Normally I agree with you, iamheather, but I can vividly recall a little nature outing to Union County, IL about 10 years ago where passiveness would have been better. My friends and I were there to look for different various species of trees and animals. One of my friends got mud all over his hands and arms, so he found a small pool of water to rinse them off. About four feet to his left was a fairly large cottonmouth , obviously very agitated by this disurbance. My friend jumped back about 10 feet after spotting it. Unfortunately, this area must have been snake central, because slithering out from behind a tree was another cottonmouth, just a couple yards away. If you aren't of the temperment of the cottonmouth, let's just say it is probably the most assertive/agressive of the venomous snakes in America. Both of them hissed and showed their fangs. We pounded our feet on the ground and baritone yelling, to no avail. The snakes stood their ground. My friend figured rinsing off his arms wasn't all that important, so we left.
