Following the Letter of the Unwritten Law
This past week, in a chance encounter, another guy acted like a jerk to me. Given the context of the encounter (which I won't divulge to protect privacy etc.), I understood his mindset, and immediately forgave the behaviour. That being said, assuming I encounter this guy again (the likelihood of which of course is dependent on the secret context), I wasn't sure of how I should approach it and what is required by each of us. One of the advantages of being male, is that relationships don't necessarily need to be complicated by emotional baggage and immature grudges. I can think of many relationships with friends that I have now, that have, in the past, included 'jerk' incidents by myself or them, and yet the friendships remain.

Part of me wonders if the nature of the 'confrontation' necessitates an apology, or even a mutual apology. Upon deeper analysis, I now see that no apology is necessary on either part. If I were to apologize, it would only be as a formality, or to evoke an apology in return. I now see that the only thing required is a demonstration by each party that they are not intrinsically a jerk.

Problem solved.

   [ posted by William @ 11:15 AM ]