Sharing food can be a rather contentious issue.
Some people simply live for sharing food, offering others a sample of whatever they ordered or brought before even taking a bite themselves.
Others, however, don’t always feel so charitable when it comes to food, wanting it all to themselves.
A decisions which doesn’t always sit well with their present company, and might result in their partaking of other’s food without being given permission.
A problem Redditor mrprez180 was facing at school with a friend of his.
After becoming increasingly tired of seeing his food disappear owing to this certain friend, the original poster (OP) hatched a plan which would effectively prevent his friend from touching his food.
A plan which the rest of his friend group found totally un-cool.
Worried that he may have gone too far, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for putting bacon on my lunch to keep my Muslim friend from stealing it.”
The OP explained how his plan to stop his friend from eating his food proved to be effective, but didn’t sit well with the rest of the group.
“I’m not a super healthy person.”
“At school for lunch, I usually get cheese fries.”
“I know, very unhealthy.”
“But one of my friends sure likes to steal my fries, as well as food from our other friends at the table.”
“He’ll grab a bit from our trays and eat it when we’re not looking sometimes.”
“It’s not usually a lot, it’s more so just a nuisance.”
“So I had an idea.”
“My friend who likes to snatch our food sometimes is Muslim, and he keeps halal.”
“Our school cafeteria gives us the option to get bacon on our fries too.”
“I love America.”
“I wouldn’t get bacon on my fries otherwise, but I would rather do that than set a precedent of my friend stealing my food.”
“When I first sat down at our table, he said ‘What the f*ck man? Why’d you do that?'”
“My friends sided with him.”
“They said I went too far by not ‘respecting’ his dietary restrictions.”
“Too which I replied, ‘his dietary restrictions shouldn’t matter if he doesn’t eat my food’.”
“I think I was totally in the right to do that, but my friends just thought it was petty because I didn’t get bacon before and I only started getting it to give him the finger.”
“Thoughts?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community unanimously agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for putting bacon on his fries, knowing his Muslim friend couldn’t eat it.
Everyone agreed with the OP’s thinking that as it was his food, he could do whatever he wanted to it, even if that meant his Muslim friend couldn’t eat it.
“NTA.”
“He’s still free to steal from the others that are calling you petty.”- loudent2
“NTA.”
“You shouldn’t be restricted from getting a food item because a friend, who doesn’t have permission to eat your food, doesn’t eat it.”
“That’s nonsense.”- aknotamous
“Nta.”
“It’s your food not his.”- snot-eleks
“NTA.”
“This was a valid response.”
“And you are 100% correct his dietary choices aren’t affected by YOUR food.”
“That’s the key point here YOUR food.”- kalkiki
“NTA.”
“You’re not harming him by putting bacon on your food, you’re just preventing him from taking it.”
“This is legitimately no different from getting anchovies, olives, or pineapple on a pizza when you know the moocher hates either with a passion.”
“I legit don’t see, nor get, the need to take into consideration the dietary restrictions of someone who knows their mooching isn’t welcome.”
“Put differently, they’re already being disrespectful, so why should you respect their mooching?”-DivineTarot
“NTA.”
“Wtf man.”
“He’s lucky it’s not me, I would’ve happily poked him in the hand with my fork.”
“I’m cool with sharing if I offer, otherwise get the hell away from my food.”- UrHumbleNarr8or
“NTA.”
“He steals food from you and your friends encourage him.”
“Wtf.”- stunning-stasis
“NTA.”
“He’s stealing food.”
“You aren’t poisoning him.”- He_Who_Is_Person
“NTA.”
“‘What’s your problem, dude?'”
“‘I didn’t get bacon on *your* fries, I got it on *mine*'”- DifferentBee8
“NTA.”
“Good job.”
“This is not a situation where he is sharing your lunch by mutual consent.”
“This is not a situation where you tricked him into eating it.”
“He feels so entitled to a snack from your plate that he got mad that you got something he does not want to eat.”
“You are very correct.”
“It reminds me of the people that would wander the lunchroom and ask for people’s meals.”
“When told no they’d call you stingy and try to embarass you into giving them your food.”- SugarKyle
“Honestly, I’m with NTA.”
“You’ve become annoyed that they’re stealing your food so you did what you did to prevent them from stealing it.”
“It’s YOUR food not theirs to take and I’m judging by your friend’s reactions that you’re in highschool?”
“Or at least early stages of college?”- rosychim
“My first thought is that the next time, you should get EXTRA bacon.”
“If your friends don’t like it, they can feed the guy.”- BaffledMum
“NTA.”
“You can simplify this to ‘I like bacon and ham and I’m putting it on my food when I want it’.”
“You don’t need to address the food stealing or religion.”
“Just bacon it up and have a nice day.”
“Bacon is nature’s most perfect food.”- Oldzoomie
“NTA maybe you wanted bacon that day, on your own food.”
“It was also entirely visible.”
“It’s not like you tricked him into eating it.”
“You also already tried to talk to him about it.”- _GeometricGerbil_
“NTA.”
“Joey doesn’t share food!”- beerncycle
“HARD NTA.”
“I was laughing so hard reading this because it’s so f*cking ridiculous.”
“No thief goes into a store that locked its valuables up after getting shit stolen and complains that now he can’t steal them.”
“Why’s your friend so entitled to your food?”
“I’m genuinely having a hard time understanding that.”- doggydoocontent
“NTA.”
“Modern problems require modern solutions.”- megansandre
“NTA.”
“They aren’t ‘his’ dietary restrictions because they aren’t ‘his’ fries.”
“End of discussion.”
“I’m pretty sure Islam does not condone thievery, either.”
“He needs to stop being selective about what parts of his religion he is going to beat you over the head with, and which parts he’s going to ignore for his own convenience.”
“And your a**hole friends can let him eat their fries, for a change.”- avast2006
“NTA.”
“Am Muslim.”
“Your food your rules.”
“He can get his own.”- fmus
“NTA.”
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”
“You are absolutely right in that your ‘friend’s’ dietary restrictions don’t play into what you eat.”
“And you didn’t actually harm him.”
“There’s a difference between this and, say, putting peanut butter in a sandwich you know is going to be eaten by someone with an allergy.”
“THEN you’d be the A-hole.”- GhostieCafe
“NTA.”
“Your food, not his.”- terajumbodia
“NTA.”
“Beggars, or thieves, can’t be choosers.”- Gibodean
“NTA.”
“He can buy his own damned fries.”- EvilAuntBecky
“NTA.”
“I don’t care if we are friends, don’t touch my food, get your own.”- tabithajune
“NTA and honestly I think it’s hilarious, caricatures hiding a wholeass bear trap in a sandwich level of hilarious.”
“Also your friend likes to steal your food, you don’t want to, so you started eating things that he wouldn’t steal.”
” I wonder what the Qur’ān says say about robbers.”- Mjatalya1
“You are NTA but I really love that I there are enough people on this post asking if he was food secure before I had to.”
“He’s being an a** and it’s not your job to buy his favorite food so he can steal it.”- PWMPups
“Its petty AF and I love it!”
“Def NTA, if he wants bacon free fries let him order his own.”
“Your money, your choice.”
“Also, get those fries with cheese AND bacon or you will be TA!”
“‘Murica!”- Harlem74
“NTA.”
“He knows and has been told you don’t appreciate him stealing your food.”
“Serves him right and I don’t get where your friends are coming from?”- murderymcmurderface
“NTA.”
“And let him know that the oil they cook the fries in is probably the same oil they use for bacon or whatever else.”- WhereTheresAPhill
“NTA.”
“You didn’t secretly put pork in his food.”- daughterofervin
“NTA and you need new friends.”
“It’s YOUR food not his.”
“He can f*ck off with that entitled bullsh*t.”- Chief-Valcano
If the OP intentionally served his friend food he knew he couldn’t eat, that would have been malicious and wrong.
However, as his friend was sampling from his, and other people’s, food without permission, one has to wonder how he possibly felt he was justified in being upset.
One can only imagine his anger stems from the fact that he’ll now have to buy his own cheese fries.