An Open Letter To The Friends Who Manipulated Me | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Relationships

An Open Letter To The Friends Who Manipulated Me

Well, I thought they were my friends.

204
An Open Letter To The Friends Who Manipulated Me
Inc.com

You Know Who You Are,

Since neither of you have had the courage to talk to me directly to hear what I have to say, I thought I would put my thoughts somewhere where you can find them with ease: the Internet. You have apologized to nearly everyone else, even though they were not as deeply affected by your carelessness as I was. Jesus Christ, you both texted my boyfriend to apologize before you thought of me.

However, I must admit that I was impressed by what you did. Your April Fool’s prank required immense amounts of planning, coordination, deviance, manipulation, and a complete disregard for others that I have frankly never seen before. Congratulations on redefining what it means to be selfish, oblivious, and generally terrible. I, along with everyone else who doesn't really want to talk to either of you anymore, applaud you.

Both of you seemed so shocked at my reaction to your joke. When I started crying, you both looked at me dumbfoundedly, as if I should have had another reaction to being told that I had been lied to and ruthlessly manipulated for a week. In that moment, I should not have been the one that felt ashamed. You had both been pretending to use me for advice, information, care, and support, and why? Whatever motive you could present to me now pales in comparison to the consequences of your actions.

Friend A: I think I am most disappointed in you. I interpreted your need for advice and counsel as you finally opening up to me, since you are typically so emotionally closed off. I felt assured that I was a friend that you valued, but I was wrong. Instead, my stress, worry, and anxiety over your feelings was a form of amusement for you. I could forgive you, but that would require you actually speaking to me first.

Friend B: I’m pretty sure we both know that you and I were never close. Yet, I thought you needed me, and I was starting to think that maybe I had been too harsh with you in the past. Maybe I had never understood you before, but now we could be better friends, because you really seemed to care about what I had to say. At one point, you said you needed my advice because the situation you were pretending to be in so closely resembled my own romantic relationship. Did mocking my relationship and personal feelings bring you joy, or were you too blind to think I would not be upset? All you did through your manipulation was reaffirm what I already knew about you.

I am most devastated because both of you had the audacity to take one of my strengths and turn it into a weakness. You targeted me because you knew I would listen to both of you and make you a priority in my own life. You only had the capability to hurt me so because you both knew I cared about you. You took advantage of my empathy and used it to hurt me, and that takes a special strain of malice.

I will never stop caring or being what you perceive as too involved in people’s personal lives because of what you have done. You have simply taught me that some people just do not deserve my compassion.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
eye roll

Working with the public can be a job, in and of itself. Some people are just plain rude for no reason. But regardless of how your day is going, always having to be in the best of moods, or at least act like it... right?

1. When a customer wants to return a product, hands you the receipt, where is printed "ALL SALES ARE FINAL" in all caps.

2. Just because you might be having a bad day, and you're in a crappy mood, doesn't make it okay for you to yell at me or be rude to me. I'm a person with feelings, just like you.

3. People refusing to be put on hold when a customer is standing right in front of you. Oh, how I wish I could just hang up on you!

Keep Reading...Show less
blair waldorf
Hercampus.com

RBF, or resting b*tch face, is a serious condition that many people suffer from worldwide. Suffers are often bombarded with daily questions such as "Are you OK?" and "Why are you so mad?" If you have RBF, you've probably had numerous people tell you to "just smile!"

While this question trend can get annoying, there are a couple of pros to having RBF.

Keep Reading...Show less
legally blonde
Yify

Another day, another Elle Woods comment. Can’t us blondes get through the day without someone harping at us over the typical stereotypes about who we are? I never understood why a person was judged based upon the hair color they were born with, or the hair color they choose to have (unless you dye your hair blue like Kylie Jenner, I’m still trying to understand why that’s a trend). Nevertheless, as it should be assumed, not everyone is the same. Not all blondes like bright colors and Lilly Pulitzer, and not all blondes claim to identify with Marilyn Monroe. I think the best suggestion to give to people before they make such radical claims is to stop judging a book by its cover. Or in this case, stop judging a blonde by her hair color.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

A Year At JMU As Told By 'Bob's Burgers'

The world's greatest university meets the world's greatest show.

1476
Bob's Burgers
collegian.com

A year at JMU promises many great adventures. The journey of becoming a duke and learning what being a duke is all about is really exciting and a lot of fun. Of course, we all know that James Madison University is the greatest university in Virginia (perhaps even the entire country). There are many events and moments at JMU that are cherished and remembered by all dukes.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

15 Things That Happen On Your Birthday

Do you have a small get-together or throw a big bash?

5267
birthday party

My birthday has never been my favorite holiday. I've found that I'm more excited to celebrate my friends' and family members' birthdays more than my own. I don't like being the center of attention, so I usually celebrate over dinner with a small group of family and friends. This way, I can enjoy myself naturally without feeling like I have to entertain everyone and make sure they are satisfied. In the past when I've had large parties, I was so nervous that people weren't perfectly content that I didn't enjoy myself at my own celebration.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments