Arghhhhhh... I used to be so irritated at my ex for how slowly he chewed. And when he encountered a bite that might have a thread from a piece of celery or something, he'd dig it out of his mouth and put the bits in a neat row next to his plate. It was so disgusting, I'd almost vomit. Yet I couldn't look away.
I once counted his chews as a reality check. He chewed one bite 90 times before he swallowed. A meal took an hour or two and ended in a fight. His mom was the same way, although she'd remove bits of food look at them, and say vile things in Swedish before taking her next bite.
There's no law requiring families to eat together. Sometimes eating apart is the only way to save one's sanity.
I had to spend a lot of time reading pop-psych books to steel myself against these people. This was normal for them, and I did NOT want to be the judge. So I left them to their blithe unawareness. Needless to say, we rarely went out to dinner. When we did, I asked for empty to-go containers before the meal was served, and they kindly used them so they only had a half portion. They loved this, as they were also hyper-frugal.
But it wouldn't have bothered me a bit to announce mid-meal that, since i was finished, please pay the check when you're done and pick me up at that little jewelry shop over there.>>>>>
STAY IN YOUR OWN SPACE. You're a person, not an observer.