Where do you guys draw the line when it comes to bullshit spewed by friends and family?

[beam me up scottie]

Do you call everyone on it all the time, let all of it go in the interest of peace, or find a spot somewhere in between?

For example:

I currently reside in a house that is infested with Brown Recluse spiders.
Now anyone who knows me knows how much I love spiders; I never kill them, save them from people who do and photograph them whenever I get the chance.

This past winter, I found the granddaddy of all Brown Recluses in the bathroom, he had been living there for several years (judging by the discarded exoskeletons) and had never bothered anyone.
I easily captured him and was able to get dozens of great macro shots. He was very shy, calm and about as aggressive as a lady bug.

I have tried to explain to folks that doctors incorrectly blame these poor arachnids for every single mysterious insect bite and staph infection that gets reported.
Very few bites have actually been verified and only a handful of those required medical attention.

Recently, I found a very pregnant female BR in the bathtub, photographed and then relocated her.

The problem usually starts when I am dumb enough to show these photos to people too ignorant to appreciate them.

I was slapped upside the head with a heavy dose of stupid by my friend's mother (who also happens to be the Queen of Urban Legends and Right Wing Propaganda)
when her granddaughter showed an interest in them.

She inferred that by relocating BR's, I am dooming other people who will surely be bitten by these vicious creatures (even though I release them far from human habitation).

The woman claims that her aunt was attacked by a great horde of BR spiders, lay unconscious in her cellar until her son found her several days later, was hospitalized for months and
was never "right" again.







I started to explain that different types of venom are used by different spiders but gave up when I saw her eyes glaze over.

So, would you have continued?

Are you guys permanent kill-joys or do you consider the time spent with friends and family "off duty"?



Oh, and here's a close up of Junior (dial-up warning!):




and one from our outdoor photo shoot:




Isn't he awesome?