How do I tell an acquaintance that I'm not interested in hanging out with him without sounding rude?

While he may not mean harm, he is doing harm. By failing, or refusing, to pick up on social cues, he is causing you stress and anxiety that you do not need. There is some merit in the idea of straight talking to this guy. Something along the lines of *'I don't think it is a good idea for us to be hanging out together'. However, that has the potential for an embarrassing escalation.

In your position, I would aggressively avoid this guy. Ignore the DMs, no responses and no excuses. Whenever he tries to corner you in the social events, simply excuse yourself and walk away. You are the coordinator and host, you need to check that everything is going well.

/r/relationships Thread