Just to be fair...
When I got my very first "big snake" - a big bull snake from western Wisconsin, I was in high school, and very proud and excited about it. I wanted to show EVERYONE! And back in the late '60s and early '70s, "EVERYONE" mostly hated snakes, even much more than now! But I didn't really care - it was all too new and exciting. I took him to the park, the pet shop, the school (for giving talks, or show and tell type things) - pretty much anywhere I wouldn't get thrown out, lol!
Unfortunately, the snake didn't last too long. I think I wore the poor thing out. I just didn't know any better back then. It took a few years for the novelty to wear out a little, and for me to mature. Even in the early days, I was always careful to stay away from people who didn't want to be near to my snakes, and to try to avoid scaring them. But I am sure I probably startled a few anyway. And stressed out some of my snakes, too. But EVENTUALLY I began to see the wisdom in restraint!
So I understand PERFECTLY where a newbie is coming from - I was there myself, a long time ago. But my memory isn't TOTALLY gone, lol! But I didn't have any mentors to guide me into more beneficial ways of sharing my passion (such as confining public appearances to scheduled snake talks or demos), so I (and unfortunately, my snakes as well) had to learn from experience. Now, with the magic of the Internet, others can learn less painfully.