Ketchup Or No Ketchup

I use the platform TikTok, and I recently came across a post of “a friend” asking if we put ketchup on tacos. Most of the comments were, “ewwwe, that’s gross”, “no way would I ever do that”, “that’s just wrong”. Well, my response was, well yes, I do, I have since I was a kid. And at least no one came back at me with ketchup hate. There are other things I put ketchup on as well. Some are more common and some not so much. I put ketchup on hot dogs and hamburgers, pretty common right. But I also like it on omelets and have even put it in my chili. But it got me thinking a couple of things. One, is that it’s ok to have an acquired taste, it’s ok to be different. Two, people are finicky and almost judgmental if you don’t do the same thing as them or are not like them. This goes from ketchup, to mustard, to mayonnaise, to religion to politics, and the list goes on and on. On one hand we accept differences and then on the other hand become overtly critical.

A friend of mine recently made a post about certain politics and I have held my tongue with any response. Because it is their right to choose and believe in what they do and it’s their post. But post after post, after post, on a public forum mind you, I finally responded. If you don’t want a comment back, don’t post on an open forum or block comments, and so I commented back. I wasn’t rude or condemning but I did share my frustration and here’s why. If you like or dislike ketchup that’s your choice. You like ketchup on hamburgers but not tacos, that’s your choice but see this is where my brain goes, hmmmmmm, let’s talk about that. For example, someone says they like ketchup but not on tacos, then I ask, well, have you tried it on tacos? If they have tried it, matter dropped. But if they like ketchup and haven’t tried it on tacos, for a plethora of their own reasonings, then I say try it, try it you might like it. Don’t allow emotion, or preconceived notions, or culture, or fear, or anything to dictate what only your tastebuds will know. Be informed, be educated, be knowledgeable, be adventurous and be aware. You never really know till you know.

So, see the issue isn’t really about ketchup or no ketchup. The issue is, do you really know? Are you informed or mislead? Are you open or closed? And why? And what are you going to do about it? We all can live in our bubble, surrounded by like-minded bubbles. That makes the world just fine and dandy. The world is safe, there’s no conflict. Because if someone likes ketchup on their tacos then something is wrong with them. And we just can’t have that. And that my friends is the real root of ketchup or no ketchup. Ketchup isn’t going anywhere and is offered in stores and restaurants. The “ingredients” are in many other things, like salsa, like spaghetti sauce, just as in all of us. We are all the ingredients but if we don’t at least try them, we will never know just how flavorful things can be. So, I encourage you that if you like ketchup, be open to trying it on other things. If you know that you don’t like ketchup well at least don’t judge others that may just like it on their tacos. We can all share tacos just the same.