AITA for putting bacon on my lunch to keep my Muslim friend from stealing it
A Redditor shared a story about putting bacon on their fries to prevent their Muslim friend from stealing their lunch. The friend, who keeps halal, had been taking food from the Redditor’s tray as a nuisance, so the Redditor decided to add bacon, knowing their friend couldn’t eat it due to dietary restrictions.
However, this decision backfired when the friend expressed frustration, and the Redditor’s other friends sided with him, accusing the Redditor of disrespecting the friend’s beliefs. Was the Redditor justified in their actions, or did they go too far? Read the full story below.
‘ AITA for putting bacon on my lunch to keep my Muslim friend from stealing it’
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**k 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?
Here’s how people reacted to the post:
[Reddit User] − 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.
the_beat_labratory − So you’ve had the option to get bacon all along and you haven’t been getting it until now? What’s wrong with you? Never pass up a chance to get bacon. You’re NTA now, but you kind of were the AH before because you didn’t get bacon when you could have.
snot-eleks − Nta.. It’s your food not his.
GhostieCafe − 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.
evasivegoat − NTA. It’s your food, not his. INFO: Does he get his own food too?
loudent2 − NTA – He’s still free to steal from the others that are calling you petty.
aknotamous − 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.
DivineTarot − 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?
UrHumbleNarr8or − 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.
[Reddit User] − NTA nicely done, your friends s**k for siding w him
Do you think the Redditor was right to take this approach to stop their friend from stealing their food, or did they cross a line by disregarding the friend’s dietary restrictions? How would you handle a situation like this? Share your thoughts below!