You Are Who You Hang With

I know people will say how judgmental I am, but I have been a firm believer that the people you allow around yourself are a direct reflection of you. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you find yourself friends with someone most consider a scum bag, but these old sayings are around for a reason.

“Birds of a Feather” “A chip off the old block” “He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas” and so on.

If you see a woman leaning up against a street pole with other “ladies of the night” do you NOT assume she is a street walker too? I think those in denial of this saying don’t want to accept who they are or who those are around them. I had a friend tell me how she slept with an actor we both knew. Problem was, this actor was engaged. The friend was very proud that she showered using the actor’s ladies shampoo at their shared home.I promptly let her know how fucking utterly disgusting she was as a human. I remember her face as I told her I no longer wanted to associate with someone like her. We never spoke again. How could I ever trust her in my life to honor me? How could I ever hold my head up high being the friend to someone like that? Recently, someone I used to be friends with told me her best friend friend knowingly sleeps with a married man with kids. The fact that this person was ok with this behavior showed me their true self. This was not a person who has a solid moral compass. That is dangerous to have in your life.

I am very open with my friends about how I feel. Are you a womanizer? I don’t need your kind in my life. I don’t need a weak man who takes advantage of women’s hearts tainting my circle and or my name. This isn’t a thing between lovers. This is holding people to their word and the standards of acting like a decent human being. A few years back, I had a growing friendship with a makeup artist. That is, till I saw her stealing from set. I called her out. Her answer to me was that they had more money so it was ok. No. You are a fucking thief. I do not trust you at my home or around my things. Another “friend” I had years ago bragged to me how he ripped off an elderly couple on services to their home. I repeat, he swindled old people for more cash than what he was worth. Guess who wasn’t my friend anymore? I wish I could have lit him on fire as I told him I don’t want his kind in my life.

In a world where people’s word means nothing anymore, be the person who can stand by what they say. Be honest. Be true. People used to joke that I was the “Ned Stark” of Hollywood. That is a title I can actually be proud of. I lost jobs. I lost friends. I was not popular with my mindset. I do not care. I sleep easy at night.

Got any stories about people you severed from your life due to their choices?