this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2026
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Kinda funny, humanity has evolved (at least a bunch of us) to hate spiders, because quite a lot of them are dangerous as fuck. Same thing hasn't really happened with lions, wolves and other furry animals that we want to hug.
Still, spiders are gross.
I love spiders, they are interesting and don't freak me out. I love seeing them. One time at a park a little jumping spider shared my drink by running over to get some condensation each time I set it down - it was so cute! Generally speaking I don't want them crawling on me (I will hold pet tarantulas) but just love to see them. Snakes too.
Roaches & palmetto bugs freak me out to an irrational degree though.
Palmetto bugs, it's sounds so non-threatening and maybe sophisticated but at the end of the day they're
Flying Cockroaches!!
That is interesting. Maybe it’s because, once you’re close enough to see one, there is nothing you can do to avoid the danger a lion poses, so there was no evolutionary pressure selecting for scaredy cats scared of cats.
I'd rather deal with spiders than humans.
I’m pretty sure if I see a surprise lion IRL I would shit myself.
Right? I don't want to find a lion crawling on the ceiling while I'm showering.
With its limbs contorted unnaturally as it crawls with its belly facing out, like in the Exorcist?
I mean that's how all lions I've ever seen do it yeah. Gives me the creeps.
Shit yourself with joy surely!
We are evolved to detect spiders and snakes very well and to heighten attention when they are detected. That does make it much more likely you will develop a fear response, if, for example, your parents react with fear.
Nothing about this means spiders are inherently gross. You make your world smaller by missing out on deeply interesting and beautiful creatures with this knee-jerk reaction.
You acknowledge that external factors affect our reactions and then seem to blame us for said reactions.
Some people have an irrational fear of X. They know it's irrational. But they still experience abject terror every time they encounter a picture or even a mention of X.
They are not "making their world smaller." Sure, you can argue that it is smaller. I'm just saying that the verb "make" there seems to be assuming a choice that those people won't have without a lot of therapy.
If we're being honest, people who fear spiders are not missing out on any more than someone who simply hasn't learned about a different kind of creature that exists in the world.
You make a good case for being kind to people with phobias.
This guy said "spiders are gross". That is a dumb judgment, not a phobia.
Part of being an adult human in a modern society is the expectation of controlling your reactions regardless of external factors.
Downvoted by people who resent being expected to act like adults
Within reason. It's also about accepting not everyone can do this all of the time, and we should be offering each other grace.
Not everyone can get certain vaccinations, so the rest of us do a little more so the involuntarily-vulnerable can be protected.
Not being able to get vaccinations is a matter of medical necessity, actual life and death. Being creeped out by spiders is absolutely fucking not. I'm willing to accept that people have irrational phobias as long as they don't act on them.
Another part is letting people be
And letting animals be, even gross ones
sure, still super gross.