How to Burn Bridges and Become an Impregnable Fortress of Hatred

I've been asked on several occasions how to successfully ignore individuals who seek to cause you emotional pain. "Jay, how do I stop caring about people who say mean things about me" - I suppose that, since I have made it my job or, at least, a hobby, to spit verbal bile on a near-weekly basis, some people get the idea that I'm somehow immune to shit-talkers and those who dislike me.

This is true.

Youtube isn't competitive. The only contests that exist are ones we either manufacture for ourselves, or enter into voluntarily. As I said in my video earlier this week: ultimately, we're just making stupid stuff for strangers to look at. Due to the anonymity of the internet, as well as the almost 100% control one has over the content they produce (unless they're a sellout...I'll return to that point shortly), and the wide accessibility of that content, we get the opportunity to be as intimate or as extrinsic with our fans/viewers as we like. Real life isn't nearly this customizable, but the defensive skills I've honed (a word which I very much hate) in my experience with making videos are transferable. With that in mind I thought I'd provide a list of things that've enabled me to actively badmouth people while remaining unfazed when I'm given the same treatment.

• Stop making unimportant things important. Without disclosing too much about how much success I've had thus far, I can assure you that the videos I make are about a 80:20 split between self-enjoyment and actual financial success. If I were a "creator" for any reason other than because I like doing it, I would've quit years ago. It's not lucrative for me; it's a source of personal entertainment. As with anything one does purely for oneself, whether or not it's a big deal to others shouldn't be a priority. THIS IS TRUE OF ANY ARTISTIC ENDEAVOUR. If you're creating, you should do it for yourself, and not with the hopes that others will enjoy it, or even give a shit. At least that way, it's a pleasant surprise when you become recognized for your effort. I appreciate every minute that any stranger has wasted watching my videos, and the reason I appreciate it is because I don't expect it to happen. The only opinion you truly have to live with is your own, so the important thing is to do what you can to make sure your opinion of yourself one you can live with (be it high or low). Negative words from outside sources are of little consequence when you're old and alone. STOP CARING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF YOU. Consequently...
• Lower your fucking expectations. This'll be short. If you suspect that whatever you're doing is going to be a monumental disaster, you'll be elated when it turns out better than that; more often than not, it will. Similarly, if you imagine that your public image is generally garbage, any time you receive any kind of support or appreciation, you'll pay greater attention to it than if you think you deserve it like a pretentious cock juggler. People who believe that they are in any way entitled to anything are the worst kind of people. You're entitled to food, oxygen, and a rectum that isn't currently being raped. Anything else should be treated as a bonus.
• Frequently welcome hate from all sources. The vitriol I blast out into the internet puts me in a position where I'm basically begging to be hated by everyone. Any reputation I've accrued over my time on Youtube is one of and relating to bitterness, negativity and worthlessness. I go out of my way to generate umbrage. I'm like a perpetual motion machine that, instead of energy, creates an ocean of frowning faces. Insensitivity is my wheelhouse. The creators of South Park once said that they could get away with anything, because if someone is offended by their content, another person will check them immediately by saying, "Well, it is South Park. What else do you expect?" Toby Turner's main channel is a mess of promotional advertisements disguised as actual content and the fact that he has a television show about a fictional character who is experiencing real life as if it is real boggles my fucking mind and I wouldn't complain if he had a heart attack or something equally detrimental to his health. Matthew Santoro is a short bald man whose girlfriend is a Yes-Man in a woman's body and her job appears to be nothing more than repeating what he says until she forgets what words mean. -- I can say these things because my social status is DECREPIT ON PURPOSE. The easiest way to overcome hate speech is to accept it. Bathe in it. Internalize it and return it productively. NOT POSITIVELY, mind you. I mean...you can if you want. I don't control you. But I prefer my way. In addition...
• Wholeheartedly believe that you're garbage and love every second of it. Again, I don't control you, and this strategy isn't for everyone. Some people are ill-equipped to handle having a negative opinion of themselves. Sensitive people will have a hard time embracing self-loathing. However, living in a metaphorical pit frees one up to do almost anything they want with no fear of any kind of effective repercussion. You can't say anything to me that will hurt my feelings, because I do not have any feelings to hurt. The darkest jokes are the ones that make me smile the widest. Definitely when they're about others and especially when they're about myself. Self-deprecation is the greatest way to develop a skin so thick that dragons will be calling you and asking to make armor from your hide.

The real bottom line here is that being shit on doesn't matter (unless you're literally being shit on because that is probably the worst. Unless you like that, in which case you're a sick fuck and get out of here) unless you allow it to. It's easy to ignore - even embrace - hate from all sources. The only person you have to answer to is yourself, and if you can do that with contentment, you'll be fine. If not, that's all you have to work on. Forget the rest.

As one of my favourite bands ever so eloquently put: "Lower your standards to lower than they have ever been before. When you start laughing in the middle of a horrible, mind numbing, financially devastating, morbidly depressing and pathetic situation, you are living at the top when you're at the fucking bottom."