How do you deal with negative reactions about your reptile keeping?

[SeSmith]

It's pretty late here, and I got to pondering...how do you respond to negative reactions when people find out you keep snakes/any type of reptile or amphibian? I'm sure similar threads have appeared on here before, but I'm genuinely curious on how to deal with ignorant, or just straight-up rude remarks. Today an old (and obnoxious) "friend" from high school stopped by my apartment today with my best friend, Kels. When my old schoolmate, Lindsey, asked what I kept in the cages, I told her a blue tongue skink and a ball python. Not knowing what a skink was, she asked to see it. I obliged, and the moment I took her out, Lindsey shrieked "Uhhhmmm, that is DISGUSTING. You have a snake too? No wonder you're single!". Now, I've got a lot of flack in the past about owning reptiles, and it's never really bothered me...but this got to me. I believe owning ANY kind of animal isn't necessarily indicative of a person's personality, nor their dating potential.

Kels, who used to be deathly afraid of all reptiles, instantly defended me and the hobby, so it truly makes me happy to see people become so much more accepting of it once educated...but for those who aren't, how the heck do I respond to such remarks without tearing them a new one? It's difficult to try and educate someone on why I keep reptiles, or debunk the myths on why they're so misunderstood when they're incoherently babbling in fear/disgust. I'm just about to graduate with a Bio degree, and am fully anticipating on pursuing herpetology as a full-time career, so I know I'll be dealing with a lot of this in the future, and need to just shrug it off.