I'm a middle-aged white liberal male. I'm also a home care aide (pretty much a CNA). I understand the life, and I've been calling for universal health care since you were - *checks your age* - in elementary school. Here's something to remember: think about how much you've learned since you were born. That (plus a bit) is how much I've learned since I was your age. This doesn't mean you're always wrong, not by a long shot. It just means that some of us have learned lessons you've yet to learn.

I apologize for those who have been rude and deeply inconsiderate of you. I do not, however, apologize for my own comments, for I do strive to keep my criticisms constructive.

That last sentence is key. It would be a mistake to write off the criticisms of all men as "mansplaining", and it is certainly a mistake to ignore constructive criticism, regardless of the sex of the critic in question. For instance, I despise libertarianism...but the criticism I received from debating a couple particularly strong libertarians (one was the national leader of the Republican Liberty Caucus) forced me to up my game, as it were.

In other words, just as it's extremely hard for a good chess player to improve if she never loses, it's very hard for a writer (or any other walk of life) to improve without criticism...even from those we don't like.

You've got literary skill and great passion, and those can carry you a long way. Just don't be so quick to dismiss the criticisms of those who may be from certain demographic groups. Instead, listen to the ones who are respectful, but whose questions are most difficult to answer (and no, I'm not assuming that I would qualify as such).