I had planned today to write about the warm feeling of meeting people from my "former life" in my new city. I'll have to reschedule. Nothing like breaking news to feed a new post. And nothing like a new post to vent and laugh about something otherwise upsetting.
So I got hate mail. Bah, what's new there, some will say? We read hate mail all day long on newspapers' blogs, opinion-based Web sites, and I have probably received hate mail once or twice at work. Except that it doesn't matter when you don't know the person and when you have enough distance to realize they're either racist or crazy or that they just hate the world in general.
My hate mail was personal.
I won't get into details, even though as a reader I would die to know more. Let's just say this is from someone I barely know, met just once I believe and who happens to be very insecure.
Hate mail, at least a good one, is like a multi-layer ice-cream that Ferran Adria would have crafted, I learned. You're so unprepared that the first impression is just surprise. Then you realize it's cold and it makes you wince. Immediately after comes this very bitter teste: what's wrong with this ice-cream? The bitterness lingers for a bit as you discover the other layers: incredulity, anxiety, and then, little by little, amusement.
That's when you start looking for the best excerpts, the ones you will keep in a corner of your mind to make friends and strangers laugh at parties. I already tested it on a few people today and that worked quite well. They couldn't believe, it made "ohs" and "ahs"and their reaction just keept me going.
They say laugh is the best arm against many things, including stupidity and that's true after all. When the text sounds like it's mid-way between a cheap teenage movie and a roman noir attempt, what else can you do?
That said, I like to diversify my good laughs. So one hate mail at a time, please.
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Hola amiga!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I've received one or two examples of hate mail myself - mine are normally connected to Dubai. Because I love the place for all its flaws I've been accused of being an apologist for Dubai and ignorant of the plight of construction workers, among other things. I know I'm not either of those things. You know me better. So I simply choose to ignore unfounded criticism from people who don't know me at all. I recommend you do the same - this person who wrote this to you obviously doesn't know you like we do. These people are not worth expending your energy on. Instead, write posts about subjects and people who are.
Muchos besos,
Lara