Oh no! I don’t want to turn anyone off of them. Obviously many people love them, including my mom, who never succeeded in passing that love onto me.
Nor do I! They are a cherished treat for millions! I’m not in any way disparaging anyone else’s choice to eat them and love them. Just that your descriptor clinched it for me. As I said, my issues with them arose out of an entirely different background. 
Clearly, you were not raised as Blue Crab.
Blue crabs eat almost anything, including clams, oysters, mussels, smaller crustaceans, freshly dead fish, plant and animal detritus—and smaller and soft-shelled blue crabs.
Dungeness all the way, baby! 
But I’m not sure we are any more discerning than Blue crabs in our gastronomic choices. 
I love oysters of any type, but agree that the biggest bellies can have an off-putting sploosh if you chew them wrong. I have the same complaint about cherry tomatoes.
It will be at least a decade before i feel safe eating American filter feeders again though. With the death of the clean water act and firing of FDA inspectors, i see no reason to believe they are safe. Even if protections were put back in place tomorrow, i’d want to wait five years before eating them again.
:pout:
Don’t forget about Rhode Island clam chowder, for the purists. Or Long Island clam chowder for the indecisive.
Mmmm, dungeness Crab.
Do I miss raw oysters. The last couple of times I ate them, they disagreed violently with me, from both ends. Mr. brown, eating from the same batches, was not bothered at all, so I must have developed a sensitivity to them. Well, at least I can eat them cooked in an oyster stew.
I’m not sure why I have no problems getting my head around eating mussels and clams (which I enjoy) but oysters just scare me in some way. I am fine with raw foods (assuming properly done like sushi).
Huh. I think oysters are milder and sweeter than clams and mussels.