Do blokes 'break up' with other dudes? Meaning: cancel the friendship? I have, several in the last couple years. Most were long term friends, several years or more. Good friends. Let's discuss:
- Friend 1:
- Chums since the 90s. Often hosted me at his house when I travelled to his city. Meditates, exercises, has done an Ayahuasca trip to the Peru jungle 10 years ago. Big, impressive library, many topics. Ergo, he's an actual deep thinker.
- Reason for cancel: he's a Fox 'news' addict. Starts his day with it. This I know from his gf who confided in me and is exact opposite. How they stay together is beyond me. Anyhoots, our last exchange a year ago or so was over sms, him accusing me of 'being brainwashed.' This is someone who watched Lou Dobbs, Tucker, et al, aka the zombie horde, for years.
- Try to appreciate the irony of an infected zombie accusing another of being uninformed.
- Friend 2:
- Chums since the 90s also.
- Reason for cancel: His communication style is what I call 'conversation competition.' Ergo, mention your cousin just won a swimming race, he instantly launches into: "my neighbor/friend/client has a kid who's the state swimming champ in Nebraska." Pick any topic, and he has to top it somehow, some way, with some random acquaintance's accomplishment in that topic.
- Another reason is his frequent commentary, & in fact jokes, related to bathroom activities. And why he thinks it's ok to share these details. Why he thinks I or anyone would be interested in this. Dude.
- Another related reason is that he talks incessantly, telling stories that I've expressed no interest in. Or have no context to anything.
- Friend 3:
- Chums since we were teens. Good friends actually, one of my besties.
- Reason for cancel: on 2 separate occasions he's accused me of doing something unspecific with his wife. I've met his wife maybe 10 times in my life, each time with him right there. There's zero reason, evidence, nothing. It's all in his head. I eventually found this too offensive to be accused of this idiocy.
- Friend 4:
- Chums for a few years.
- Reason for cancel: he talked incessantly about weed, CBD, edibles, being high, getting high, etc. I'm not 17. Nor do I partake anymore, which he's fully aware of.
- Friend 5:
- Chums for a few years.
- Reason for cancel: mainly over his temper issue. Partly from complaining incessantly about his ex-girlfriend. Mostly over an outburst pointed at me when I called him on his bullshit, which nobody apparently ever does. That was on the eve of a 2 week road trip. In hindsight, fortunately as I dropped out (and heard later it was a cluster).
- The final time I saw him, after a full year break after the temper outburst, which I forgave him for; was at my house. He showed up wanting to use the crapper (we were gonna do bike ride together). This was in fall 2020, full on rona everywhere. I said hella no, you're not coming inside, nobody comes inside. Go use the petrol station a few blocks away. And that was that.
- Friend 6:
- Chums for 20+ years.
- Reason for cancel: an out-of-town weekend visit at his winter rental. I had tickle in my throat the day prior & during visit but no other symptoms other than fatigue & boredom. Get home, the next day I'm def sick. Day after, sicker, take a rona test, it's negative. Send him pic of neg test as a form of good news.
- His reply: if you did have the rona I was going to fly to your town buy a gun drive to your house and shoot you in the head.
So there you have all six that merit a mention. Jelly?
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ps interesting blurb re male friendship difficulties.