A lack of generosity. It can take so many forms—it doesn’t just have to do with money—so I’m always shocked when people can’t muster any at all.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2021 source ↗
The question
What trait do you most dislike in other people?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A verbatim standing question in The Guardian's rotating Q&A questionnaire, documented across respondents and years.
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Others on this question
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Craig Charles
English actor
Selfishness and cruelty.
People who are proud of their ignorance.
Arrogance and a lack of respect for others.
Unwillingness to change.
More from Alice Waters
View profile →The inclination to pretend I read a friend’s book when maybe I didn’t completely finish.
I believe that that is a fast-food myth to get us out there buying whatever they’re selling because I know that beans and greens are very, very affordable.
I decided that my attention would be in the dining room. I haven’t cooked in 28 years at Chez Panisse. ... I didn’t intend to be out of the kitchen. ... Now I’m in a different world and I contribute to the collaboration of the kitchen and I’m always working with a group of colleagues who inspire me, but I really miss being actually in the solving of the performance, that effort to really come up with dishes that are delicious and right.
Shopping at the organic farmers market, buying whatever’s in season that looks the ripest and most vibrant, and bringing it home to cook with my friends.
Peacefully, knowing I’ll be composted in a mushroom suit.
My discomfort with being alone.
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