As with anything that people are immediately offended by or scared of, the initial reaction is not something we can control. Owning snakes is not the thing about me that the general population finds difficult do handle, and I don't mean that as a joke. The reaction I get for owning snakes is VERY mild in comparison with some people, and I am ashamed of neither.
I think the secret is being confident. There's no reason to be rude to people who are being rude to us. That does not fix anything. We need to acknowledge it, and show that snakes make us happy. When people ask about my snakes, I like to respond by telling them "Ya, they're a great pet. I like them a lot", with a smile, and if people tell me that they hate snakes, I explain that there are TONS of people that feel that way, and it is very normal, but often a little exposure to them helps people overcome that. I mean, even my mother learned to love snakes.
Anyways, I don't know how old you are or anything, but I think that it gets easier to deal with over time. Just don't let it get to you and always wear a smile.
(Just for the record, I have the best family and extended family in the world so if my relatives stopped coming over because of my snakes, I don't know what I would do!)