It's a fact of life that many of us will eventually meet people with different beliefs and values that don't necessarily align with our own.
It can be enriching to learn more about another person's outlook on life, but it can also be an occasional source of tension. After all, many of us are passionate about our choices and the decisions that others make.
Throughout our lives, we take the shape of the people we're meant to become. It's a process of self-discovery and learning many lessons.
Once we begin taking our own path, we notice that not everyone is going the same way.
There are people who are extremely passionate about changing the world and, in doing so, changing the way people think about certain issues.
While some people view certain beliefs as serving as a collective good, others may find a call to change abrasive and disrespectful.
Sometimes it happens at the Thanksgiving dinner table, the office, on social media, or even with friends. No matter the place, the fact is that most of us butt heads with someone at some point.
There are heated arguments and protests, but also calm conversations. There are many ways that people disagree, and sometimes it means someone gets hurt or offended.
The man in question found himself craving a burger one day and decided to pick one up during his lunch break at work.
For him, it felt like an innocent treat for lunch, but one co-worker wasn't pleased when he brought it back to the breakroom.
In a post submitted to Reddit's r/AmITheAsshole page, the man explains that his co-worker, who he nicknamed Carla, had never tried to push her vegan lifestyle on anyone in the office before, so her reaction surprised him.
Their encounter began innocently enough as the two greeted each other and exchanged pleasantries. But when she noticed what he had brought with him to eat, Carla's mood immediately changed.
"Yeah can you not eat that in here, the smell makes me nauseous and I can smell it already," the man recalled of her saying in his Reddit post.
Attempting to reason with Carla, he pointed out that this just happens to be the only breakroom available at their workplace, to which she simply replied that he should then take his lunch outside and eat it there.
Which, considering that it's the middle of the winter, wasn't a very good option to offer up.
After all, it wasn't like Carla had a documented illness that was impacted by his burger lunch. It was just her own meat-eating preferences that were making her object to the meal. So where was the harm really?
As the man explained, "I just started eating and ignoring her so she left."
According to the man's post, "[Carla] went and complained to some people because someone in my department brought it up later, she said I was mean to do that and I should compromise."
He went on to explain, "Thing is I'm a pretty empathetic person, if someone has [an] allergy or something I try to accommodate, but being a vegan is a choice and it's not like I went out of my way just to annoy her. I honestly didn't even know she was in there ['til] I got back, but I'm not going to eat out in the cold just to please someone."
After finished his post by saying, "I still kinda feel bad for making someone feel sick, like maybe I could have just saved it for after work," people quickly flooded the comments to his defense.
One person wrote, "You’re allowed to eat what you want to eat, and she doesn’t get to call dibs on the break room. If she was so bothered, she should have left."
Someone summed up the overall ethos of the Reddit comments quite nicely, writing, "I always say this. If you have a problem with somebody’s appearance, eating habits or lifestyle and they’re in a public place, it is on you to leave. Don’t ask them to accommodate you like you own the place."
Some else said, "It's a simple concept that is so hard for people to understand. 'Oh I don't like this' Then remove yourself from the situation."
Let us know what you think of this meaty situation in the comments and if you think this employee handled the situation well.
h/t: Reddit
