Our friend group has this unspoken thing where two people in it used to date and broke up badly three years ago and now we all navigate around it at every gathering. It's exhausting and artificial but no one wants to be the person who makes it weird by bringing it up.
More people experience this than they realize.
A community is collectively avoiding a conflict that's shaping every interaction, and the avoidance has become more damaging than the original issue.
“Where Are You with Confucian filial piety — examined?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.