Social Graces

Dear Social Grace,
I am writing to you for correction and guidance; I believe I handled a bad situation badly, and I want to know what I should've done. A friend, "Brenda," recently set me up on a blind date. With great misgivings, I accepted the date with "Buster." Buster picked me up on the appointed evening, and I was pleasantly surprised: He was handsome, clean, and on time. As we walked to a restaurant near my house, he showed himself to be interesting and even intelligent. Or so I thought.

After we ordered our meals, he sat back and casually said something horribly racist about a certain group of people. I was so shocked, I said nothing, and Buster then proceeded to rail against this group of people, saying terrible things, in a voice loud enough that people at neighboring tables could hear. I sat, disgusted and embarrassed, through his diatribe, until finally he noticed the look of horror on my face. Buster asked if he'd offended me. I mumbled that I thought we should change the subject. He asked if perhaps I were a member of the group he had been speaking of and said that if I were, "it [didn't] show."

At this point, I excused myself and went to the ladies' room, where I washed my hands and reapplied my lipstick. I then buttoned my coat, exited the ladies' room, and walked right out the restaurant's front door and went home.

I've said nothing about the details of the date to Brenda (who, by the way,is a member of the group Buster was speaking about) -- or to anyone, really (I did tell my mom, who lives far away), and I haven't heard a peep from Buster. What should I say when Brenda asks me about the date? And what would have been a better way to handle the situation I described? I feel that I was a big coward, and I wonder if it would've been appropriate to tell him off (which I've been doing in my head ever since).

Sincerely,
Misery Date

Dear Miserable Madam,
In fact, you made your point quite eloquently. Although I have a couple of suggestions for similar situations, I don't think you performed too badly at all in this one -- the horror of which certainly earns you a place in the Top 10 Worst Blind Dates Hall of Fame. Although etiquette tends to shy away from "telling people off," it does not require us to smilingly accept behavior such as Buster's or other sorts of unforgivable maleficence.

When a person demonstrates that he does not care to be a part of human society -- by showing himself to be a racist, for example -- we are quite right to cut him off from its pleasures (in your case, the pleasure of a civilized conversation over a nice meal). The rules of etiquette have always included powerful ways to deal with scoundrels, and you've applied one of them: refusal to engage. When faced with someone as detestable as Buster, you are right (and perfectly well mannered) to decline to have anything whatsoever to do with him.

As a rule, when someone makes a racist comment, you might at first temper your outrage with graciousness and assume that he has misspoken. For example, you could have given Buster a chance to correct himself by saying something like, "I don't think you realize how horrendous that sounded; surely you couldn't mean ...." Given this chance, most people will backpedal like mad (and you'll have the satisfaction of watching them struggle). The socially graceful thing to do thereafter would be to accept the comment as a misunderstanding (or pretend to do so) -- and then to treat the person warily until he proves himself worthy of your trust and goodwill. Social Grace wants you always to assume the best if you can, but that doesn't mean you have to ignore serious personality problems.

If your attempt at correction fails, you may take more drastic measures. A speedy departure works fine for me -- it's called "applied rudeness," and in small doses it's just the thing. You've been imagining giving Buster a piece of your mind, but there was nothing further to discuss: He was wrong, and your departure demonstrated your unwillingness even to entertain arguments on the subject. If you had felt up to it, you could have said, "I will not listen to this kind of talk, and I think it would be best if we called it an evening." Such a statement is direct and to the point -- and perhaps a better way to handle situations like these than merely walking away.

If you are asked about this date, by Brenda or by anyone, you are wise to say as little as possible -- certainly nothing beyond the fact that you don't care to see Buster again. I live by the maxim "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." That means there's nothing to be said about Buster.

Dear Social Grace,
It's been a while since I've been in the "dating pool," and I have a couple of questions about proper "date" behavior. I should mention that I am a woman who dates women. So, on a first date, should we split the tab? Or how do we figure out who pays for dinner? Is a kiss at the end of a first date too forward? I want to be proper and impress my date.