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: I'm a junior. There's a freshman, let's call him Mason, who is unpopular and bullied. As a freshman, I was pretty unpopular as a freshman, although not bullied, just a loner. But sophomore year, I became popular. Mason's parents and my parents are friends, and Saturday they came over for dinner. Mason asked to talk to me, I told him to come to my room. He told me he really wants to be popular, and asked if, since we're family friends, I could invite him to stuff and all that. I thought about it for a moment, and mulling it over, it's a resounding fuck no. Why? It's a lose-lose for Mason, me, and my friend group.

For Mason: Think of it this way. Everybody hates him because 1) I hate to say it, but he's unpopular for a reason and 2) he's a freshman. So what happens if I suddenly start inviting him to shit? My friends will see him as trying to force himself into our group, and hate him even more. 

For my friends: As I've said, nobody likes him. He's kinda weird, never stops talking about the weirdest shit, etc. So they'll be forced to hang out with someone they hate.

For me: My friends will resent me for forcing Mason onto them.

So I told him no, and explained my rationale (I wasn't as blunt as I was here). He got upset about this, and repeated he really wanted to be popular. 

So I told him, if you want to be popular, you have to earn it. He seemed confused, so I asked him why he thinks he deserves popularity. He asked what I meant. The conversation from there went like this:

Me: You can't force people to be your friend. And that's exactly what you're doing. You're trying to force people into being friends with you, but they won't be your friend unless they want to.

Mason: So you're saying I'll never be popular?

Me: No, I'm saying if you want to be popular, you have to work for it. People aren't going to like you just because you want them to. You have to become worthy of their friendship and respect.

Mason: So how then?

Me: Stop whining, start lifting weights, join some clubs, pick up a sport. Take a good long look at yourself in the mirror. Be brutal with yourself. Get a new haircut, a skincare routine, whatever. Learn some social skills. Then come back to me, and I might invite you somewhere. 

He got upset at this and left, and apparently he told his parents. His parents told my parents, my parents thought I was perfectly reasonable, his parents thought I was being an asshole. I think I was being reasonable here. He's trying to force his way into popularity. That's the wrong way to do it. I know that because I've tried it. It'll only cause people to hate him more. He can't force people to love him no matter how much he tries. So the only option is, improve himself. Then maybe people might like him. But he and his parents disagree. 

So, aita?

telling a bullied kid to improve himself before trying to find friends