Heh. Dealing with these people isn't a problem for me. If you can say something nice, i will be the benevolent teacher and retain as much facts as i can for you. Usually these people come stalking me two weeks later with alot of lotr Merch. in hand, saying that "you're my muse!". one word: frighting
. but, expectible.
For the others that are not so nice... i try reverse psychology to see actually how much they really know. Usually many of my lotr friends are there, waiting for their response. Most people fluster, then ask why they were wrong. Then i pull the old "read the book before movie" speech. Hopefully, they will. Once someone (who said the Tolkien was a drug-inflenced loser of a writer
Ah! I know!) under my ploy finally admitted that they did read at least one of his books, and found it a wonderful read.
I've heard from other lotr fans or their reactions anyway, that liking harry potter or at least enjoying the series is "Baaaad"... i can't really see this, since most of my friends are devote Tolkien fans but, they enjoy J.K. Rowling's work. It's like (in my opinion) as if we have split into three different sub-species: 1. the one and only un-adulturated true fan (the puritans of the group) 2. the fans who also enjoy other works of fantasy (ex. Harry Potter series, Earthsea Series <- this series is pre-tolkien publication next to tolkien, my favortie) 3. the movie-Tolkien-textbook goers... the only conclusion that i have been able to come to why some fans of tolkien dislike HP is that they view it as if the author is trying to steal some of tolkien's "magic". i don't know this for sure though, i wouldn' t call myself one of this sub-species.
hope i haven't bore you all to death.
~Ka~