tl;dr: Snakes haven't really evolved in a significant way in quite a long time. Over eons of evolution of mammals, snakes were a persistent danger to them, thus mammals, in general, are predisposed to fear of snakes. We can spot their slithering motion more than other small animals based on this evolutionary drive, and the phobias against them are deeply rooted in our genetic makeup.
It's not surprising that people tend to be have a rather polar bias with snakes; many give in to that primal fear and never overcome it while others are likely attracted to them for the very reason that they trigger such reactions deep in their minds, as well as the very fact that they are so very primitive yet seem so deadly.
I know the people who read this are not really a "typical" sample of the human population, but I'm curious as to people's reactions to snakes, so I'm going to try another poll. This one's even a bit shorter. Thanks again... It's interesting to see what this community thinks about this sort of thing.
EDIT: Replace the "snake" in the first answer to the last question with whatever animal applies.
What's your attitude toward small, harmless snakes (corn snakes, garter snakes, small pythons, etc...)
What about more dangerous ones, either large enough to be a risk to humans or venomous?
Imagine a world mostly human but with a small percentage of people being "animal morphs." You're the human you are now, and a large snake-creature (the typical "snake with arms" naga sort of character) moves in next door.
In the same world as above, the company who makes the "body morphs" to let you become the "animal people" is coming out with the new "naga" model, the "snake with arms" sort of creature. You can't QUITE afford it but it's not entirely out of reach. (This presumes the "morphs" would be common enough not to leave you unemployable, or too much of a freak.)
Just for comparison, in the same world, presume whatever species you are most interested in also has a similar "animal person" morph available. Same options as above, same condition that it wouldn't leave you unemployable.
