I posted this at the beginning of an article a few weeks ago but I’m re-posting it as a note here so I can link back to it. And also because the hate keeps piling on!

Since starting the series (Why I Left the US and Won’t Ever Return, link below), I've been getting a lot of hateful comments.

They surprised me, though they really shouldn't have. Thankfully I've "been around the block" (I'm almost 60 after all) and don't take any of it personally because in truth, it's not about me at all.

I want to state (for the record LOL) that I don't hate the US. I love my country and if I could have stayed, I would have.

But I couldn't, for the reasons I'm delving into in these articles, so I left. It's quite simple actually.

I'm not a hater anyway, it's not really in my nature. And if others are haters and they derive pleasure from lashing out at strangers, so be it.

I simply report all hate speech to Substack (and I have received quite a bit), block and move on.

But… I think it's interesting to note—both for those who deliver this vitriol, and for me… that it's having the opposite effect.

I've found that it's giving me massive amounts of energy and oodles of encouragement to keep writing about this topic. I think the reasons are twofold:

1. If I can elicit so much emotion in a complete stranger, I feel I must be doing something right.

2. People want to know about this topic, even if it's just to hate on it.

***the article that started it all: