Arrested for being black in Starbucks

[rhuarc29]

Another instance of crying wolf (racism) where there likely isn't any.

We don't have a clear picture of what happened. We know they were asked to leave by the manager, and refused, at which point that would be trespassing. The question is: why did the manager ask them to leave? Was it simply that two non-paying customers tried to use the washroom and were taking up what could have been a paying table for an extended period of time? That's enough reason in my book. How did they respond when asked to buy something or leave? Were they rude and aggressive? Dismissive? Insulting? Was that why did the manager called the police?

I don't see what the police did wrong here. They arrested two trespassers after giving them ample opportunities to leave.

I'm sad that this is automatically being labelled a racial issue. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but all it is at this point is an assumption and people are running with it as a cut and dry case. It's like all common sense has gone out the window. Why is everyone so self-righteous these days, anyway? I remember being in high school and being asked to leave a diner where we were just hanging out after buying drinks. We were paying customers, but had stayed an extended time. And you know what? We left. Because it's understandable why the diner would need the real estate for paying customers.

The holier-than-thou attitudes of people these days....

 

[Aardvark154]

The Police Commissioner of Philadelphia, who is himself Black, says that his officers did everything by the book.

 

[lomotil]

The Police Commissioner of Philadelphia, who is himself Black, says that his officers did everything by the book.

That is a naive comment, what would you expect him to say if he is into self preservation?

 

[Occasionally]

The Police Commissioner of Philadelphia, who is himself Black, says that his officers did everything by the book.

Of course he said that.

When was last time you ever heard a cop or police chief say they messed up........ once in a blue moon. And that's when a cop went overboard and finally gets convicted in court 3 years later. Then, the public might get lucky and hear a post-mortem negative remark about some bad apples in the police force.

Watch any over the top video caught on tape where 1-2 cops are going Dirty Harry, and what you'll see is another 5 or 6 retards standing there on the sidelines watching.

In any other business, someone soing something blatantly wrong gets reprimanded, and fired. And if it's publicly uploaded, the CEO has no problem apologizing and even saying they got rid of the employee.

When it comes to cops, they do the opposite. Every cop and sergeant that has to say something will say a job well done. Asstards. And that's the biggest issue with cops. Every industry has bad apples, but this "not our fault bravado" they do where even fucktards get a pat on the back is what pisses people off.

If a burger maker got caught spitting in someone's food or shoved a customer, the CEO will make a statement and can the employee's ass (if the store manager hasn't already done so). You won't get management saying he's a good guy and the company accepts his actions. Put a cop in the same situation, and they'd say "Great job! We support what he did"

 

[canada-man]

 

[Blue-Spheroid]

You started off by saying it's not an open and shut case but then went on to make a lot of black and white definitive statements. Case shut?

The reference to the case not being "open and shut" was in reference to the post immediately before mine. Here it is again:

They were tresspassing if they didn't buy anything, case closed.

The racism exhibited by the store manager and (at least) some of the police is clear. The claim that the men were trespassing just because they had not yet made a purchase is what needs to be looked at with some nuance.

 

[Blue-Spheroid]

What I don't get is why these guys- who were there to discuss real estate- did not buy a $2 beverage after they were told restrooms were for customers only. Problem solved, no debate, no cops. Free refills if you are a gold card member.

This misses the point. Countless white customers loiter at Starbucks every day and they don't get arrested. The issue is that these men were treated differently than white men would have been in the same situation.We call that racism and its wrong...regardless of what might have been.

 

[blueray]

All establishments have a policy on loitering. Buy a fuckin' drink and sit your ass down. The place isn't there for you to "hang out". People of all colour/backgrounds have been asked to leave establishments for loitering.

 

[sempel]

I haven't watched the videos, but assuming the two black guys were as innocent as claimed, good on them if they make good cash from it. They deserve it.

And a good thing about cellphones, YT, viral video and such. It's only in the past maybe 10 years this stuff has taken off. Anyone can pull out a phone and record.

And not surprisingly, since then, the number of policemen caught doing stupid shit (along with crooks too) has increased exponentially. Before that you had to rely on word of mouth and security cam coverage. And going on the perception that cops are good guys, most people will probably believe a cop over a dude he confronted and arrested.

But now, nobody can hide. And look how many instances (basically weekly), where cops are caught doing stupid things which we would have never heard before or it was brushed under the rug. Cops not so angelic after all.

Agreed. If they weren't guilty of anything and got treated the way they were treated, they should be compensated. Hopefully they'll wait for the settlement offer before agreeing to a lifetime of free coffee...lol

I'm with you on cameras/cells for recording incidents. What I don't like is people choosing to film instead of helping. Far too many people in bad/fatal situations where assistance may have saved their life but people stood around filming.

What I don't get is why these guys- who were there to discuss real estate- did not buy a $2 beverage after they were told restrooms were for customers only. Problem solved, no debate, no cops. Free refills if you are a gold card member.

The issue of them purchasing something or the price is not relevant. Yes, them purchasing would supposedly have made the issue moot but why would they suddenly be accosted when many others (myself included) have loitered in a Starbucks when needed? I once worked there for hours with a group and bought something a couple of hours in. Nobody bugged us about taking up space. Fact is, if everyone who hasn't bought something isn't approached in a busy Starbucks, then doing so to some people is unequal treatment.

Another instance of crying wolf (racism) where there likely isn't any.

We don't have a clear picture of what happened. We know they were asked to leave by the manager, and refused, at which point that would be trespassing. The question is: why did the manager ask them to leave? Was it simply that two non-paying customers tried to use the washroom and were taking up what could have been a paying table for an extended period of time? That's enough reason in my book. How did they respond when asked to buy something or leave? Were they rude and aggressive? Dismissive? Insulting? Was that why did the manager called the police?

I don't see what the police did wrong here. They arrested two trespassers after giving them ample opportunities to leave.

I'm sad that this is automatically being labelled a racial issue. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but all it is at this point is an assumption and people are running with it as a cut and dry case. It's like all common sense has gone out the window. Why is everyone so self-righteous these days, anyway? I remember being in high school and being asked to leave a diner where we were just hanging out after buying drinks. We were paying customers, but had stayed an extended time. And you know what? We left. Because it's understandable why the diner would need the real estate for paying customers.

The holier-than-thou attitudes of people these days....

Question - do you really think if these guys weren't black they wouldn't have (1) been accosted by the manager and (2) arrested by the police? I agree - we might be jumping to a conclusion a little early but face it, the facts do support that conclusion. Starbucks always had the general rep like Coles or Indigo - you could hang there and not really need to make a purchase. However, it's completely understandable if paying customers are standing around and you are taking up seating space to be asked to purchase something or vacate. What we don't know is how busy was this Starbucks? Were paying customers forced to stand? How long were these guys waiting?

If I was that manager, one of the things on my mind would have to be what are the consequences of this? If the two customers weren't black, there's less chance of this turning into a racism claim. Now, I'm not saying people should tiptoe around things just because the customers are black, but knowing that might be a potential issue, tread carefully. There had better be a good reason for approaching them, not just because of loitering which many others do there anyway.

This misses the point. Countless white customers loiter at Starbucks every day and they don't get arrested. The issue is that these men were treated differently than white men would have been in the same situation.We call that racism and its wrong...regardless of what might have been.

true

 

[curr3n_c1000]

Is this one racist enough for you deniers?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/985896896433602565

 

[basketcase]

All establishments have a policy on loitering. Buy a fuckin' drink and sit your ass down. The place isn't there for you to "hang out". People of all colour/backgrounds have been asked to leave establishments for loitering.

Except the starbucks business model IS to let people hang out. Of course there are busy times when seats are at a premium but I don't recall staff at any starbucks I've been to asking anyone to leave except for disruptive homeless people begging for money.

A do agree that racism may not factor in to the manager's decisions but it seems highly possible. It is possible that this manager asked other people to leave regularly and the cops were called only because guys reacted aggressively but it doesn't seem that way. Starbucks has also said that manager is gone from that location (no idea if that means fired or moved).

As for the police, I don't know their policies but if the manager wanted them charged for trespassing and they admitted they were, their only choices would be to arrest them or try to talk the manager out of it. Don't know if they tried the later.

 

[lomotil]

Racism is pervasive in America, but when there is a financial cost for the racism. behaviour and actions change. Starbucks doesn't want the legal liability for such actions. Maybe a " #discrimination me too" movement just might get some traction one day.

 

[blueray]

Except the starbucks business model IS to let people hang out.

Yes, after they make a purchase. And who, other than teens who have no money, go into a place of business and just sit their ass down? Would you? Right.

 

[canada-man]

more liberal racism from liberal leftist starbucks

 

[NiceToMeetYou]

Too many problems in this world between the black, white and Muslim / Arab persons in this world. Why can't they live together peacefully and happily ? We are all sharing the same tiny planet called "Planet Earth" which is about one-fifth of the surface is landmass and another four-fifth is water. So there is not much land to go for hiding from each other or squeezing the others into the water because we can live in the water like fish and octopus... LOL

It's better for all of us to forget about the conflict between various races AND rather we all enjoy the pussy together happily. LOL

This is my 2 cents for this topics of race....

 

[Smallcock]

Whatever one makes of this incident, I don't think this is going to solve anything: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-...rbucks-staff-to-get-unconscious-bias-training

If a person is motivated by racism, "unconscious bias training" isn't going to change them. It's just a corporate tax with no hope for success. This "training" literally makes no sense.

For additional perspective, Starbucks operates over 27,000 locations worldwide, and employs over 200,000 people of all backgrounds. One unfortunate instance from one manager at one location does not make Starbucks a bad company. I've read that the manager has left the company. Interestingly, if an employee has a gripe with a company, they could do something like this on purpose to swiftly destroy the company's reputation because of the overzealous nature of mass media and social media.

Discretion should have been used by the cops and they failed big time. They did not do their jobs properly. They're the biggest cretins in this mess because they could have nipped it in the bud but instead they escalated it into something even more stupid.

 

[hamermill]

Private property- you are asked to leave and you stay. Trespassing

 

[HEYHEY]

Once again a couple idiots who don't think that rules apply to them, and then when they finally get arrested they claim racism.

 

[blueray]

Discretion should have been used by the cops and they failed big time. They did not do their jobs properly. They're the biggest cretins in this mess because they could have nipped it in the bud but instead they escalated it into something even more stupid.

Please enlighten us.

Please tell me how you would have handled it...properly?

After the police asked the two to leave, three times, they should have just let it go and left themselves? Should they have told the manager to just let them sit there? Should they not have responded to the call at all?

 

[canada-man]