revjim.net

Even though I don't choose to act the way you would in a particular situation, that doesn't mean I don't care, that I'm not concerned, or that I am not going to do anything about it. I do things my way, just like you do them in yours. If you don't like the way that I handle certain situations, I am more than willing to accept your criticism and do what I can to show you that I care. However, simply because I didn't act in the way that you would have doesn't mean that I don't care, or that I am a bad friend, or a bad person.

The fact that you hold our friendship over my head so lightly leads me to believe that you place little value on our relationship and its future. I am fairly certain that you do not feel that way, and therefore, I ask that you stop doing it. I will not be manipulated into feeling guilty for not doing exactly what you wanted me to do in the way that you wanted me to do it, without you having told me so.

Though it is my responsibility to correct the situation, it is not my fault that it happened. I am going to take care of the situation by treating my friends as I would have them treat me in the same situation. I do not take kindly to those who hurt the ones I love, and I will see that the situation is corrected and that those that have wronged me and the people I care about know what they have done and are held accountable.

I understand that you are angry. I understand that you want resolution. However, taking out your anger on those who had no control over the situation or were not in any way trying to wrong you is not right and is not fair. Hurting other people simply because you have been hurt is not the answer. I will not put up with it, and I don't expect anyone else to either.

I love you, and care about you more than many people care about all of their friends combined. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. In situations where you have been hurt, I will do everything in my power to see that those who have done so are shown justice. However, I will not pass judgement on my friends without giving them a chance to speak for themselves.

Stop holding our friendship over my head. If you intend on making the mistake of breaking our friendship because of who I am or because of differences in the way we handle certain situations, then do so. If you feel that you need to decrease the amount of trust you have in me, or that these events in some way remove something from our friendship, than so be it. But stop threatening me. I take our friendship very seriously, and I expect you to do the same. By not doing so, you disrespect me, and you disrespect our relationship. There is enough disrespect in this world that I don't need to be getting it from the people I consider my friends.