"Throughout my childhood and adolescence, my closest friend was "Kate." We kept in touch throughout college but drifted apart a bit afterwards. Kate stayed in our hometown after I moved away. Long story short, I abruptly cut Kate out of my life several years ago after she made a racist comment to the person I was dating at the time (Kate and I are both white, my ex was not)."
"In the years since, she has reached out periodically, usually with a dramatic story about her current situation (being fired due to "accusations" of using drugs at work, emergence of a mysterious chronic illness, alcohol use issues, tales of her neighbors making threats against her, etc). If I don't answer her phone calls or if I tell her I'm unavailable to chat, she continues to reach out in other ways such as sending messages on other platforms,"
The writer grew up in a rural Midwestern town and moved to a city more than a decade ago. Their closest childhood friend Kate remained in their hometown. The writer cut Kate out after Kate made a racist remark to the writer's then-partner, who was not white. Kate later offered a half-hearted apology while grieving her father's death. Since then Kate intermittently contacts the writer with dramatic problems, persists across platforms when ignored, and even calls the writer's mother. The writer sympathizes due to their own past mental-health and substance issues but struggles with setting healthy boundaries.
Read at Slate Magazine
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