DEAR HARRIETTE: I was just assigned a project with a co-worker, and now we spend basically every workday and day off together crunching to get it done. She is a vegan activist, dedicated to transforming my life, as she says, and to stopping me from being a meat eater. She criticizes everything I eat. She explains how harmful the food that I eat is, and the processes that my foods all go through, and it is completely annoying to me. She is very aggressive anytime I eat something that she doesn’t agree with.
At our last meeting, we argued, and she stormed out. I just want to work without being judged for my lifestyle. Plenty of people eat meat and processed foods in America. I understand her concern, but she is becoming very mean and rude when the topic comes up, and she calls me names. How do I get her to understand that she needs to drop this topic? I fear she never will. -- Meat Eater
DEAR MEAT EATER: You have to stand up to her strongly. Let her know that while you have to work together, her food politics are hers -- not yours. Tell her you are done with her constant lobbying about your food choices. Do your best to tune her out. Put on noise-canceling headphones if you have them. Ignore her.
If that still doesn’t work, report her to your boss. She is bullying you, and that is crossing the line.
(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)