Dear Maria: Wrong Time? Right Place?

QUESTION:

Dear Maria,

Over the weekend I decided to bring some friends together and some were new to one another. As the night carried on, the drinks were flowing and one of my friends had slipped and told another one of my friends that he had bad breath. 

The friend later then approached me and asked me if his breath does in fact smell and I had to tell him the truth and confirm that it does. Long story short, a fight broke out between all our friends and the night ended soon after. 

My question is, was I wrong for admitting the truth? Second, was my delivery wrong? I do feel bad about the situation, so I was wondering if you could help me out. 

XOXO 
Swinger 

ANSWER:
Hello Swinger!!! Love that name- such a kiiiii.

This story made me laugh, but sounds like such chaos and I'm sure this has probably happened a million times amongst friends. The first thing I will say is: don't be too hard on yourself or anyone else as it sounds like you all were simply drinking at a party. Sometimes, when people are under the influence, things slip or are not said in the best way and people can be super sensitive when there's alcohol involved.

I don't know exactly how you said it when your friend asked to confirm the state of his breath, however, he asked and you gave an honest answer- nothing to feel guilty about. You could have possibly just deflected the question, pulled him aside, and told him the truth later; not in front of everyone at the party? That's probably why he got so offended because he was actually embarrassed.

If you guys are really friends this should be fairly simple to move on from, aside from the fight. I hope no one got hurt and everyone has apologized for their behavior/involvement in it. In my opinion, the person with the breath problem sounds a bit immature because that feedback should actually be welcomed and embraced. I would absolutely respect if someone gave me a heads up that my breath wasn't on point, however, that would never happen to me because I always carry some mints and gum; no shade. Haha!

Anywho, talk to your friend and explain where you were coming from. I hope that by now you all have moved on.

- Maria
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