Definition: Given a real-life anecdote of a complex ethical situation, generate a suitable title that describes the main event/root cause of the situation. Imagine that the given text is a social media post, and you have to write the title of the post, so the users can decide to read the main text or not.
Input: About a year ago, I stopped responding to a former friend of mine.

We had been friends for about 4 or 5 months and one of the first friends I made moving to a new city. We hung out pretty frequently and we would go out for drinks on the occasion. For a little bit, I considered him a really good friend.

Things started to turn when he started drinking though. When he started drinking, he wouldn't stop. And then, he would start verbally insulting my friends and me and getting a little belligerent. He never became physically abusive, but he would have a bad attitude and start making inappropriate comments or jokes.

At first it wasn't a big deal because we didn't drink often, and I figured that it would change. But it didn't. Some of the insults became worse too, and he would make me feel depressed or anxious because of the things he would say. My friends didn't like it either, and we eventually wanted to distance ourselves from him.

On top of that, too, my girlfriend really didn't like him either. She read the things he would text me and told me to stop responding to him. And the more I thought about it, I agreed with her. I didn't think he was a good influence in my life.

So I stopped responding to him, and he quickly realized what was going on. He went on apologizing and saying he had quit drinking and was a changed person. I didn't believe it though. He would sometimes message me over different forms of social media and make comments that were derogatory and insulting, and then next day apologize for the comments.

Despite all this, I feel bad because I think he really does need help and I think he needs emotional support. But, I don't think I have the time or the patience to deal with it.

Am I the asshole for not replying back?

not replying back to a former friend