I received my first hate email

When I was a journalist, and more particularly a columnist for a newspaper, there was a general consensus among us writers that you did not achieve success until you had created a hate list. Not people that you hate, but people who hate you.

That's right. When you write a column, there is no hope that you will not infuriate someone.

Of course we really didn't LIKE hate email, or hate letters to the editor, it was just something we had to learn to accept.

And just because people hate you for your opinion is not reason to stop writing your opinion.

As the Great philosopher Ben Franklin once wrote, "no two people agree on any one issue." He was right there. And for that matter, even when you are the nicest writer in the world as I am, you still generate a hate list.

That in mind, I have written a post almost daily on this blog for a year, and I may have irritated a few by my opinions, but never enough so that someone outright wrote me a hate email. But, to my delightment, that streak has come to an end. It took me a year, but I finally frustrated somone into sending me a hate email.

The email said (name deleted to protect my hater):

"Because of this post I am no longer reading your blog."

The post he was referring to was the one I wrote about how I don't think the fed should make it mandatory that people should get vaccinated.

It's my opinion. Everything on this blog is basically my opinion. It's my blog. This is what I do for entertainment. While I try to fill this blog with facts, many of the facts are as I see it -- that's my opinion.

And thus I have finally infuriated someone enough that they now hate my blog and will never read it again. How cool is that? Sure I made an effort to keep him as a reader because that's just how I am.

But I also don't think people come to my blog thinking you are going to hear things that you read in the newspaper every day. People don't read my blog because I'm going to agree with everything doctor's say and do. They don't come here to get the same ole politics you get from hospital administrations.

What you get here is the humble perspective from the RT Cave. Sure, some doctors might be offended by some of what I write, but isn't my humble honesty a good thing in the end?

If a doctor does something that every person thinks is idiotic, stupid and useless, don't you think they should be able to read about it someplace, even though no one will ever tell it to her face. Hence my RT humor section.

But any doctor who reads my blog with an open heart and an open mind would come away a better doctor regardless of whether he heeds my Dr. wisdom.

Yet the guy or gal who wrote me this hate email was not a doctor, nor an administrator. In fact, I have no clue who he was (lol).

But come on guys and gals, this is a blog. Read my disclaimer please if you are afraid you are going to be offended by something I write. This blog is intended to be all in good humor. It's self entertainment -- as are most blogs. This is supposed to be for fun.

When I told my coworker about my hate email, she said, "If someone is that offended by what you write, why does she read opinions anyway. That person doesn't deserve to be reading your blog."

I suppose there is some truth to that, but I like people who disagree with me to read my blog. I like to get as many people reading my blog as possible, whether they agree with me or not. Isn't that what people read blogs for anyway, to hear the opinions of the author.

I don't intend on ticking people off, but if that happens that's just a part of life. And for a former journalist, it actually brings about some joy.