About 20 to 30 minutes into a date, TikToker Amanda (@amandalmartinezz) got into a huge argument with the guy and left. When they first met up at a restaurant, everything seemed fine. He was nice and looked the same in real life as he did in his photos online.
When the server came to take their orders, she opted for a pasta dish. She didn’t want to add protein to her meal because the only protein options were meat and seafood, and she was a vegetarian.
Apparently, this did not sit well with her date, and they proceeded to get into an argument about protein. He immediately told her that she needed to have a protein with her meal. Amanda tried to explain that she was a vegetarian.
“How people respond to me telling them I’m a vegetarian can be a major red flag because what I do with myself has nothing to do with you, and whatever you do for yourself has nothing to do with me,” said Amanda.
“So, if you make it an issue, it’s going to be an issue.”
She could tell that her date didn’t seem too thrilled about the fact that she was a vegetarian. She has been a vegetarian for over a decade, ever since she discovered what factory farming was in college.
Then, she found out she had a kidney disease and learned that her condition is best managed by limiting her protein intake, especially animal protein.
Her date launched into a whole speech about how she needed to follow the carnivore diet because being vegetarian was bad for her body. At first, Amanda tried to play nice, thinking that he might be coming from a place of care and concern.
But then, he asked her the name of her disease in a way that sounded like he didn’t really believe her. It is called polycystic kidney disease, or PKD for short.
There is no cure for it. The best course of action is to follow the healthiest lifestyle possible to preserve the organs so that transplants won’t be necessary down the line.
He ignored everything she said and told her that if she followed the carnivore diet, her disease would be cured in six months.
“I genuinely was so blown away about the audacity to speak on something you don’t know anything about and then the insensitivity of it,” said Amanda.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. You have no idea what the disease means to [my family or me] or how it’s affected us.”
“You’re not even coming from a place of empathy or even being inquisitive or wanting to know about it. You’re literally arguing with me about my disease and trying to mansplain what is best for me.”
Amanda did not stick around for long. She asked for the check and for her pasta to go.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
