Haters is a term used for those who attack others which have gained some notoriety in a particular venture. I am considered a very successful blogger and writer so I am hated by some. I kind of consider it an achievement. If no one hates you, you haven’t done much in this life.

I have had more than a couple of “haters” who have left comments on my blog. Two of the haters I had to block and the other one asked me to take him off of my subscription list. I didn’t do that because anyone who is stupid enough not to know how to unsubscribe from my blog isn’t smart enough to understand me.

The first hater I had slyly came in as a friend. He accused his ex of being a narcissist. I can relate to that.

I sensed a danger though, when I read his comments. When he told me to pull one of my blog posts I went on the attack, making clear to him that he was not the administrator of my blog and had no editorial powers. He backed down and apologized.

He apparently lived in my area which was another concern for me. I write under a pen name to protect my ex. Although I don’t love him anymore I certainly don’t ever want to cause him any harm. I also write under a pen name for my own safety.

Then he located my profile on a dating site. He said I was “smoking hot”. I pulled all of my profiles down from the dating sites after that. (Haven’t missed them one bit either)

He told me which church he went to suggesting that I attend that church. I marked that down as one church I would never set foot in.

When I launched my advertising plan requesting companies to sponsor ad pages he crossed a line. He gave me unneeded business advice. I have several friends who are very successful business men and multimillionaires. I informed him that I already had acquaintances which could give me sound business advice and I didn’t need his. Then he flipped out and became verbally abusive. I blocked his IP address.

The other IP address I blocked I had tracked to see where it was located. It was clearly located at my ex-husband’s address. This entity had placed vile comments on my blog and I knew it was probably his third wife, who is to be pitied.

The other “hater” I remain grateful for. He has caused me to become a better writer. He pointed out that if I wrote in generalizations; instead of attacking specific people, who I thought had fallen off of the deep end, that I would have more power as a writer.

I am grateful to him even though he was the one who was so ignorant he could not figure out how to unsubscribe. I hope he hasn’t figure it out yet because I have learned how to write better do to his criticism and I am so grateful for his comment.

I grew up in a home where criticism was served as a meal every day with snacks of rejection in between meals. I learned to be defensive as a mode of self protection. It was a survival mechanism.

As I have become more confident in God I have been able to peel the layers off of criticism as one peels an onion and examine if there is any truth at the core. If I find truth it is no longer considered criticism but wisdom and I try always to learn from wisdom, even if it comes from a hater.