I have had so many people tell me, over the course of my adult life: “I wish I could hate you, and sometimes I do”

Mostly these are people who have never met me, or people I rarely see

Please stop saying this to me, whoever you are

I just think this is a strange thing to say to someone

And for god’s sake maybe sometimes it hurts my feelings to be told that, even if it feels good to say it to me