I think this is the key takeaway for any of us looking in.
And I think that, as unfortunate as it may be, we sometimes have to separate ourselves from certain others for the sake of our own mental and emotional wellbeing.
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Matt and I actually had a twenty+ year relationship. But he has been going down this path for a long time. While I could never provide full context (and I honestly don’t want to go through incriminating messages from him for my own mental health), this convo started off with him sending me a clip of a person ‘owning a survivor of a school shooting on gun control’. Just absolutely repugnant stuff.
That being said, the explicit purpose of this specific forum is to allow folks to give up those relationships. No one needs to continue painful relationships, and I think showing people that you can end those relationships is needed encouragement for those who feel stuck in them.
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You know the situation better than anyone. I will simply offer some words of life: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” I hope it all works out.
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Next time I have to end a relationship, I’ll say “Depart from me. I never knew you.”
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Perhaps this thread could stay supportive and doesn’t need any sanctimonious devil’s advocacy.
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That wasn’t what I was trying to say at all. I never defended Matt. In fact I granted that he may be “off the ideological deep end.”
I have been through this exact situation before, and it’s painful to see other people go through it. I do not believe ending the friendship over a political disagreement is worth it, ever, and based on the information presented to me, I offered what seemed like sound advice. That’s where I was coming from.
I told a mutual friend of Matt and mine that I ended the relationship because “he is dismissive, rude, and has bigoted beliefs”. I think I can hold community with those who have different political beliefs than me, I just do not need to abide those who refuse to treat me with the respect I deserve as a human being. The mischaracterization of my beliefs (the last of many included in his final message to me) speaks to a lack of respect of me as a person, and I don’t have to put up with that.
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