Jane, a dedicated vegetarian, recently told me about a bad thing that happened at a friend’s party. The party, which she had been looking forward to all week, turned awkward when she met a meat-eater who wouldn’t accept her food choices.
Jane was putting vegetables and sides on her plate when she saw a man named Dave standing nearby and eating a huge steak. So that her food wouldn’t get contaminated, she asked him nicely to keep his steak away from hers. Dave could have said sorry and agreed to her request, but instead he laughed and moved his plate closer to hers on purpose.
Jane told her friend, the BBQ host, that she felt uncomfortable and disrespected. She hoped that her friend would understand and help her. It’s too bad that her friend just ignored what happened and said, “That’s just Dave being Dave.” This careless disregard for Dave’s behaviour made Jane feel unwanted and unimportant.
Jane’s irritation turned to anger as the night went on when she heard Dave bragging about how he had “trolled” the vegetarians at the party. He talked about his meetings with Jane, laughing at how he had ignored her request and said similar things to other guests who didn’t eat meat.
Jane was stressed and uncomfortable after what happened, so she chose to leave the barbecue. She realised how important it is to be around people who respect her decisions and values as she thought about what happened. Jane’s story is a good lesson that everyone, no matter what they eat or how they live, deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.
