You know... I hate to say this, because some things that Ed says may
actually inflame me as well... but Ed often has very interesting points
to make, and whilst he may (deliberately or not) word them in a way
that seems to be trolling... he often has many factual points to make
as well. Over the many years that Ed has been on the list, he has times
when he has posted a lot, and other times when he has disappeared for
long periods of time... possibly because of the stream of insults and
threats he receives from many subscribers. I know that I stopped
posting because someone accused me of doing something that I did not...
and she brought a lot of others "on side" to constantly harass me for
many months. After over six months of this, I finally gave up bothering
to post and contributing to the ferret community as a whole because I
just couldn't deal with it. I definitely couldn't handle the crud that
he gets for as long as he's received it. Until I got all of that, I
loved taking photos of baby ferrets and showing their development. I
loved making sites with information on how to age a ferret using their
teeth and other interesting things... I loved putting up sites showing
things happening in the ferret world. I even enjoyed doing Skeeter -
not that many will remember that character! I had a ball writing
magazine articles about ferrets, breeding, and even about ferret
people. All of that is gone now, all because of a few vindictive people
who thought that harassing someone for doing some imagined slight was
better than helping the ferret community as a whole. Heck, it's been so
long that I can picture most people now on the FML not even knowing who
I am.

Ed has an uncanny knack for touching on subjects that can inflame
people. Having said which, many times those subjects are areas that
need to be studied more intensely. He can make people question what are
common beliefs, and look like a jerk while doing it, because people, by
nature, don't like to question what they "know" and hold as a basic
belief. If someone makes a person question something, they often get
angry and upset. Heck, even though I've seen proof that ferrets can
love to kill for the sake of it (one of my old ferrets would do it),
even I had a reaction to the "Ferrets will kill just for the love of
it" comment. However, give a little time to think over it rather than
just react, and any reply will not only be more considered, but also
won't give the impression that it is just a knee-jerk reaction.

Ed has a habit of pointing out what can be inconvenient truths about
ferrets. For instance... ferrets are carnivores. Whilst logically
people here realise that, some seem to believe that it only means
that they are like rabbits that eat kibble instead of rabbit food. In
reality, I've received more damage from rabbits than ferrets in my
life, so that may not be the best example! However, being carnivorous
means that ferrets think differently from herbivores. They're more
curious for a start. More likely to be out in the open, exploring...
than finding a safe, comfortable spot to rest and watch for potential
predators. They're also more likely to openly play with, wrestle, nip,
bite and mouth something new. Herbivores are more likely to approach
something new cautiously.... sniff first and dash away if it moves.
Now, these don't cover a full spectrum of mental differences, but it
does point out, I hope, that ferrets are different from many other
small "cage" animals. They think differently, act differently... that's
why ferret people like ferrets. It isn't a bad trait, it's just what
ferrets are. If they acted like rabbits, we'd probably have rabbits
instead... they're a lot cheaper to feed! Do ferrets like being
outside? They love it. Do ferrets like digging in the dirt? Definitely.
Do ferrets like being ferrets? Well... last I checked, they didn't
want to be rabbits :) (okay, it's hard to read their minds, but they
definitely SEEM to be happy to be ferrets!)

I know there are a lot of politically-based factions who would love to
have an excuse to ban ferrets or to keep ferrets banned. In my opinion,
they're crazy loons... but that's my opinion :) Many people who
actively want to ban ferrets have never experienced them. All they
know are the old wives tales... "ferrets stink"... "ferrets bite"...
"ferrets eat babies"... "ferrets kill all the native wildlife"... 
it's a list way too long to go over fully. Can ferrets smell? Yup,
especially if they aren't descented and they get excited or scared. Do
they smell all the time? Not usually. Do dogs smell? Yup, ever been
near a dog after it's been for a swim?! Can ferrets bite? Definitely.
A well tended, healthy ferret usually doesn't, but they can. A sick
ferret, a ferret who hasn't been trained in proper "ferret etiquette"
and a ferret who is scared can bite. Do ferrets eat babies? Well...
Ed gave an example (not sure where from) of one ferret killing a baby.
Strictly speaking, it didn't eat the baby... I have heard of one case
where a ferret was blamed for killing a baby. Similar situation to what
Ed described, actually. I was wondering if it was the same case. They
found out later that the ferret hadn't killed the baby, but their pet
dog had. I've also heard of two pet rats who had apparently killed a
baby in Texas. I have no idea what the situations are in any of these
cases. Their stories all seem to match... from the baby being on the
floor, the parents being in either a drunken or drug-induced stupor,
to the small animals involved being starved (no food in stomach or
intestines in necropsy). I know there really are that many people who
would leave a baby on the floor, get high or drunk enough to pass out,
and have small, starving animals running around... so I can't even
say that it may be a "conspiracy theory" type of thing. This many
cases really COULD have happened with so many babies and so many small
animals. Does seem strange that it doesn't appear on the news more
often though. As for ferrets killing all the native wildlife? There
are very few countries in the world where ferrets have any chance of
surviving in the wild. Less chances for ferrets who are brought up on a
solely kibble diet, since ferrets being fed the same thing from a young
kit seem to imprint on specific brands of food, let alone specific
types of food. Converting a ferret from kibble to raw food is an
exercise in patience and consistency. I *have* heard of ferrets who
have died because of a manufacturer changing the formula with their
favourite kibble (also with kibble that has been taken off the market).

As usual I have strayed from my original topic. Ed may not be the most
popular person in the FML with many of it's subscribers... but if
someone could take some kind of calming agent so his more controversial
comments can be read without making those comments seem somehow
personal... that person could read what questions he is putting to
the community in general, and see if they can help to answer those
questions, or at least think them through. Thinking through new ideas
can help the ferret community as a whole. Is the way he phrases things
that offensive that the fact that he can actually be helping ferrets
should be discarded?

Just a thought. I'll hobble back into relative obscurity again.

Sam

[Posted in FML 6224]