Emotional leeches

Rant:

There will always be all sorts of fallout from the end of a relationship. Thus, it is of no surprise that friends of the ex-couple will parcel out their allegiance in the aftermath. That said, however, it is a basic understanding that once one has chosen a side, one should expect none of the privileges of friendship from the party forsaken. But, oh no, there exist some individuals out there who expect to have their cake and eat it too.

Take the example of an individual by the pseudonym of "Z." Z was a mutual friend, made when I was part of a pair. We had a lot of good times with Z. When the relationship ended, Z chose her side by ceasing to respond to any of my emails. That's fine, and definitely within her rights. I bear no grudge for that.

Occasionally, Z would get into situations (like most of us do) and end up falling sick, and would then begin milking everyone on her address list for sympathy. For some unknown reason, even though I am deemed unworthy to deign a response from her, I qualify to be a donor of sympathy for this suffering creature. My charitable responses and outpourings of goodwill never garner a reply, but they must possess some value because my email address remains on her address list.

And so, I continue to receive the occasional odd email seeking sympathy. I am expected to pour out words of comfort and encouragement because Z has twisted her wrist, broken her arm, foot, funny bone, nostril hair, etc.

These are neither friends nor acquaintances. These are parasites--emotional leaches. Henceforth, Z and her ilk will be blocked as spammers from my accounts. I do not want to hear about how you were nearly admitted into the ICU because of that paper cut, etc.

If a real tragedy to you occurs, rest assured that I will get wind of it from traditional channels. E.g. the Obituaries.