I’m
sure you’ve all heard by now of the two African-American men who were arrested
at a Starbuck’s in Philadelphia, but please allow me if you will, to share what
I in my unyielding and always vigilant pursuit of the truth have been able to
ascertain. (Ok, so I may have a somewhat inflated opinion of myself) The incident
was filmed by a customer who was vocally upset and perplexed as to why the two
were being arrested. According to the manger they had not ordered anything and
one of them who asked to use the bathroom had been told it was for paying
customers only. They told the manager they were waiting on a friend for a
business meeting, but she didn’t care she wanted them out. In the same video when
the police arrive, customers can be heard protesting as the two men had been sitting quietly waiting for the aforementioned friend. Also, as evidenced by most of the other patrons
defending them, they were clearly not causing any kind of disturbance.
According to the men they arrived at 4:35 PM for their meeting. At 4:37 PM
Philadelphia police received a 911 call from the store manager. Um…ok.
So,
let me break this down for you. A manager at a Starbuck’s called the police to
say “hey we got two people sitting around
here not doing anything. Can you come and arrest their Black asses please, thanks”.
Again, this happened at Starbucks. Renowned friend to laptop hobos and Wi-Fi
moochers the world over. Yes, that Starbucks. Before I continue I just want to make
something perfectly clear. (Clears throat) This bitch ass manager called the
cops to arrest two people for doing what people do in Starbucks ALL THE TIME. The
entire business model of Starbucks is to encourage people to loiter. They
provide free internet access and use of electrical plugs to make it more
accessible for your lazy ass loitering comfort. This is usually the part of the
story where someone pisses me off with the following dumb ass statements and
questions:
- Why didn’t they just order
something?
- There must be more to the
story.
- Why are you making it about race?
- What about their arrest
record?
- We need to hear both sides.
- Why didn’t they leave?
- And of course, the infamous, if
only they had complied, which thankfully wasn’t applicable as they made it
through alive.
My
response to the above? Bullshit. None of it matters. Why is it that white
people are so threatened by the idea that one of them could be racist that they dismiss
any obvious instance of it and make ridiculous assumptions and excuses without
giving it any real consideration. Well
fortunately, not all White people. The White patrons of the store, including
the woman filming the video, said that they’d been sitting there for hours
without making a purchase and no one had said anything to them about it. Yet two black men sat there for a matter of minutes and ended up
perp-walked out.
But the problem isn’t just that the men were treated in this manner. No sir,
the problem is that a manager at Starbucks, a place that is notoriously
friendly to all walks of life felt the need to call the cops on two men who
were doing what people do there all the time…and instead of loudly proclaiming “this is some bullshit!” the cops
arrested them. How did this go from not buying something to being arrested? Why
not just walk them out? Why the parade
in cuffs with six officers in tow?
Ok,
stop. I know what you’re going to say, the cops were just doing their job to
which I again say, Bullshit. In the actual 911 call the manger says "Hi, I have two gentlemen in my cafe
that are refusing to make a purchase or leave." Man, this is getting
exhausting. According to witnesses these two men, who again had been there a
matter of minutes were never asked to leave. But hold on I’m not done, it gets
worse. The police dispatch call goes out as "we
have a disturbance at the Starbucks" "a group of males inside causing
a disturbance." Again, they were sitting quietly waiting for a friend…sheesh.
So
yesterday the Philadelphia police commissioner, who just happens to be Black
and had previously defended his officers’ actions while condemning the two men,
issued an apology to them. Contrary to earlier reports, he confirmed they did
not refuse when asked to leave. Not one of those officers asked the two men
what had happened or for their side of whatever story this crazy woman had
concocted in her head. They were simply arrested, with no discussion. He now says
his officers did not properly assess the situation and the two should never
have been arrested. According to him, he and his department are issuing new guidelines
for handling these situations in the future. Well Hallelujah! But that does
nothing for the men who spent six damn hours in jail for the ridiculous crime
of Starbucking while Black.
And
what of the manager who initiated this entire humiliating and unnecessary experience?
Well the CEO of Starbuck’s made a public apology and said the manager is no
longer with the company. It was not clear whether she was terminated or just
quit. Oh, and of course her old Facebook
posts are making the rounds now and include some pretty racist shit. This is
the Trump era folks where
Becky is allowed to be unreasonably
nervous around young black men. It’s
racism at its finest and this woman didn’t give a damn about her bigotry being
exposed. She just wrongly assumed her bosses would back her up. And to be
honest they may have, if not for the White witnesses who this time refused to be complicit.
