Midgeamoo said:
So ironic that you, not being able to accept any derogatory ribbing between friends are telling people to grow up. For me and my friends, taking the piss out of each other is literally to have a bit of banter, there's nothing self centered or negative out of it, we all have a laugh (including the target, which is anyone and everyone), if you're going to call anybody that does it immature and essentially douchebags then you clearly don't understand the purpose of it, which is just to laugh and wind down for a bit.
"I think I'm a superior human being because your flavour of humor and levity doesn't appeal to me."
No, wait, that's not it... Let me re-state what I've meant:
I have personally chosen not to surround myself with friends who'd rather make fun of me/rib me/poke fun/etc. without my implicit permission, and have instead retained friends who joke about other stuff and are generally supportive rather than repeat all the shit that's going on or has happened. While I know you and Abandon interpret the 'ribbing' as good-natured and not inherently derogatory, I find that the constant identification of flaws - even in a joking manner - doesn't agree with my high-stress line of work.
I implicitly understand your preference for 'ribbing' as a way to release steam and feel closer to your friends via shared experience by exposing flaws which you all have a common thread with; i.e. - aging, work, and hobbies.
However, I also implicitly understand (or at least hope) that after a friend of yours has had a bit of a bad or difficult day and asks you to not make any jokes about him tonight, that you either respect him enough to do so or try to cheer him up via positive showings of support rather than ignore his sincere request and continue laughing at his expense.
This is in contrast to the OP, who - after experiencing first-hand the type of day his friend had - chose to ignore his friend asking him to temporarily stop his normal behavior and respect his things for a bit. After not stopping, as requested, the OP's friend retaliated - albeit in an immature and unnecessary fashion. After neither side had apologized (I assume, at least), the OP comes here and puts up a poll to validate his actions or vindicate his friend.
It is of my opinion that neither is correct. The friend clearly overreacted to the situation, and the OP clearly disregarded the friend's requests, purposefully provoking a response and receiving more than he bargained for in return.
Since I recall performing similar acts while I was in high-school, witnessed it first-hand with my brother while he was in high-school, and generally associate such being in high-school with being underdeveloped socially, emotionally, and physically - I made the statement that the OP and his friend should "grow up." It was my hope that by saying so, the OP would realize that "Grow up" is a common cue uttered by adults when the issue at hand is being misunderstood by both sides, and that in the adult world - a world purportedly filled with reason and understanding - it would be solved differently or never happen at all. With luck, it would prompt the OP to analyze the situation, figure out why events followed as they did, and determine a new rule or set of rules to prevent such a caustic course of action from reoccurring.
If my opinions are wrong, either because new information presents itself or something else arises, I will happily address my opinions and revise them if necessary.
I hope this post clears up any confusion, and let me apologize for my initial sardonic nature. It's my default for internet interactions, since I find people so rarely read what I wrote - preferring to read only what they want to read, or end up foregoing any sort of logic at all.
