My arsehole friends...

Okay, so this bit might be a bit harsh, or not... I shouldn't be the one to judge.

I'll start with my depressing incident of several days ago.
Me and some others who'll remain nameless were having a conversation (which I didn't start) about the subject of Nirvana having ripped off songs from other artists.
We knew that Kurt had admitted to ripping off The Killing Joke and Boston.
I was saying how More Than a Feeling doesn't really sound much like Smells Like Teen Spirit, so it shouldn't really count as a rip off. I'm interested in music, so I have opinions on it.

Suddenly, my friend, who remains nameless, says "Shut up. No one's interested".

Now comment on this, because I want your views. That's really out of order, isn't it?

Let's look at what they were implying:
"Your interests aren't worth anything to me"
"Your opinions are worthless"
"Your input is not needed"
"My interests are more valid than yours"
"We don't need you"
"We don't like you"
"We don't respect you"
"Go away"

Maybe I'm reading too much into this...

Even so, I said as much to him, and my other "friend" starts making fun of the fact that it upset me

But let's look closer at this first person's character.
This person is the type which is arrogant about the fact that everyone else but him is arrogant.

Another situation, in the same vein:
Two separate conversations are happening in tandem. These two so-called friends are talking about games or TV or some such.
Meanwhile, me and another friend are talking about something deeper, which I forget.
At one point, I mentioned that Da Vinci was a genius. This person turns from his own conversation and says "We all know you'll never be a genius" (I'm paraphrasing, because my memory isn't great).

I was SERIOUSLY offended. Not only was he insulting my potential and intelligence, but he was implying that I'd arrogantly claimed to be a genius, or expected to become one.

Then there's all the jokes at my expense, and ALWAYS at my expense. This just goes beyond friendly banter, in which there's some give and take.
I could try to be in good humour. Join in, continue and expand the joke at my own expense. They just say "Oh, he admits it!", and treat it as if I'd said it in earnest, rather than continuing the conversation in a jokey way.
Or, I could sit around and sulk, which means more jokes at my expense.

Or I could avoid them all the time and make better friends. I try, but they just keep following me, and guilt-tripping me into hanging out with them. And sometimes it's worth it for the times when all's harmonious.

The thing to remember here is: These people claim to be friends of mine.

...And this only refers to two of them. I've got buckets to say about the others

So please comment. I'd like to hear your views on this.
Am I right in this, or just whiny and paranoid?

I'm clearly biased, but I've presented the facts and my resulltant thought processes as objectively as I can...

Help me out, here. I'm losing my mind over this...

BAP!!