Anthony Bourdain Eats Dog.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went to hear Tony speak.    It was one of those watch him spill his guts and hope he doesn’t barf from the saki speeches.  Really, it was entertaining, engaging and a delightful change from the typical Saturday night routine which involves a bath, some Fancy Nancy or Junie B. and some part of recorded Nat Geo special.  Yes, our lives are that boring.

He posed the question to the audience: Why would you travel if you are a vegetarian?   Not that you shouldn’t, but why bother?   His proposition was rooted in his obvious bias which is not terribly unconventional:  a great chunk of travel is enjoyed through the stomach.  The foreign cultures we enjoy are not just to be seen and heard  - but tasted.

So, he proceeded, when you are in that remote province in far eastern province, you might choose to drive by the sign that advertises dog as the nightly blue plate, but as you are served a meal in a farmer’s home where the vegetarian menu hasn’t yet been printed - there is no choice, in his mind, but to accept it.

When I got home a Facebook friend (lower case f) posted a hostile note about how she thought the talk was horrific, she walked out, called him a hypocrite and HRUMPH, he likes to eat dogs.  This person had other beefs with deeper public policy issues I’d rather not address here, but suffice to say, she let her emotions get in the way of enjoying that $50 seat.

I posted a response that said, really?  Is that what he said?  She clarified and later sent an apology for being zealous (but just to me, not her 890 other friends).  No matter, as I took it as a delightful reminder that every day, everything we say, everywhere we say it, people listen with their own filter.  Their own bias.  And in her case, her own agenda.

What I heard clearly was that he would never eat a pet.  And while I was on the board of the Humane Society and still am a member, don’t condone the thought or act of eating a dog, I’m not Anthony Bourdain seeking ratings and advertising revenue either.