Regular reminder that being an asshole is not a symptom of any form of neurodivergence. (You can replace “neurodivergent” with depressed, anxious, bipolar, etc. and the diagram works equally well)
ETA: social faux pas, awkwardness, and genuine symptoms of neurodivergence don’t make you an asshole. I shouldn’t have to say this? An “asshole” is someone who enacts a pattern of abusive, controlling, harassing, and/or harmful behavior with no remorse or concern for how other people are affected.
Chances are he thinks this is what it means to be a male friend. That doesn’t make it right of course but that’s probably what’s going on. This is likely due to him being abused as a child in some way and now he thinks it is normal to abuse others.
…no. He is making the active choice to be malevolent, there is no concept of friendship here. He has friends; I am not one. I have made my boundaries clear, and he has just said that he doesnt feel like respecting them.
Also, this is exactly the kind of overapologetic bs that means I can’t just tell him off, because then Im the bad guy for being mean to someone with an imagined tragic backstory.
You aren’t being mean. Honestly it sounds like you went out of your way to be nice.
I just think that chances are there is note going on. It really isn’t on you and he may just dislike you as a person.