Can I ignore a Facebook "friend" request from a relative?

spideygirl
Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:09:28 +0000

NSM -

A battered woman returning to the person who victimized her is not really a fitting example here.

I guess it depends on how Facebook is used by the individual person. I only know of Facebook pages where people are befriended quite readily. They are not private or all that discriminating (or at all like “inviting someone to your home”). Perhaps some people have pages where only true friends are included? I think most people include lots of “friends” who would never be invited to their homes. In that more typical use of the medium, I cannot see why a relative would not be accepted (even one who is a pariah).

My point wasn’t as much about forgiveness as about actual behavior. Even when people have “earned” consequences, I don’t think it is up to us the mete them out (unless we are talking about our own children). I think it is our job to turn the other cheek. It can be done without any negative consequence to ourselves, and without letting any of the toxicity in.