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I have an estranged, exceedingly unattractive and mentally ill cousin. He is a middle aged man who lives in his parent’s attic. He beats off for internet porn websites, in hopes of becoming a successful porn star. He is confused as to why he isn’t successful. I’ll make it real simple: Because nobody wants to see that shit. NOBODY. WANTS. TO. SEE. THAT. SHIT. His sister is a mentally ill woman who desperately wants to be famous, and her shining achievement in life is going on CNN as a member of AntiFa.

I bring this up, because during Mouse’s Ear Memoirs, I have accumulated an ever growing collection of losers who want me to change in some way, as though I am not already awesome. Sometimes they collect, communicate, collaborate— scabs, strip club owners, estranged relatives, underachievers, Recovery Center Fat Ladies who run ineffective programs. These people want me to grovel if make mistakes, as though they have one over on me. I’m not without my regrets. Here are some of them:

I regret not contacting Child Protective Services as a girl and becoming legally emancipated early on in life.

I regret not suing more strip clubs.

I regret not audio recording more exploitative owners, managers, scab coworkers, and their dealers.

I regret not doing more.

My advice to anybody else doing labor activism or any other kind of activism, is to know that your haters will collect in globs, gather with pitchforks, and that just comes with the territory. It means you are winning, so keep going. You’re awesome.