"Men and women can't be friends."

I re-watched When Harry Met Sally yesterday and was reminded of the above quote.  And as with every time I watch it, I wondered if it was true.

Conclusion: it’s true.  Men and women can’t be friends.

I researched it a little more in depth this time.  My method?  I went through my facebook friend list and looked at all the guys I have on there.  Interestingly enough, I realized that about 75% of my facebook friends are girls.  Then I weeded out most of the other guys too, because they were either family, gay, married (there’s some history with a couple of the married ones, but that’s for another day), or mere acquaintances (you know, people I met once at a party or haven’t seen since high school).  I could try to factor all of these people in too, but to keep things simple, I went through the guys I would actually consider good friends.  It’s down to six guys, and here they are:

1. Mr. History: As his nickname implies, we’ve got a lot of rather complicated history.  And I’ve been hung up on him in an unrequited way for a good ten years.  Yes, I consider him a dear friend, but no, it’s definitely not a simple, baggage-free friendship.

2. Mr. Entertainment: As we live in completely different locales, we basically communicate strictly via facebook.  However, we have a great connection with it comes to stuff like TV and movies, and it’s tough to find people who have similar tastes to me.  I’ve got a small crush on him, strictly for that reason.  While we could probably be friends pretty easily if we lived in the same place, I’m pretty sure my crush would grow pretty easily too.

3.  Mr. Doctor: I completely dig this guy.  Indeed, he’s a doctor and very accomplished, smart, funny, amazing, etc.  The attraction’s totally from my side only.  I’m pretty sure he has a crush on another good friend of ours who doesn’t see him that way (just more evidence that men and women can’t be friends).

4.  The Engineer: I am still a little heartbroken over this guy.  He was single when I first met him and we connected really well when it came to humor, faith, and general interests.  While we did stay friends, I watched him start dating someone else, get engaged, and get married.  So he technically falls in the “married” category now, but it is a good illustration regardless.

5.  Mr. Platonic: Obviously.  While I would prefer things to be plantonic, his thoughts are completely different.

6.  Mr. Unnamed: Again.  Obvious issues from my perspective.

So there you have it.  In my experience, men and women can’t be friends.  You probably noticed that some of the guys I’ve written about here aren’t even on my list.  And that is even more evidence, because we’re not even friends enough at this point to even be facebook friends. 

And with that, you should know that this is probably the last time you’ll hear from me in 2009, so I’ll be back with more stories in 2010!  Are there any stories or people or situations I’ve referenced that you want to know more about?  Just ask; I’ll write!

[Via http://waitingforbutterflies.wordpress.com]