I have always tried to have a diverse group of friends. I enjoy input from others as it helps me to think and grow as a person.

Because of the diversity of friends, however, it is not unusual to have a conflict between two or more that I regard as friends. This isn't a problem until one expects me to choose sides.

It's that way in real life, it's that way online. Essentially, my exile from one person's thread exists because I won't denounce another that person has issues with.

Well, see, that puts me in an awkward position. One I don't put others in and one that almost automatically terminates a friendship when I am asked to put myself in that position. It's an unfair demand, and it is not the kind of thing one friend would expect of another.

Truth is, I can usually see points to be made by both sides. I try to look at things objectively and rarely is one person 100% justified in their position of the other. But I won't make my blog a discussion of who's right and wrong, and thread responses to other threads will hinge on the topic of the thread at hand. It is who I am, and I won't change that due to someone's request or popular opinion.

The comment that elicited a response from the individual in question ironically had nothing to do with taking sides. Because I dared question him, however, he saw it as a "tacit support" of the woman his paranoid mind has cast as his enemy. I won't detail the original comment further at this time, but I WILL defend my OPINION, because, as I've said before, along with mistakes, they are all that you can truly call your own.

But back to topic: it is unfair for one person to hinge a friendship at any level on the other people you are or aren't friendship. That's emotional blackmail and gang mentality. And it's a sure sign of an individual who has a lot of growing up to do.