I went to college with this guy 10 years ago and I considered him a friend up until this year. Something changed in him, and he constantly needs to put me down and I don’t know how to handle it.
We’re both 28, for reference.
Last year, he reported me to the college because I was doing students’ homework for them for some extra cash. He said that what I was doing was depreciating his Diploma. I guess I get it, but what kind of friend would try to get me in trouble for something as harmless as doing people’s homework? He didn’t ask me to stop first or talk to me about it first, he just flat out reported me. Some friend.
I ended up dropping out of the program because of stress. He graduated this spring. I congratulated him and genuinely was happy for him. He then sends me this really childish text, bragging about how he graduated and I didn’t. Here’s a quote from part of the conversation. No joke, this is word for word:
“Hey [my name], just letting you know that I am an engineer now and you aren’t. Also I just got hired at [his work] and am making $34 now just to start. There will be a party at [local bar] to celebrate my graduation. You should come. There will be resumes being taken, you should submit yours, because people like me always need assistants. Even though you are not an engineer by any means.”
I thought, maybe he’s being intentionally arrogant as a joke that I’m supposed to get. But that’s not the case, this kind of talk continued for months. And he means it to be hurtful.
I couldn’t take it anymore, so I blocked him on everything I could think of.
A little bit of background information, I recently started my own business making custom tools. This quote was a part of what he commented on my Instagram picture of one of my tools yesterday:
“You should stop posting these online, it’s really embarrassing because your [tool name] is such a failure. I should redesign all of it for you because I’m actually an engineer at [company name] and have a lot more experience. I could actually do it right, unlike you. I just might help you if you ask me nicely.”
Like, what the hell did I do to deserve that? I don’t know why I let it even bother me because of how obviously immature he is being.
I didn’t respond. I blocked him on Instagram too, but now he’s trying to message me on LinkedIn. Blocked him there now too.
I’m still friends with his brother, so it’s impossible for me to completely block him out from my life unfortunately.
I almost want to explain to him how narcissistic he is, and how his messages are an obvious cry of mental insecurity. I know that that would just be fueling the fire though, and would solve nothing.
He deserves to be put in his place. I don’t know if that’s possible though without me becoming just as petty as he is.
How should I handle this? He’s bound to see me in the future, so there’s no avoiding his bullshit.
Thanks
Odds are that you did nothing. He’s clearly an emotional vulture, he probably does it towards everyone around him.
I don’t recommend framing it as immaturity, as it might give you the false hope that he’ll “grow up” and get better over time. Perhaps he gets better, but odds are that he won’t.
Some people might say “let it go”, or “vengeance is never good, it kills the soul and poisons it”. I’m almost 40 and I got something to say about this pacifist discourse:
Screw this masochistic shit. When you turn the other face you are not saying “I’m better than him”; you’re saying “he’s right in treating me as trash, as I am trash”. You want to ruin his life and make him regret existing.
So, here’s what I’d do:
That’s actually great for you. It means that he kept contacting you after showed clear desire to not be contacted further. Depending on the local laws this gives you grounds for legal action.
And since the guy is a fucking idiot flaunting the fact that he’s an engineer, you might also contact his business. Be polite towards them, but highlight the fact that one of their employees is harassing you. Even if he doesn’t get fired, it’ll put him in a poor position later on.
The difference between “being petty” and “standing your ground” is why. You are in a position to screw him up without being petty.
You’ll also want to ruin the psychological “kick” that he gets from harassing you. Ignoring him on the surface (while documenting it) is a good approach, because he’ll feel unsatisfied but he’ll try a bit harder.
Also shield yourself psychologically. Remember - you are not the problem, he is the problem.
Vengeance is not a dish to be served cold. You warm it in the blood of your enemies.
Wtf is this comment? So you either “turn the other cheek” and just let him harrass you, or else “you have to ruin his life and make him wish he was never born”?
You are right that OP doesn’t have to “turn the other cheek” and does not have to put up with people’s shit, but just because you should not turn yourself into a masochist that does not mean you should turn yourself into a sadist…
Of course there are moral limits on what OP should do in this situation; that is a given. “Ruin his life and make him wish he was never born”, in this context*, is being used to hyperbolically convey “don’t passively accept this shit, stand your ground and fight back”.
*note how none of the actions that I suggested OP taking would be undue retribution to his former friend’s actions.