If you're ever in Arlington, VA stop on by and try out some new art supplies! You can learn more about the artist collective behind the closet here too http://www.arlingtonaf.com
I recently left a hobby group after having some organizational concerns. When I did, the group leader (Betsy), who I suspect has emotional regulation issues of her own, took it personally and began weeks long ranting about me with another member (Taylor). Taylor had previously latched onto me as her "favorite person", but she frankly concerned me from the start and I had been trying for months to set really firm boundaries and spend less time with her.
Since leaving (7 weeks ago!), they've been publicly spreading accusations about me to our mutual friends and calling me racist, accusing me of weaponizing white women's tears, etc. One friend who defended me has also become their target. It's escalated to the point where my friend is having panic attacks and had to take time off work.
I reached out to Taylor's old friend group who she had a dramatic fall out with to understand what she might do, and they warned me she ran a coordinated months-long harassment campaign against them. Everything from leaving "gifts" on their porches, reaching out to their friends and workplaces to spread rumors, and trying to make people pick sides. I also just found out she and Betsy are trying to meet with one of my mentors this week, which my mentor was surprised about as they never talk. She said they didn't say what they wanted to talk about.
Taylor knows where I live. I know from her own stories what she's capable of. I don't want to repair these relationships, which seems to be what most of the pop psych "guides" focus on. I just want them out of my life without things escalating further.
Most resources I find are about supporting someone with BPD, but I don't love these people, I just want to protect myself. Has anyone navigated something like this? What actually helped?
He goes by ArlingtonAF (the artist, not the knight)
Flag of the Green Mountain Boys (1776 - Present)
In the 1760s, settlers in the New Hampshire Grants (modern day Vermont) found themselves in an impossible situation. Britain had awarded New York legal control of their land, but the settlers held legal deeds from New Hampshire. New York sent sheriffs. The settlers sent Ethan Allen.
In 1770, Allen lost a land case before a New York court. When the attorney-general asked what he intended to do about it, Allen looked him in the eye: "The gods of the valley are not the gods of the hills, and you shall understand it!" When pressed to explain, he said if the man came to Bennington, the phrase would be made clear. They got the message.
Allen organized his neighbors into the Green Mountain Boys to protect from New York overbearance: part militia, part de facto government. New York put a price on their heads. The Boys put evergreen sprigs in their caps and dared them to collect.
When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, the Boys didn't wait to be called. On May 10, around 100 of them rowed across Lake Champlain in darkness and stormed Fort Ticonderoga at dawn. The British garrison, barely 50 men, surrendered before a shot was fired. The cannons they seized were hauled 300 miles to Boston, mounted on Dorchester Heights, and used to force the British to evacuate the city.
In 1777, Vermont declared itself an independent republic, the only one on the continent besides the thirteen colonies. The Boys fought under this flag at the Battle of Bennington that same year, helping crush a British raid and setting up Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga.
The flag is deceptively simple: dark green for Vermont's mountains, a blue canton for the sky, 13 white stars for the original colonies. No coat of arms. No motto. No clutter. Vermont remained an independent republic for 14 years before joining the Union in 1791 as the 14th state and this banner, never officially adopted, has outlasted every flag Vermont ever designed. The VT National Guard flies it today.