I'm with you, I like free. I'm also not interested in super lightweight, several-thousand-dollar bikes. My old MTB works just fine, off-road, on-road, or wherever. That said, I have nothing against roadies, or anyone else, for just preferring the way they ride over the way I ride. It's their business, their choice.
I do get amused by those who seem to look down their noses at those who ride something different than themselves. I have a friend, an old roommate, who refused to road-ride with me because she was ashamed to be seen with me on my MTB. She has a very expensive carbon road bike, but I don't remember the brand right now. This was not an assumption on my part, she actually came right out and said it. It only makes me laugh, in the same way I laughed at Andre Agassi when he said, "Image is everything."
But roadies don't have a corner on that kind of attitude. I have another friend, a tourer like me, who rides a bike similar to mine, who refused to tour with another couple of friends of mine because "they're roadies." And take a look around outside of the cycling world - that kind of attitude is everywhere. Motorcyclists, RVers, and, of course, car enthusiasts. Some people, apparently, need something tangible to make them feel superior to others. It never fails to amuse me.