Divorcing friends

It’s one thing if friends move away or take new jobs or switch hobbies and as a result stop connecting with each other. It’s quite another, though, to divorce a friend on purpose.

Have you ever done it?

I found this post through a link of a link of a link, and it made me think, think, think. Sure, I let friends go. I don’t keep in touch with everyone I’ve ever known. But cutting ties on purpose? When would that be right?

On one hand, I agree that friends are one of the strongest influences on who you are and as such should be chosen carefully. On the other hand, though, I don’t think it’s good to choose friends solely on that basis, friending only because they’re good for you.

So from a middle position like this, when’s it right to divorce a friend? For that matter, how do you do it? Do you tell your friend? Or do you just slowly cut your contact, stop responding to texts, quit connecting?

Either way, it doesn’t sound too fun. I guess that’s why I call it a divorce.