UNFORGIVEN

I made this animated gif a while back, as a goof on a friend I had at the time. Funny how prescient it was.

An updated version:

We tried. We gave up.

Bobby Boblick has a new posse. Because his old one officially got fed up with him.

Some might think it's harsh to sever a friendship so dispassionately. People will pat poor Bobby on the back and commiserate with things such as, "You were all such good friends, why can't they just forgive you?"

For those in the know, or half in the know, or for the Constant Readers who know nothing about Bobby Boblick except for the silly jabs I've posted here...

... if I were to graphically detail all the shitty things he's actually done in the past year, you'd be amazed the guy has ANY friends left. Amazed that the ones who've just cut him off stayed with him as long as they did. Amazed that the girl who's currently dating him is still dating him.

Why can't we just forgive him?

Because he's done nothing to earn forgiveness.

In fact, it seems like he's spent just about all of 2011 proving that he SHOULD NOT BE FORGIVEN.

He will spin the truth, bend the truth, flat out lie. He will make a thousand excuses for not responding to you. (Work's busy! My phone's fucked up! My head's fucked up!) If and when he does respond to you, he will respond... *poorly*... defensively... rationalizing away his reprehensible actions, blaming SOMEONE ELSE for creating some vast, imaginary anti-Bobby conspiracy.

Or he'll just ignore you because he knows you've got him nailed to the wall. He knows, deep down inside, that you're right and he's wrong. More and more people dislike him NOT because SOMEONE ELSE is talking trash about him in another language—but because HE HAS DONE BAD THINGS. And he doesn't want to face that.

At the beginning of the year, I kicked Bobby Boblick out of my life for being a world-class dick-hole.

A few months later—and not so cavalierly—I tentatively started hanging out with him again. The friendship was downgraded. There were trust issues that were never resolved and I remained guarded. My newly realized disrespect for his character meant that I was meaner toward him than I was before. He never completely regained my trust, though I had a better sense of when he was lying or trying to hide something. Still, hanging out with him again made it easier to hang out with other friends who were part of the same circle. He was a drinking buddy. I didn't expect a lot out of him.

And in the end, he still managed to disappoint me.

A new circle of friends has offered him sanctuary. (For the time being.) It's a good deal for him because he doesn't actually have to deal with the fallout from his other ruined relationships. His new friends and remaining friends are doing him no favors because they are just enabling him to hide.

I'm not even angry. I'm just sick of it all.

This past year, more people started to learn the true nature of Bobby Boblick. All the shady things he's done have come back to haunt him. Watching other friends get angry made me realize that I never really forgave him for what he did to me. I just sort of accepted that he was incapable of being a better human being. Eventually, I had to question how low I could set the bar for a friend. Even just a drinking buddy.

If someone disrespects you and then disrespects good friends of yours, and does NOTHING to make amends... then how can you, in good conscience, remain friends with that person?

Actions have consequences.

I feel cold about the whole affair.

I have more important things to worry about.