Mike Portnoy Hurt Opens Up

Mike seems to have been getting the brunt of sticks lately. While many sad, displaced fans are showing major depression over his leave, Mike sounds off on modern times

Portnoy: "I honestly have no idea how I am 'treating people like garbage lately' either????? I have tried to be as respectful, delicate and sensitive as possible.... If anything, I have been the one taking a beating left, right and center... my Facebook, Twitter and other websites have been completely taken over by angry fans (f*ck [AVENGED SEVENFOLD], f*ck you, etc etc)...people who have obviously not read my reasons and simply on the attack....



"You have NO IDEA how hard it is to watch thousands upon thousand of these posts... when I have given my heart and soul to these 'fans' for all these years... and I am more hurt than they are right now.... yet still, I bite my lip and try my best to continue to be as respectful, delicate and sensitive as possible.... I'm treating THEM like garbage lately????? I'm still baffled..."


[From fan's open letter] "Please take a higher road and don't come off so childish and immature and bitter! I don't care if I get banned for saying all this, but you can't justify acting irrationally while saying "this is my site, I say what I want" thing. I have never seen so many people in complete disagreement with something you have said before. Maybe it's a sign to sit back, unplug that Internet connection and really think about where you are as a person."



Portnoy: "I will indeed do this... Marlene [Mike's wife] and I have talked about this and I promised I was going to not read this stuff anymore and let it upset me... or chime in and post anymore either (she's probably gonna kill me for posting this!), but rather than NOT responding to this 'open letter' and be perceived as somehow being 'immature, bitter or childish,' I decided to bite the bullet one last time, respond and properly sign off before disappearing..."