You know you’ve arrived when you start getting the hate mail. That’s not a joke. I knew this blog was going in the right direction when I started getting (mostly anonymous) hate mail.  And of course, I get the comments from “fans” of any guru (or guru’s book) I happen not to like.

In those letters I’ve been told that:

• I have no business blogging (as if there is some special qualification to blog)
• I’m a nobody with no money (they must have telepathically looked in my bank account)
• I am someone who believes in  doctors and the medical community and not “natural” products (no kidding!… don’t they read my blog?)
• I have no right to blog (is blogging a right?)

I have also been referred to as:

• A hater
• A negative thinker
• A dream stealer

Some adjectives used to describe me:

• Close-minded
• Jealous
• Stupid
• Hateful
• Mean-spirited

The list goes on and on.

Mind you, I don’t take this personally.  What’s funny is that I had to check the IP addresses because I thought they were coming from the same person.  You see, all my hate mail follows a pattern.

The common thing I see from the hate mailers is :

• they’re anonymous
• their English is unintelligible
• they never contradict what I say, they are only angry at what I said (for example, The Secret is great..how can you say it’s wrong!)
• when I make fun of scamming tactics, fans of a guru are upset because I am talking about their guru—even though I never mentioned any guru by name (and in some cases, never even heard of the guy)

And guess what?  I love it.  I love it because you know that you are writing something meaningful and bold when you start getting hate mail.   I like having spirited exchanges.

Unfortunately, most of these e-mails are not good exchanges.  It’s just some person who is angry because I disagree with their guru or philosophy or didn’t like a book that supposedly changed their life.  And I find it amusing because my blog is more humor-oriented.  I mean if they thought I was mean, they should go visit the Salty Droid.

But that’s the way it works.

I am writing about my hate mail because some people I know are uncomfortable getting hate mail or any critical comments.  In their blogs, they never take a stand or if they do take a stand, they’ll back down the minute someone criticizes them.  But I look at hate mail and criticism as a compliment.

At least people care about what you’re writing about.  It’s when they don’t care that your blog fades into obscurity.