I followed you because of the things you wrote. The rep doesn't mean much once you realize that a negative rep isn't the result of community disapproval per sé, but often the result of revenge flagging. Someone with a high positive rep could also possibly be described as a coward with money and multiple accounts.

As you've stated before, having a negative rep is actually a great tool to gain a select following of folks whose curiosity goes beyond labels imposed by others.