Cause, on 28 March 2019 - 11:57 AM, said:
I feel like a horrible person because I could see myself laughing at that joke in the right circumstances, I could see myself making that joke.
No problem there - I'm pretty sure I've laughed at some tasteless things myself from time to time, but it's a pattern.
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That said the guy sounds like a disaster. You complain about him often and for a long time. I had a similar friend of a friend who I could not stand. I adopted a simple policy of cutting him out of my life. Friendship to me by definition cannot be an act of charity. So while I never told him I couldn't stand him I just didn't go along with the rest in feeling sorry for him either. Also it takes a cost of energy and happiness to be around people you don't like why so do it.
So if I saw him with the group I think I was polite enough but if I made plans I invited my friends, and if that included the group and not him so be it. It wasn't high school drama, I wasn't cutting him out and shoving that in his face I just didn't consider him a friend and didn't invite him. If I invited friend W to the movies and friend W invited him to the movie as well so be it. I would never invite him directly.
I don't feel bad about what I did. I think pretending to be his friend would have served either of us. I think if I had tried to stay around him for longer and faked it I would have eventually exploded at him.
How is he apart of this DnD group? Who is his primary friend? If your all just tolerating him then its not healthy. If someone is his genuine friend perhaps they are the key.
That's what I've been doing really for the last few sessions - discretely leaving early so I don't get stuck with small talk (we get buses from the same station in the city) and not engaging in the group chat when he's holding court. If he behaved in the game, as long as I can keep that up it'd be fine.
Nobody's a primary friend. None of us knew one another before the game - and it's quite telling everyone else has hit it off and gets on like a house on fire with the one glaring exception I suppose. The "feeling sorry for them" issue I think is the one roughly half the group is tripping over and trying to accommodate, while the others are not doing.
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It also sounds like this guy might have a legitimate issue in regards to socializing? If he is in his late 20s and his mom is still trying to find him friend and dates from her work
Not sure if that's him, the overbearing mother (she's a very overbearing personality full stop, although a really nice woman) or a combination of the two. Having said that though, echoing your stance from above with your example, I don't think it's for the rest of us to tolerate it just because he's not good at socialising.
As it happens, I spoke to the DM as I managed to catch him earlier today. He hadn't heard any of the comments (he sits at the other end of a very long table and we share space with another group, so easily enough done), was mortified and apologetic at this and adamant that he would have said something to shut it down immediately had he heard, and he doesn't want anyone to feel like they can't do that for the sake of group harmony or whatever. He's aware now and I feel quite a lot more relaxed about it.
This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 28 March 2019 - 02:02 PM