Hello Eisel,
I have been watching your channel for a long time. I am writing to you about videos you made earlier this year. In them, you have been asking for help and quite sure no one would reach out to you. 'Should you move to Japan? Should you learn Spanish?' You say people are dismissive and hurtful to you. Your emotion was like a wave off the screen. It actually made me pretty nervous to write to you, and I've written this draft months ago and just held onto it.
I want to explain why I did not respond more promptly. I am just a private person, not anyone special. Not an influencer. No channel. You get it. I see how you put influencers and commenters on blast. I did not want that happening to me. I am writing to you from an email that I made just for this purpose.
If I feel this way about you, why do I even watch your channel? Seems like I would just blacklist you in my mind, right? Well, your philosophies have had a huge impact on me. including veganism, pet ownership, atheism, drug and alcohol use. All of it.
Let me tell you a story about someone I knew once. Her story as I know it resonates with what I know about you. I was on my local town council. The Mayor of that council had been serving for many years, both as a council member and several terms as mayor. I came to see that she was usually right on every issue facing the town. Like every single time.
For example, our town is bisected by a large highway, and crossing it is a hazard for town members. It also separates the town community. The good side, the bad side, etc. Every so often a new town resident proposes that the town "underground" the highway. To make a tunnel. "It would be so wonderful" they say. "Both sides of the town could freely connect. We should form a committee."
According to the Mayor, this had already been studied twice under her various tenures and been shown to be very expensive. Far and away more than the town could afford, or even fund by other means. She was so frustrated at the thought of yet another round of proposals and research. So she broke the tie to deny the committee. In making her arguments, she publicly humiliated the new resident. The Mayor did use some very harsh language to embarrass the resident. IMO, that language was probably necessary to win the argument. That resident took it upon themselves to start an angry campaign against the mayor and she lost her reelection bid. Just one year later she moved out of the town and to a different area of the country entirely. (I was also kicked out in the same anti-incumbent fervor and because I am probably not suited to be a politician. So it was for the best.)
I feel that her story reminds me of you. Here's why: I find that you are almost always right on every issue. Even when I was 100% opposed to start. I wonder if sometimes that "rightness" leads you to say and do things on your platform and other socials that hugely offend and anger. As I have been quietly watching your channel for more than 5 years, I am surprised that you do not have a massive following. I would be willing to dialogue with you on how to solve this. But that is not at all my reason for writing. I wrote because I feel indebted to you.
Anyway, you do not have to answer. I am not really looking for an answer. Just to convey this story. And to thank you for the impact you have had on my thinking.
Respectfully,
__________
