Brother-in-law bails on fancy dinner because 46-year-old dad is watching anime at the table: '[He] shakes his empty Mt. Dew glass at the waiter'

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  A man looks distressed at a family member using a smartphone at the table.

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• Am I in the wrong for telling my sister in law I won't be going out to eat with her family again if her husband and youngest are going too?

  

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• Commenters gave their two cents on the situation.

  

• I don't know about you, but restaurants are a huge part of my joy in this life. I love going to restaurants, I love being at restaurants, and I want to do it as much as my budget will allow. I love the sense of festivity and getting to try new food. So it follows that I want my closest friends to have the same level of respect for those institutions, or at least a base level of decorum when they're in them. We should all try to behave at our best behavior at restaurants. Servers and chefs work so hard to make the experience special, and it's our job to give that its propers. At least we don't want to create any issues. Sure, you can stand up for yourself if you're experiencing bad service, but you should always err on the side of gratitude. Eating out is optional, after all. But some people just can't control themselves. You know the type. Maybe they're a Karen, or maybe they're just oblivious, but either way, they're making a scene, and they are embarrassing everyone involved. And you wish you could get out. 

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  A man tries to enjoy a dinner at a nice restaurant with his family.

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

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• It's hard to know what to do in this situation. Do you just hope that your good behavior cancels out theirs and leave a hefty tip to make up for it? Or do you call out the behavior in the moment and make it clear that you won't stand for it? That's the question that came up in this story, where a man learned some of his family couldn't be trusted at a nice restaurant. He thought they had a good working relationship, but when it was put to the test, everything fell apart. Read on to see exactly what happened.

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