An example.
I’m a picky eater – I tend to approach new foods very carefully.
A few years ago, when I was dating this one woman, we’d often go out to eat. She preferred small, out-of-the-way, ethnic restaurants with very unusual cuisine. Her philosophy towards other cultures is that you not only have to sample the food, arts, and so on, but you must also like it and embrace it – you must like everything.
Well, one time we were at a little Tibetian restaurant in Boulder. I didn’t see much on the menu that I liked, but I found something that I felt I could eat without much problems. She ordered something that I really didn’t like – I can’t remember what it was, but it wasn’t something I’d comsume without taking a small sample and getting used to the texture and taste. Anyhow, she insisted that I try a sample of her dinner. I reluctantly did so, and didn’t really enjoy it.
My reaction met with rage. She argued that because I was reluctant to try and enjoy strange, unfamiliar foods, I was shunning another culture, and therefore bigoted and racist. WTF?
The thing is, once you’re called a “racist,” it’s next to impossible to defend yourself. What can you do?