Everyone's a little bit racist...

[SoCalGirl]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Personally, I think our society is out of control with expecting "free" lunches/snacks/etc to meet each person's individual dietary needs. If you can't have meat/dairy/gluten/fiber or whatever and you aren't aware in advance of the menu, it is up to you to inquire in advance or bring food you can eat. It is next to impossible to find anything to serve a group of people that will work for everybody present. As a person with extreme dietary restrictions, I bring my own backup food if I'm not sure what is being served. I would never consider making a big deal of the fact that the entree is a luncheon salad and I can't eat vegetables.

My mom was a vegetarian before it was cool and she always had a sandwich in her purse "just in case". The world does not have to cater to everybody.

That said- I think the first situation sounds like prejudice if you're saying the admin only asked those with Indian names whether they needed vegetarian food. Statistically, the Indians were more likely to be vegetarians, but I definitely know plenty of Caucasians who are vegetarian.

The second situation simply sounds like they feel like I do! If you have a special need, bring it to someone's attention. Don't assume people can read your mind.

My coworkers and I thought in the first scenario the admin was at best just trying to be courteous and at worst prejudice. Would have been best if she'd ask everyone if there were any dietary restrictions.

In the second scenario, nobody made a huge deal of it. The coordinators were informed so arrangements could be made for the rest of the meetings. I just pulled the meat off while others ran out to the onsite cafeteria. We don't have a cafeteria in my office so that option hadn't occurred to me. I'm so used to big meetings (30+) always having vegetarian options that I was floored by the lack of options really. I learned quickly to save fruit and other options from breakfast because the lunch offerings were ultimately fairly gross.


eta: I recall, at a previous job, one of my supervisors loved to reward the team with lunches. He would order ribs, peperoni pizza, cheesesteak sandwiches, etc. Always so much meat. Never mind that half the team were known vegetarians. I was constantly reminding him to pick out alternative options.