How Do You Dump A Bad Friend?

Growing up watching so many movies, TV dramas and the various flings of my friends, I am fully versed in all of the ways a boyfriend can hurt you.

They can put you down, they can cheat on you, neglect to call you. A bad boyfriend can lie to you, ignore you or choose their friends over you. All of these behaviors are cause for a break up, and I, for one, am not afraid to tell a friend when I think she isn’t being treated right.

Between Hollywood and the cautionary tales of our mothers, women are always on the look out for a bad boyfriend. Some of us are also quick to tell our friends that “he’s no good” or that “you can do better.” But what if instead of a bad boyfriend you have a bad best friend?

Say you have a long-time friend who drinks too much, flakes out on plans or doesn’t return your phone calls. Hollywood has shown us a million ways to break up with a bad boyfriend, but how do you break up with a bad friend?

A bad friend can be just as damaging to a woman as a bad boyfriend, but much harder to end contact with. What we really need is a handy phrase like the “break up” to signify the end of a bad friendship.

Lots of women I know will stand up to a guy they’re dating because their feminist mothers have taught them how to do so. These same women will be passive and forgiving when it comes to a friend who doesn’t treat them right.

So ladies, it’s time to break up with that bad friend of yours. Or at least stand up for yourself and say what you would in a romantic relationship: “this isn’t working for me”, “I deserve better”, “there are more fish in the sea.”

Women should be on the lookout for bad friends as well as bad boyfriends. We all deserve the best of both.

Contact the author here: jennY@morningquickie.com