It's clear to me that there's some kind of misunderstanding or language barrier, even though his English sounds great.
“You misunderstand,” I start to say.
Fabian puts a hand on my arm.
“What's going on?” he asks.
“Hold on.”
I raise my hand politely toward Fabian.
“I'll pay you an extra hundred if you just park the horse by the water so we can eat by the river if that's okay.”
“Just to sit?”
“Yes, no riding,” I answer.
Fabian looks confused.
The driver does as I ask, and the horse is parked.
“Would the horse like some water?” I ask the driver.
“You're very kind. She had water an hour ago.”
“Okay. Thank you,” I smile and continue eating, only to notice that Fabian is still looking at me.
“What was that about?”
“Sorry if this ruins it for you but,” I lean in quietly. “I'm not really on board with the whole horse-drawn carriage through the city thing.”
“Really? Why not?” Fabian asks, looking hurt.
“No please, it's not you or anything. And trust me, what you did was very sweet but… these horses often go through a lot. Look around you. Do you think this is a place for a horse? To walk for many hours on hard gravel and concrete, no grass in sight, for the sake of entertainment for people day in and day out for the rest of their lives until they can't do it anymore? Sorry but I don't feel good about that at all.”
Fabian smiles. “Bleeding heart. I should have known.”
“Most people don't know. But once I get the knowledge, I just can't put it out of my mind and pretend that's not happening, especially if I'm benefiting from it.”
I take a bite of the small pastry with meat as filling.
“That's fair. But I'm sure there are a lot of things that you benefit from even right now that you're not aware of. So you're basically saying as long as you're not aware of it it's all fine.”
“Well I mean… yeah. If you're aware that something you're doing is causing suffering to something else, wouldn't you stop that activity?”
“Well then by that logic Gabby, you should stop eating that meat then. Everything that we take advantage of, everything that we consume even here in the city, something had to die for it or suffer for it. Whether it be slave labor from the very people and their children who helped to assemble the phones that you use in your everyday life or the clothes that you wear on your back.
“Or whether it be the animals packed in horrible living conditions, tortured and unhappy just so they can be slaughtered after watching their children go through the same, all so you can enjoy it on your plate. Just because you're not aware of it doesn't mean it's not happening.”
“So if you're aware of all that stuff happening then why doyoudo it?”
“Well let me ask you something. Now that you're aware of that stuff, why are you still eating the meat? I bet you'll still go home and use your phone too won't you?” Fabian says.
He doesn't seem to be challenging me in a malicious way but genuinely having a thoughtful conversation.
Sitting up straight, I wipe my mouth with the napkin.
“I'll still use my phone because I'm aware that stuff is happening but… it's on such a grand scale me stopping the use of my phone isn't going to really affect things and also there's no actual concrete proof that this is happening.”
