A woman on Reddit described how her family sneaked meat or meat products into her food while she was a practicing vegetarian during her high school years — and now the post has gone viral.
To date, the post has received nearly 2,300 reactions, with 600 people sharing comments about it – and a psychologist offered comfort and advice on the matter as well.
Writing on the Reddit page known as ‘Am I the a-hole’, the woman, who calls herself ‘Lady_Squids’, said she only ate vegetarian food in high school “for a few years”.
She wrote, “I was into it a lot, not like a crazy ‘vegan teacher,’ but more like I just liked being in a community.”
Today, she said, she is “no longer a vegetarian as an adult.”
Recently, she has heard her mother and grandmother “laughing” at her and telling “their friends” stories about their time as vegetarians.
The young woman wrote, “Apparently, the whole time I was a vegetarian, my whole family (even extended, which is like 50 people) had a game where they could see how often they could steal meat from me.”
She said the family would cook “vegetables in bacon fat and things like that.”
She said this type of food manipulation apparently happened “at birthday parties, family gatherings, Thanksgiving and just dinner at home,” judging by the stories family members were telling.
“They said they were only doing it for my own good, that I needed more protein.”
The woman said she learned her family members had been playing an “inside joke for years, and I’m kind of upset” by it, she said.
The young woman wrote that when she was “confronted” about it, “they said they were only doing it for my own good, that I needed more protein, but they kept smiling and laughing. [with] each other.”
The woman wrote to others on the platform that “maybe” they “really did it because they cared, but it still feels bad.”
Family, she also reported, “says I’m becoming a drama queen getting upset” about it all.
She asked the others, “So what do you think? Am I upset by this, or should I laugh with my family?”
The social media community jumped to the woman’s defense regarding her food struggle, deeming her not at all wrong – with the main reaction to her own dilemma racking up nearly 3,000 reactions.
“It is valid that you are upset by this”, wrote the chief commentator.
“At the same time, you can’t retroactively do anything about it, unfortunately. So pick your battles. Although I would be wary of eating their food, given the history of food manipulation.”
The same commenter continued: “Also, you may need to help your family understand nutrition. And just basic science. Bacon fat has 0 protein in it… It’s a fat. Not a protein.”
The same person added: “It seems like they think that animal products = protein and that plant products can’t have protein, and that’s just horribly incorrect.”
The person continued, “To be clear, the comment about teaching their family about protein was sarcastic because they actually did it to humiliate her, not to give her protein.”
However, the same commenter wrote, the original poster “could be giving them science/nutrition lessons as a linguistic way of insulting them.”
Another person wrote of what happened, “This is just disrespectful.”
Others also expressed concern for the woman’s family, with one commenter calling them “childish and mean”.
“I’m not a vegetarian, but I would never do that to anyone, especially my family.”
Another commenter wrote: “I’m willing to bet their disrespect and bad behavior can be seen in other situations you haven’t thought of yet. I’m not a vegetarian, but I would never do that to anyone, especially my family. If they really can’t see how messed up this behavior is, you need to distance yourself from them.”
Another person in the comments section said, “You don’t have to cut them off or anything, but a healthy distance won’t hurt.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the original Reddit poster for comment.
Kathy Nickerson, a licensed clinical psychologist based in California, told Fox News Digital that “it would have been much better for [the woman’s family] to express their feelings honestly, instead of using tricks” and make the woman “a joke”.
Nickerson noted that family members may have told the woman, “We really like to eat meat at gatherings, so we don’t want to change what we cook.”
Nickerson said, “Not ideal, but honest.”
Or, family members could have said, “I don’t want to cook a special dish without animal products. It’s too much trouble.”
Again, Nickerson said, that wouldn’t be “the best answer, but at least [it’s] transparent and honest.”
“Can you understand where I’m coming from?”
She recommended that the young woman “talk privately with every family member involved, starting with the one you’re closest to, maybe mom.”
She said the conversation might go something like this: “Mom, I heard you talking about my vegetarian choices and I felt really hurt for two reasons. First, you lied to me and disrespected my wishes. Second, you you made a joke of my beliefs and made fun of me behind my back. It makes me feel insecure and like my feelings don’t matter. If I ever have a restriction or diet request again, I feel like I can’t trust you to respect that. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”
Said Nickerson, “See if they listen, validate your feelings, and provide reassurance. If they don’t, you can say, ‘OK, then I’ll have to bring my own food to family gatherings in the future.'”
If people in the family are “still angry,” the psychologist said, then the woman “may even decide to skip family gatherings for a while.”
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