What do the High Elves really think of Men?

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

Is it racist not to be intrested in other races/nations/ethnic groups?

I think that it can be, particularly in the terms in which it is expressed by Lindir. Not only is he is disinterested in mortals, but he admits to being unable to tell them apart. The suggestion, to my mind, is that he considers himself, as an Elf, superior to mortals. They are not worth getting to know. Heck, they are not even worth the bother of spending time to understand their differences. And surely, when a member of one race regards himself as superior to another race as a direct result of the difference between the two races, that is the very definition of racism.

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I think Lindir's words (and Gildor's similar speech to Frodo) were more an admission of the inability of the Elves ultimately to understand mortals

That may well be true of Gildor (and I am by no means suggesting that all Elves were racist), but I think that Lindir goes further. He is not just saying that he does not understand mortals. He is saying that he does not consider them worth understanding. He has 'other business' which is obviously far more pressing.

Originally Posted by Rune

For a conservative, International Socialists and International Marxist Tendency might seem alike, but to some socialists they seem like night and day.

For a conservative, Internationalist Socialists and International Marxist Tendency are both sorely misguided, just in slightly different ways ...