In Defense of Me

In the aftermath of the Retractions article, in which I addressed some semi-literate e-mail about how I'm a bad person for saying negative things about Lizzie McGuire, I got a bunch more mail. Despite the fact that I publicly, if not convincingly, retracted everything I ever said about the Liz, people are continuing to persecute me.

First of all, this cryptic thing:

Excuse me, i would appreciate it if you wouldnt put your feeling s about me in writing for the world to see, thank you!
~***Hilary***~

Is it really from Hilary Duff, TV's Lizzie, or just a self-righteous fan trying to appeal to my guilt? Does it really matter? I never said anything at all about Hilary Duff or any of the cast or crew involved in the production of Lizzie McGuire. I criticized the show itself. The only people who have any right to be insulted are the writers, directors, producers, etc., and they're undoubtedly used to bad press, especially bad press on a random unaccredited website that nobody reads.

Anyway, about a million people put "I Love Hilary Duff" websites out there for the world to see, and I bet she doesn't mind about that. Even if she does, she's going to have a hell of a job getting rid of them. If the e-mail really IS from Hilary Duff, she ought to realize that being an actress means you'll get some press about you. Or rather, you'll get some press about the show you're on, which you'll mistakenly think is about you. And you have to be careful not to let it get to you.

If the e-mail ISN'T from Hilary Duff, she ought to be ashamed of herself for impersonating her. That's immoral.

The next e-mail:

Hi. I just read your lizzie review, and I understand you're a critic and it's your job, but don't you think you were a little harsh? I am webmaster of Hilaryduff.com and president of her fan club, so I may be bias, but it seemed a little over hatred. When was this review written? Also, may I ask how old you are? Because I know it probably isn't your kind of show if your not 9-14. But I just wanted to say that I respect your review, but it just seemed unfair to the readers, who are probably of a younger audience that the show is meant for. Thank you for your time.

I have several points I wish to make in an orderly and GRAMMATICAL fashion.

You're right, I am a critic. It's not my job, but that's not the point. The thing is that people have different opinions. Sometimes you agree with them, and sometimes you don't. When you don't, you forget about it, because one person's opinion about something which they post on the Internet doesn't actually affect anyone. While I appreciate the respectful attitude of this e-mail, I think it's pretty screwed up that everyone's getting so defensive about it.
I have no evidence to back this up, but it is my guess that the readers of this website, for the most part, are gen-X-y nerd boys between the ages of 17 and 23. Like I said before, you'd think fans of the show would refrain from reading and article that's obviously negative, from the first sentence. I don't see why I can't post my opinions on something that's aimed at people younger than me.
May I ask if English is your first language?

It's important to note that this same person sent me a second email. The first e-mail was respectful, and if English really is this guy's second language, there's no reason not to return that respect. However:

Here's a review of the show from Variety Magazine, a respected entertainment magazine read by every entertainment professional in Los Angeles. So if you ever want to be a real journalist, read this and take notes, cuz you aren't going to go anywhere if you bash the hell out of every good thing you see that you don't like.

After that there was a review he cut and pasted or something. Okay, now the gloves are coming off.

AGAIN. Different people have, believe it or not, DIFFERENT OPINIONS. Some people think something is good, and some people think it is bad.
There's no grand high authority that says whether something is good or bad, not even Variety Magazine. Good for you if they happen to agree with you, but another critic's opinion is still another critic's OPINION. You can't wave it in my face and say "See? I'm right."
Critics aren't necessarily more successful and respected if they're positive all the time. If they are, it's only because of corruption in the industry. Do you see what I mean? Being positive and being a good critic are two entirely separate things.
The reason I'm not a respected journalist has nothing to do with my disagreeing with Variety Magazine.
Where do you get off threatening my journalistic career, anyway?
Who said I even wanted to be a journalist?
"Cuz"? "CUZ"? Okay, now I'm SURE he's not legitimate.
And I'm pretty sure he's not foreign, either, just uneducated.
He'll never make it as a real journalist.

- Laura