#This is such a nefarious time to upload stuff but you ever got something when you're like

[carousels-on-fire]

So, I have a “friend” who is an older man. I met him through a friend, we’ve talked in person once. I thought he was cool because he supposedly knew Anton Szander LaVey. I thought he was a retired professor. At first I wasn’t concerned about him talking to me. I figured he was a cool scene elder trying to relieve his youth or something. I thought he was pretty progressive minded. We’ve been friends on facebook for a few years and sometimes I talk to him on facebook messenger. But in the last few months he’s been commenting on almost everything I post and liking everything I upload. I don’t know why it concerns me. He’s never said anything even remotely sexual to me. Ever. But something about him is making me uncomfortable. And I can’t put a finger on what it is, but I’m not about to ignore that gut feeling.  I thought he was progressive because he seemed cool with the gays and said he was a goth in the 70s-90s. But lately when I’ve posted anti-trump sentiment he’s talked down to me about how I don’t know anything because I’m young, and he does, and that I’m believing “Trump propaganda.” He’s asked to share my posts among his “students.” I said he could copy and paste what I said as long as my name wasn’t used. He supposedly has a few degrees, but I can’t find any evidence of them. Supposedly he has a psychology degree and used to have a practice. But there’s nothing online that I can find. The only online records are for death certificates for his wife and parents. He told me that the university I thought he taught at doesn’t like him. But it turns out he can’t teach because he had a felony for hoarding weapons. Everything he says to me is complementary, or that I’m special or smart and it absolutely reeks of grooming. I always thought it was weird, but never commented on it. He’s asked for my information because he supposedly has industry contacts, or wants to send me art jobs, but I’m realizing now that stuff like my resume has identifying information on it. Which I didn’t realize until I’d already sent it. He also knows where I work, and has my phone number and probably knows where I live. He’s not a stranger, he lives in the same town. We have mutual friends. But I’m concerned at all the info he has on me. And the fact that no one he’s said would contact me about art things has ever gotten back to me. I’d thought he was a confidante, but really I think he’s been gathering information on me. But for what purpose I can’t guess. He keeps asking me to come teach at his private psychology practice. Or to come be schooled in weapons training. Or to meet him at night at Denny’s at night. And the funny thing, when me and my friend are there and invite him he suddenly can’t go. He’s been using the way that I talk to and interact with my friends to get to me, and it’s concerning.  Like I’m not sure what to do, because he hasn’t done anything wrong. Like nothing he’s ever said is in its own right alarming. But when you add all the pieces together it’s a pretty creepy thing. I’m not sure how to get him out of my life. I’ve thought about deleting my entire facebook and starting over, but that wouldn’t erase the messages in his inbox. And I can pretend I got a new phone and just never give him the new one. He’s using the fact that I don’t quite know how to say no to ask me for things. I think he’s going to keep asking until there isn’t a boundary, but he’s doing it in such an insidious, subtle way. Like today he asked me if I wanted a new phone because he was giving them to the women’s shelters and was worried about me making a long drive back home. You see, he’s framing it as being worried, adding in something philanthropic so he doesn’t seem threatening, but phones can be gps tracked or have listening devices added to them. Plus I’m not afraid about him showing up to my work. He says he wants to get a new tattoo for his friend. But if he ever wanted to try anything, he’d have to go through a shop full of people who are armed and/or have done jail time for pretty serious stuff. But I’m kind of worried that he’s some sort of nazi/white nationalist/alt-right sympathizer. Or would pretty willingly team up with them and just acts progressive/liberal to find out things about people in the other camp. That or he’s grooming young girls for some nefarious purpose. He talks about women in a really creepy, belittling/patronizing way that I never really noticed until now.  What do I even do? I’m afraid that if I outright unfriend/block him that he’d retaliate in some way.