What is unfortunate about this is that Alan is clearly in need of friends, but his abrasive manner would certainly be off-putting to the people around him. So he has to ask random strangers for feedback on his writing instead of his friends.

America used to be more tolerant of this kind of social stupidity. In an earlier time, Alan could have found many friends among his community. For lack of better things to do, these friends would have filed off his rough edges and given him probably-bad, but well-meaning advice on his writing, which would have helped him out much more than this journal article will.

But no, all of our dance cards are full, it's so difficult to find meaningful relationships in our daily lives. The socially adept can easily insulate themselves from the unwashed masses and never have to learn how to respond appropriately to someone like that. So recluses become even more reclusive, hiding away in their rooms and developing this kind of ego complex. So very sad.