Is NOBODY wrong in the post ? POST : This story takes place probably about 9 years ago, when i was around 13.  I was at a campground for the weekend, camping with my family and enjoying the summer.  The campground was at a lake, and I would spend every day fishing, swimming, and catching snakes, of which there was a great many of at the lake.  Now, snakes and other animals had always been a passion of mine, having grown up watching Jeff Corwin and, of course, Steve Irwin (As an aside, FUCK PETA), and I loved nothing more than to go out, catch snakes, frogs, and turtles, and show them to the other kids at the campground to show them that they weren't scary.

Well, one day while I am fishing, I notice some kids from the campground next to ours yelling and screaming.  At first I thought they were just being kids and having fun. But then I heard crying.

I decided to go make sure everything was alright, and reeled up my line and walked over.

What I saw made my blood run hot.

3 kids were on the beach, laughing at another girl, probably about 8 or so, while a teenager, probably about 15, was running through the water, a big grin on his face as he smacked at it with a stick.  Confused, I walked closer, to see he was trying to beat a tiny, maybe foot long garter snake to death.

Now for those of you who don't know, a garter snake is a small, thin snake that feeds on bugs, amphibians, worms, and fish.  It is on hundred percent harmless to humans.

Now here comes the part where I MAY have been an asshole.

Throwing down my fishing stuff, I charge over, while the kid chases the snake up onto the land.  I yell at him, and he turns to me, and i could see the surprise in his face.  Now he was probably six inches taller than me, since i was pretty short for my age.  But I was also a football lineman for my school, and weighed more than him by a long shot.

I grabbed him by the throat and by the belt he had on, wrenching him down to me and screaming in his face, before practically tossing him into the lake.  I then grab the snake and check it for damage.  It had a gash on its back and had a small bit of it's tail broken off, but otherwise seemed fine.

As the kid was getting out of the lake, I yelled at him, asking what the hell he thought he was doing.  He sputtered and looked confused, and just said something about it biting one of the kids.  I asked him which one, and he pointed to the little girl who had been asking him to stop.

I had her come over to me, putting on my best nice guy face.  She was scared, of course, but still came over.  I asked her if she was scared of the snake, and like any 8 year old girl, she nodded and said yes.   I held out the snake and had her touch it, which she was hesitant to do, but when she did I saw her eyes light up.  I explained to her and the other kids, who had crowded in closer to look, that snakes are nice, and aren't trying to hurt anyone.  To illustrate the point, i put the snake down, and it immediately slithered away.