There’s always a fine line to walk when you work in a multicultural environment. Different people, from different backgrounds, all eating different kinds of food in a shared space — the microwave area can get quite...pungent. Especially if fish is involved. And yes, I heat up fish in the microwave, and I’ll continue to do so.
However, if you’re sharing an eating space with a coworker, you’ll usually want to avoid commenting on the smell of their food. Respecting different cultures is, at the end of the day, simply human. But for today’s narrator, things went well beyond cultural sensitivity, and she even got into trouble because of her behavior.
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Some people aren’t used to foods that have a stronger smell, but respect should always be imperative
Image credits: Flowo / Freepik (not the actual photo)
But when that food doesn’t just smell of spices or fish, and it actually smells rotten, then that may be a problem
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After politely asking her co-worker to eat in the breakroom, a woman never thought it’d go beyond a respectful conversation
Image credits: benzoix / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The Korean colleague actually blasted the woman online and went as far as reporting her to their boss for “racism”
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After a meeting, they realized the “Korean” food the woman was bringing was actually Fettucini Alfredo
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The Korean woman completely forgot that the company has cameras with sound recording all over the place
Image credits: lk360606 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Thankfully, their boss realized it was all just an attention-grabbing ruse and sent the Korean worker home
Image credits: Ok_Television1108
Turns out, the food must have been spoiled because one co-worker even threw up after trying it
Today’s story shows why you shouldn’t judge people too quickly, and how what might initially seem like a case of racism can actually come down to basic human decency. The original poster (OP) begins by explaining that she has a Korean coworker who was adopted by white parents. Similarly, the OP shares that she was also adopted by white parents, though she is Hispanic, and the two bonded over that common ground.
However, things took a turn for the worse after the narrator started struggling with her colleague’s food smell, and she eventually asked her if she could start eating her food in the break room. According to the OP, this wasn’t just a typical Korean food smell, but something closer to rotten or spoiled food. Of course, the narrator assures that she was polite and didn’t say it smelled bad, only that her stomach didn’t react well to it.
Still, the request wasn’t received as gracefully as it was said. The coworker became offended, threw her food in the trash in front of the OP, bashed her online, and even reported the incident to their superiors. In her version of events, she accused the OP of being a “white supremacist” who told her she wasn’t allowed to eat anything “non-American.”
Ultimately, the OP’s boss turned out to be level-headed and saw through the situation. The company had cameras with audio that confirmed the OP hadn’t said anything offensive. On top of that, the coworker continued to frame the issue as a matter of “cultural food,” when it was later discovered that the dish in question was actually fettuccine Alfredo, likely made with spoiled dairy products.
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Thankfully, the lack of an HR department actually came in handy, since the situation didn’t escalate as much as it could have been if it had been fully reported. In the U.S., where this was, discriminatory behavior in the workplace is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Violations can lead to lawsuits, including compensation such as back pay and other financial damages.
If the office hadn’t had video surveillance, the situation could just as easily have turned into a legal case against the OP. While video cameras are generally legal in U.S. workplaces, audio recording laws are more complex. In many cases, recording audio requires the consent of at least one or all parties involved, depending on the state, so we can assume proper consent was in place here.
In the end, though, despite the insanity of it all, the OP discovered that the food her coworker had brought that day was nothing more than fettuccine Alfredo — which, according to experts, is considered an American adaptation of the Italian dish “fettuccine al burro.” There was nothing inherently Korean about it, despite the coworker framing the situation as if the OP were being discriminatory toward Korean cuisine.
Ultimately, readers were just as frustrated as the OP. What seemed to bother many people the most was that several coworkers were also put off by the smell of the food, yet none of them spoke up. So, what do you think? Was the narrator in the wrong here, or should she have stayed silent altogether? Let us know in the comments below.
Netizens were mostly frustrated that no one but the woman spoke up, despite all of them agreeing with her
