Canadian Politics Today

Or helpless Black victims of racism arrested by evil police after being thrown out of restaurant by racist manager. Take your pick.

So yeah, this is apparently a thing now. Two black guys were in Starbucks waiting to meet some guy. They asked to use the bathroom and when they didn't want to order anything were told to leave. They refused. Police were called. Police told them they had to leave. They refused, and were arrested. This is being described as pretty blatant racism. I saw some panel on MSNBC a short time ago where the chick leading it was astonished the (black)police chief would say they didn't do anything wrong.

But to me, the issue isn't as clear cut. Or actually it is, from the police perspective. When you're told to leave some private premise you leave. End of story. It doesn't matter why. It doesn't matter if it's fair. You have no right to be there and if they want you gone you leave. If the police tell you this (which they did) and you refuse to leave you're arrested. It doesn't matter what your skin is. You don't make your case to the cops that the owner is being unfair you make it to a lawyer and he makes the case to the company, possibly through the courts later.

So to me the question is why did the manager called the cops. Was it because they were Black or because they were Black and weren't ordering anything? Most restaurants refuse to let people off the street use their bathroom facilities. They're reserved for customers. Most restaurants will kick you out if you don't want to order anything. Starbucks is kind of different, though, in that they encourage people to hang around, use their wifi, etc. But the company seems to suggest they were following policy.  Would they have called the cops if these guys were white or Asian? Would they have called the cops if they'd been wearing suits and ties? You have to get into the head of the manager to find that out. But everyone seems to have already decided.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/15/two-black-men-were-arrested-waiting-at-a-starbucks-now-the-company-police-are-on-the-defensive/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f33908fe237d

No, I've decided the police did nothing wrong. I said I don't know what was in the mind of the manager. Starbucks seems to suggest that they were following company policy, because they said they'll look at whether the policy is appropriate. I would suggest that if the individuals were dressed in suits and ties they wouldn't have been thrown out, but that's just a guess.

Mind you, women are given a lot more leeway than men. Women aren't considered threatening in any way. Men are, especially if dressed poorly, and most especially, I grant you, if they're young and black.

"Dressed poorly"? Explain how you see that. Maybe in your world you put on a suit and tie to go for a **** cup of coffee, but not in the real world. What they are wearing matters much less to you than the color of their skin. You're famous for that.

Insulted. Yes, I do.

Nope. She/he was not fired. All Starbucks says is she is 'no longer at that store'. She violated no company policy. I've seen several reports which seem to indicate that the men might have asked to use the rest room and then sat down. Which makes sense because people just sitting there might not come to the attention of the counter staff very quickly at a Starbucks. Since they weren't customers they were asked to leave. Which the restaurant had a perfect right to do.

According to Starbucks, figuring out how to deal with people who aren't customers is left to the discretion of the local managers. Most eateries have policies that limit the use of restrooms to paying customers, and almost all prohibit loitiering and/or trespassing. These are common and sinsible policies for business that want to cultirivate an environment conducive to their customers.

So because of this I"m not SURE if she did this improperly. I AM sure the men deserved to be arrested, though. If you're told to leave someone else's premises you leave. If you don't, the cops will arrest you. How do people not understand that?

https://www.phillymag.com/business/2018/04/16/starbucks-manager-philadelphia-arrest/