Another thing...Why did the elves not fight?

[The Saucepan Man]

One more thing that interests me however is when Essex mentioned "Kinslaying". What did she mean?

I would recommend that you read the Silmarillion, Etharius. I don't want to spoil the story for you. But if you really can't wait, try doing a search for "Kinslaying" on this forum.

The points concerning the Elves' involvement in the War of the Ring, and indeed their struggle with first Morgoth and later Sauron throughout the histroy of Middle-earth, are well-made.

But I would tend to agree with Essex when he says:

I believe they were HIGHLY stuck up, and had a 'holier than thou' attitude.

They may not have been superior to Men in the eyes of Eru (or even in fact), but I do think that the Elves had a tendency to regard themselves as such, particularly in the First Age. The Elf lords patronised Men by giving them under-lordships within Elven lands. They also seemed to regard Men as mere cannon (canon? ) fodder to be sacrificed in their wars against Morgoth's forces. Turgon, for example, was quite happy to leave the people of Hurin and Huor to almost certain death (or capture) to cover the retreat of his people at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (even though most of his people would have lived at least ten times as long as those who sacrificed themselves for them). And some clearly despised Men. While his views are no doubt the exception rather than the rule, I am sure that Saeros was not alone in regarding them as little more than wild beasts.

I am by no means an Elf-hater. I would most certainly acknowledge their great and valiant deeds, their wisdom and their creativity. Their First Age attitude to Man notwithstanding, they clearly had a beneficial influence on the development of the Edain (or those that remained after helping out the Elves in their little spat with Morgoth ). But I do think that we must recognise, on a general level, that Elves did display the character flaw that Essex highlights.