Are we really friends?

One of my favorite stress relieving activities is shooting people. Before you go on about how I am dangerous and akin to those deranged people who go on crazy killing sprees, I must clarify that I play paintball. The reason I bring this topic up is because tonight, I went out to play with some friends and somehow things didn't end well. We were split up onto separate teams and played opposite of each other.

In one of the last games, one of my teammates shot out my friend. It so happens that I was aiming at the other side of the same hiding spot he was in and as he stood up, I fired three shots at him before I could stop myself. He then ran over to my side, accused my teammate of "overshooting" him and then walked off the field to scream deprecations at my teammate. As soon as the game was over, I walked over to my friend and apologized for shooting at him.

The next thing that happened is that he had, what I can only describe as, a temper tantrum on the field. All the time, he was shouting mildly abusive things at me. He then walked off the field in a very angry manner. When I approached him off the field, I asked him if he really thought I overshot him on purpose as he walked off the field. His response was yes. I was shocked that he would think that of me.

What you don't know is that I have been a referee at that field and know what the rules are to play paintball. Three shots fired at someone takes a split second to do, and I can easily pull the trigger a dozen or more times each second. So, in the quarter second it took for him to stand up and turn around, I had fired three shots at him. They all hit him square on the middle of his back.

This person has been known to have temper tantrums like this before, and in the past, has demonstrated how little he trusts his own friends when it comes to repairing things. In the past, I have helped him repair stuff, and before he returns the products back to the customer, will double check it. I don't mind, because I know I am not perfect.

However, a few months back, another mutual friend helped out as well and the customer of the product this friend repaired called in the next morning saying it wasn't working. Again, my angry friend threw a temper tantrum at the place where he worked. When the customer brought the product back in, it turned out that the customer didn't know how to use the product and there wasn't anything wrong with the repair job. When I pointed out to my angry friend that perhaps he should have waited until he found out what was wrong with the product before badmouthing my other friend, he responded that he didn't care.

After this second incident at the field, I begin to wonder if this angry person is really a friend. I am not sure that I can abide having a friend who holds so low an opinion of me or others that he is friends with. Don't get me wrong, I have put him in a very bad light to demonstrate the issues I am having. He can be generous as well as nice when he is in the right mood. However, his dark moods strike too often for him to be "socially" acceptable. He makes little or no attempt at restraining himself. His co-workers bear the brunt of his ire and I am beginning to think that I would not rather work there as a fill in anymore because of his attitude issues.

My gentle prodding has gotten an, "I don't care," attitude from him. Tomorrow, I am thinking about going there and stating bluntly what I think in the hope that he will see that he needs to change. The question becomes whether or not I am doing him a disservice by bringing it to a head and very likely ending our supposed friendship. Especially since I know him well enough to know that he is too stubborn to change his ways.