How to Alienate Your Readers

I guess I really don't explain myself that well.

I just wanted to clear up my last post.  When I had the idea to write it, I originally just wanted to say that I felt like some people weren't exactly getting what I was trying to convey in my posts.  And then I got a comment on one of my YouTube videos that I felt really missed the mark.  I do a lot of videos on weight loss but I never made a video explaining my background with my weight.  I'm not just a guy that woke up overweight.  It's been a life long struggle.  And in the video, I was merely talking about my history with being a fatty and how it's impacted my life.  Someone commented that "crying over being fat" wasn't going to help me out.  They missed the point of the video.  It wasn't me crying over being fat.  It was me just saying, "Hey, this is my history of living with being big and this is what it's done to me."  So, I suppose my distaste for that comment fueled the post to go in a different, more defensive direction.

The truth is, I love comments and I'd hate to know I scared anyone away from reaching out to me.  It's great to know I moved someone enough to respond to what I've said or written.  And I especially like it when the comments are supportive or create some kind of connection.  I even welcome comments that disagree with what I've said or comments that give me constructive criticism, as long as they are written with respect toward me and my views.  I'm not always right and I'm no where near perfect so I might occasionally write something that someone strongly disagrees with or something that might be out of line.  I don't mind different points-of-view.  In fact, I love it.  You learn more that way.  But when people leave comments telling me I'm "bitter, judgmental and preachy" or when they say "You annoy the hell out of me" (these are real comments that I've gotten), how is that constructive for anyone?

What I'm trying to say is please don't hesitate to comment me.  Agree, disagree, praise or challenge me, that's fine.  But just don't say things like "You suck" or "You're a loser," especially when your basing your opinion on something you probably don't understand.  I mean, if I were to write an post chronicling the adventures of me flashing my johnson at old, unsuspecting ladies down at the Winn-Dixie, relayed my coprophilia fetish or admitted that I am a fan of Justin Bieber's music, then sure, you definitely have the right to tell me I'm going to burn in hell.  But when I'm trying to figure myself out, when I'm at my most vulnerable, when I'm trying to reach out through ruminations, it's not the best time to point out my shortcomings.  Yes, maybe I am a jerk and a screw up but when you say those things, you aren't helping me to get better, you're just kicking me when I'm down.  You're not being helpful.  You're being hurtful.

I hope that cleared up some of the confusion?  As I said, it's not even the comments I get on Blogger.  I don't even get that many comments on Blogger!  And the ones I do get are always very kind.  So, if you are reading my blog here, then I'm not even talking about you so don't worry!  You're good.

And I'm bad.  I know this.

So there's no need to point it out.