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I'm calling out my own on this and it illustrates a point I was making in another thread on Rand Paul and his statements regarding The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the rights of private businesses not to serve patrons based on the owners' prejudices.
While the officer was not discriminated against for the color of his skin, but for the what his clothing represents, it's still discrimination.
Red & Black cafe shows Portland officer the door, won't sell him coffee again | OregonLive.com
There is a back story here. There have been several questionable police shootings in the last couple years in Portland and that's what the owner had in mind when this incident occurred. I call BS. There is little difference between discriminating over those incidents thereby coloring all police officers as dangerous, and discriminating because one's errant bigoted veiw of non-whites.
This exactly illustrates the point I was making in the other thread. If it's ok for a business owner to discriminate on the basis of race, then it's ok for the owner of the coffee shop to discriminate based on the officer's uniform. Yes, he could come back any other time, not in uniform, but why should be forced to do that in order to be served? (Yes, I realize he got the coffee before being asked to leave, but he is clearly not welcome to return in uniform.)
Being a policeman is not a race and it's not an apples to apples comparison, but it's offensive none-the-less. Discrimination always is.
While the officer was not discriminated against for the color of his skin, but for the what his clothing represents, it's still discrimination.
In mid-May, Portland police Officer James Crooker went to Southeast Portland on a patrol call. With a few minutes to spare, he decided to get a coffee.
So, he popped into the Red & Black cafe on Southeast 12th Avenue near Oak Street, bought a coffee and was heading out when a customer approached him, saying she appreciates the hard job that police officers do every day in Portland.
One of the co-owners of the cafe, John Langley, has another point of view. While the officer and customer were chatting, he walked up and asked Crooker to leave, saying he felt uncomfortable having a uniformed officer in the vegan cafe.
Red & Black cafe shows Portland officer the door, won't sell him coffee again | OregonLive.com
There is a back story here. There have been several questionable police shootings in the last couple years in Portland and that's what the owner had in mind when this incident occurred. I call BS. There is little difference between discriminating over those incidents thereby coloring all police officers as dangerous, and discriminating because one's errant bigoted veiw of non-whites.
This exactly illustrates the point I was making in the other thread. If it's ok for a business owner to discriminate on the basis of race, then it's ok for the owner of the coffee shop to discriminate based on the officer's uniform. Yes, he could come back any other time, not in uniform, but why should be forced to do that in order to be served? (Yes, I realize he got the coffee before being asked to leave, but he is clearly not welcome to return in uniform.)
Being a policeman is not a race and it's not an apples to apples comparison, but it's offensive none-the-less. Discrimination always is.