To Anonymous...

Listen, this is not a hate blog. I am not about to lower this wonderful thing that has helped me in the last few months into the trench of negativity that you seem to enjoy wallowing in.

I'm not. I did it once. I'm not going to do it again.

The purpose of this entry is mainly to say this: It's over. We are all adults here. The people who posted comments against you, Anonymous, are not just readers, but personal friends of mine. As harsh and profane as their words were, they were simply coming to my defense because that is what good friends do. And I know you know this. Because that is exactly what you are doing: you are defending a friend. And for that, I commend you. It's a very admirable quality to have, loyalty.

But in this case, it's completely unnecessary.

Look, I know who you are, okay? I'm not stupid (well, okay...I'm a little stupid at math, but that's beside the point). And if I'm wrong, at the very least, I know what you're about. If I were writing about anyone else, you wouldn't care. What I write, though, when I write about your friend, is not meant to be taken as an offense. It's simply me doing what I do: Writing as a form of healing. You (and your friend) have total control over whether or not you read my blog.

I really don't see what reason you have for being so hateful toward me. I don't know what your rationale is for calling me a "pussy" or telling me that I need to grow testicles when you are the one who is not owning up to your own mean-spirited remarks. And the fact is, you write these terrible, horrible things about me; judgments about who you think I am, what you think that I'm about. And the truth is this: You don't know me and you never will.

At this very moment in your life, there are three things that you need. You really need to grow up and let this one go. You also need to face the fact that I am going to write whatever I'm going to write and no matter what kind of silly, hateful comments you send my way, you will have absolutely, positively no control over that. None. Zero. Zilch. Lastly, you need to know that you are not going to tear me down. Ever.

What you may not know is that, all along, I've been using the comment modification feature on this blog of mine. For those not in the know, this feature lets you weed out comments you like and dislike by accepting them or rejecting them. Up until this point, I have accepted your comments, allowed them to stand.

That ends now.

So, write what you want to write, but unless you sign your name, Anonymous, I will not post your comment.

That's all I've got.