...Sometimes people just need a bad guy, Albinia. It's nothing you did, not personally, but they need someone to be angry at so they can move forward. Nobody ever wants to be it, nobody ever wants to be thought of that way and nobody deserves it. In time, they'll understand who they're really mad at... The person who puts themselves out there inevitably gets the blame, but having something to prove to them... Don't do it for those reasons. For what you want people to think of you. Do it because you sincerely want to help, do it because it's what you believe in, do it because it's the right thing to do, but if you focus on doing things because you need to prove something to them you'll never be happy.