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05/23/2005: "Setting standards"
This weekend I met a friend downtown for lunch. I don't see him very often but I've always thought of him as a good guy...he's an artist and we always find a lot to talk about though the conversation is almost always exclusively about art. This time I was really taken aback by some classist and borderline racist things he said. Normally I would have stopped him in his tracks for saying such things, but instead I just changed the topic.
I left awhile later on what (I'm sure) he considers good terms...with him saying that we need to hang out more etc. and that he'd call me. I guess I feel conflicted because he was one of the first artists I met when I moved to Juneau and our art related conversations always left me feeling inspired.
Someone I respect once told me that I set impossibly high standards for my friends. I don't know if I'm overreacting or what. Part of me would like to stay his friend because I don't have that many people who get as excited as I do about art. Most of my friends are over-educated liberals with similar beliefs on social issues etc. This guy is wealthier by far but also uneducated (academically speaking); maybe this is a chance to expose him to a different way of thinking? Or maybe I just won't return his calls.
On a much less serious note, I just started watching Alias this weekend. OMG, it's so addictive!
UPDATE: I hope the above didn't sound pompous. I meant that maybe it isn't a good idea to surround ourselves only with like-minded people...that maybe we need to have friends who hold opinions that we find slightly abhorent just so we can keep challenging each others ideas.