Ern was going to get into what other people thought and how other people worked in general. That people aren't hating him for no reason whatsoever. "Is that what you want? People hating you?"
And Ern was going to retort in his usual manner, in stating that his friends didn't need to be reminded of the basics of human decency. He felt as if he were speaking to some impetuous teenager. "Well fine then," he replied, resisting the urge to point out that it was stupid to live life the way he was--resisting any sort of help that any reasonable friend would offer.