time do you spend in the Glades ? What is the basis of your informed opinion ?
Read : SHELDON KRIMSKY on Corrupted Science at the link below.
http://www.tufts.edu/~skrimsky/corrupted-science.htm
Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC."
So flherp has a wealth of his own field observations but he doesn't show any real knowledge? That doesn’t make sense. I can guarantee you he is not a "total rookie." If he wants to reveal his identity that's up to him and I'm not going to do it. But, I guarantee he is not a rookie.
I understand the point you are making but others are saying there aren't many pythons out there so I feel like I have to repeat some of that info at times. None of my knowledge is earth-shattering but it is based upon field observations of FL pythons. I fully recognize the Barkers as python experts and admit that they know a lot more than I do about pythons but I have to say that I am more of an expert on BURMS IN FLORIDA. I don't say that to be egotistical. How many gut samples have they looked at? How many pythons have they caught in FL? How much time have they spent radio-tracking burms in FL? How many of the major players in the python project do they know personally? I don't claim to be a genius. I don't even think I'm that smart. But, I happen to have an insider's perspective on this issue due to some good fortune. And I've been keeping pet snakes and searching for them in the wild for nearly 20 years now. I didn't just walk into this job as a total rookie (although I have never bred Burmese pythons so in that regard I guess you could say that I am a rookie). We did have some good conversations about snakes and I concede that you were right about some of the points you made. However, my second-hand story comes straight from the people involved whereas it seems that the Barkers merely tried to piece together what happened by interpreting things from tv/magazines/newspapers. Therefor, I believe my source to be better and more accurate.
Bob and/or Gordon did post in that thread. You may not have realized it because the screen name is not obvious.
I don’t think I’ve been overly-reactive or sensitive. In fact, I’ve received a number of compliments via PM and e-mail for my calm, level-headed approach to our debate on the other forum (and here, to a lesser extent).
Believe it or not, I think we are reaching some common ground and I’m glad we can have these debates. I don’t know that we’ll ever be in total agreement but we’re closer than we were when this started and a lot of other people who may not have formed their opinions yet can read this and make their own decisions based upon the evidence we have laid out. I’m hoping that people will trust me, at least a little bit, and come to me for information if they are skeptical of something they hear on tv or read in the newspaper. I’m not here to lie to anybody or to push an agenda. I’m just trying to get the facts out there because both sides seem to lack credibility right now and nobody knows what to believe anymore. Like I’ve said before, I have no interest in destroying the pet trade. I’ve kept snakes for two decades and I get annoyed by new legislation as much as anyone else, especially since my main interest is rattlesnakes (and I can’t keep any because I don’t have a venomous license). It’s truly annoying. In fact, the idea that a bunch of idiots with an irrational fear of snakes have been able to assert enough influence on lawmakers to keep me (who has been handling these things for years and years) from owning any pisses me off, quite frankly. I’m sure many of you can relate. But, the system in place now is better than a total ban so I don’t complain too much. I just need to get all the paperwork together one of these days. Anyway, I’m on both sides. And this isn’t my alter-ego that nobody at work knows about. I can pretty much guarantee you that my boss has been reading everything I’ve been posting (and I know some other “big wigs” have been following this as well). If everyone were so concerned about pushing an agenda then I would probably be fired by now for sympathizing with people here and saying that the higher figures given for the population estimates could be too high. Or for saying “I would have said that differently” or “I wouldn’t want to be associated with that quote.”
Personally, I hope we have nothing left to argue about because this is incredibly time-consuming. Although I will be happy to contribute information when asked and if I see people making statements that I believe to be untrue I’ll probably try to suggest they reconsider. I hope we’ve established some trust though and we can talk about FL pythons when there are questions/concerns from people without the atmosphere being too hostile/accusatory. Even if others say something inflammatory on tv, it doesn’t mean that I would have said the same thing (or maybe I would, it would be a case-by-case basis) and I can try to give you the solid facts without any “spin.” And, at the end of the day, you’re not forced to believe anything I tell you. I can simply provide information and let people make their own decisions. In most cases, I think debate is healthy and contributes to the learning process. A the end of a debate there has usually been a lot of information presented on both sides and each person is left to come to their own conclusion.
If the last paragraph of your previous post is true then we should be in a position to establish some quality communication between people on this forum and people directly involved in the python project. This removes the layer of confusion added by the media and (if you do trust me) it also removes the layer of confusion added by any perceived/actual agenda of anyone on the python project. Again, at the end of the day, nobody is required to believe anything I say.
It’s getting really late. Gotta get some sleep.
Mike
[ Hide Replies ]
- Burmese Python Map - jeffrosoccer6, Thu Sep 10 20:30:25 2009
- RE: Burmese Python Map - jeffrosoccer6, Thu Sep 10 20:57:37 2009
- RE: Burmese Python Map - laurarfl, Thu Sep 10 22:23:55 2009
- RE: Burmese Python Map - laurarfl, Thu Sep 10 22:30:35 2009
- grrr - laurarfl, Thu Sep 10 22:32:12 2009
- RE: grrr - jeffrosoccer6, Fri Sep 11 03:15:26 2009
- RE: grrr - Jaykis, Fri Sep 11 10:23:21 2009
- Required reading..... - Jaykis, Fri Sep 11 11:09:01 2009
- RE: Required reading..... - wstreps, Fri Sep 11 19:04:02 2009
- RE: Required reading..... - Jaykis, Fri Sep 11 19:33:50 2009
- RE: Required reading..... - Mike_Rochford, Tue Oct 6 15:41:48 2009
- More... - Mike_Rochford, Tue Oct 6 17:55:05 2009
- RE: More... - wstreps, Wed Oct 7 16:36:30 2009
- RE: More... - Mike_Rochford, Wed Oct 7 16:58:15 2009
- RE: More... - wstreps, Wed Oct 7 17:28:58 2009
- RE: More... - Mike_Rochford, Thu Oct 8 00:36:11 2009
- RE: More... - jeffrosoccer6, Thu Oct 8 02:36:41 2009
- RE: More... - wstreps, Thu Oct 8 07:34:56 2009
 RE: More... - Mike_Rochford, Fri Oct 9 03:06:01 2009
|
