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Two black men arrested at Philly Starbucks for trespassing

JC Callender

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It looks like two black men wanted to use the restroom at Starbucks and were denied because they weren't purchasing anything. They then sat down and were asked to leave since they weren't making a purchase and they refused. The police were called and asked the men to leave and they again refused, so the police arrested them. Now there's a public outcry of racism, but what if that particular Starbucks has a problem with people loitering or conducting business without making purchases and they're taking up valuable space that could be used for paying customers, wouldn't that be a problem? Wouldn't if be fair to expect someone to purchase something when using their establishment?

Philly's mayor, defending the two black men, says that Starbucks is "not just a place to buy a cup of coffee, but a place to meet up with friends or family members, or to get some work done", but is it really up to the mayor to assume that Starbucks should provide an office or hang out place free of charge or purchases? Maybe the mayors office and home could be a place for the public to meet up with friends and get some work done? And is it really impossible to see that two white guys could be asked to leave as well under the same circumstances?

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...-on-controversial-arrest-of-2-black-men-in-ph

What do you think?
 
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they're taking up valuable space that could be used for paying customers, wouldn't that be a problem? Wouldn't if be fair to expect someone to purchase something when using their establishment?
I feel the same way when I'm at the grocery store paying cash for my stuff and the person in front of me just used an EBT card
 
The mayor is an idiot.

Most places anti-loitering policies.
It is different if you are meeting friends and they bought coffee.

Coming in and not ordering anything and taking up space from paying customers is rude no matter what color you are.
The thing is the business asked them to leave if they were not going to order something. They refused.
Nope I would ask two white guys to leave as well.
 

When I'm on the road and get to a truck stop to pee, I ALWAYS buy something afterward. Just seems to be the right thing to do.

I have no sympathy for those two who got arrested. (their skin color is irrelevant)
 
Starbucks is a place of business. That means they are there to provide goods and service for a price. Every such business provides space for its customers to consume their foods and drinks not for people to loiter. Both of these blacks should be charged with disorderly conduct and loitering. Typical for the media to claim racism when it is not.
 
They were waiting for a friend to arrive who got there while they were being handcuffed, according to numerous witnesses at the store.

When I go into my local Starbucks there are tables full of people using Wi-Fi and not drinking coffee.
 
I probably would've just gone ahead and purchased a coffee if I were them. They were waiting, so why not.

I don't really see the issue with Starbucks' actions here. Then again, when I sometimes run into a nearby gas station during a trip to use the restroom, I don't tend to buy anything after.
 
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/14/us/philadelphia-police-starbucks-arrests/index.html

I have gone to restaurants literally hundreds of times where I had to wait for someone and I have never been asked to leave.

But, then again, I am white
 

Because sensationalist news reporting is the thing to do.
Blow things up and call it racism and you have 1 million new clicks to your
Site or page.
 
JC Callender said:
What do you think?
Click to expand...

Not being a Starbucks guy, I'm a little ignorant of the Starbucks etiquette, in fact I find the whole thing a bit intimidating, and I can never figure out how to order an extra large without being looked down on by a snobby brewista for not saying "Venti"...hehe...so I took this story at face value and initially thought "No, that's not right, you shouldn't be able to loiter in a place of business, no matter who you are".

But, in reading the comment from your linked article, which states ""All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing.", I'm left thinking that if waiting around for friends is something that happens, and if there is a gap between how white people are treated and black people are treated in this location, then they should be on the hook for explaining why, or apologizing, which Starbucks has done.

Can any hardcore Starbucks fans comment on how the store they frequent handles this kind of scenario, where people are waiting for others to join them?
 
Parrish said:
They were waiting for a friend to arrive who got there while they were being handcuffed, according to numerous witnesses at the store.

When I go into my local Starbucks there are tables full of people using Wi-Fi and not drinking coffee.
Click to expand...

They could have bought it before you got there.
Either way hey were asked to leave if they were not going to orde something.
Maybe the place was busy and paying customers didn't have a place to sit.

If I saw that I would ask them to leave as well or wait standing till their friend got there.
 

Depends on how busy the store is.
Like all places.

I have seen places if people were done to leave so they could sit people waiting.
All they had to do was get in line and order a coffee.

It is kind of a dick move to walk into a business take up space and not buy something.
 

Yeah, I embarassed the **** outta myself the first time I went to Starbucks.


When I'm waiting for someone to show up at Starbucks, I tend to buy something to drink while I wait.
 
ludin said:
Depends on how busy the store is.
Like all places.

I have seen places if people were done to leave so they could sit people waiting.
All they had to do was get in line and order a coffee.
Click to expand...

lol...I mean, I get what you're saying, if it were me I couldn't not, but I have weird anxiety issues around politeness, believe it or not...hehe...perhaps that's why I enjoy anonymous political debate so much, it's good therapy...hehe

But "all they had to do" doesn't explain a gap in the way one treats one group of people vs. another, if such a gap exists. I'd have no problem with the store doing what they did, if they can demonstrate a consistent approach to how they do things. If not, then they deserve to challenged on it. Seems a pretty reasonable position to hold.
 


If the two of you undiscovered geniuses can garnish the attention of Starbucks Corporate Management and the voters in and around Philadelphia, Starbucks might become a successful global franchise and Philadelphia a magnet for modern Progressivism.
 

I've done the same thing in Starbucks many times and I've never had that problem. Done it in other places too. Gone in to work on my laptop, asked to use the bathroom etc, all without purchasing an overpriced drink. This is in Boston, where (particularly in Central Square) all the places have locks on the bathrooms cos there are so many homeless people outside.

Now, if I was asked to buy something or leave, then I'd probably a) be a little surprised and act a little incredulous then b) either buy something or leave. But the kicker is that I never actually get asked this. I figure as long as you're not disturbing the peace there shouldn't really be an issue.

Maybe there are other variables that come into it, like if there are other open seats about or whether the place is jam packed.
 
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TheGoverness said:
Yeah, I embarassed the **** outta myself the first time I went to Starbucks.



When I'm waiting for someone to show up at Starbucks, I tend to buy something to drink while I wait.
Click to expand...

lol...ya, I'm not a good Starbucks customer. I almost introduced face to counter when trying to get a coffee in Niagara Falls from a snooty barista that couldn't help but correct me on the size thing on a particularly hung over morning after a night of debauchery at the casino...lolz...

And yes, I would buy a coffee too...I buy a drink when I use a gas station restroom, too...lol... People tell me I have a problem. But as I said to Lud, not so much about that as it is about consistency of treatment between customers. If the no loitering thing applies evenly, I've got no problem with it. If it doesn't, then there are more questions to ask.
 

Right?

Since when is it a huge social blunder by not ordering in Italian? :roll:

A bit too pretentious for my very shallow and limited, "its just coffee" intellect.
 

Sounds fun lol. I just know exactly what I want to order now.


Maybe I should do that today. Go to Starbucks, sit there, and see what happens.
 
I've never had any problem using a restroom without buying something. White privilege, I imagine.
 

Starbucks offers free WiFi. I have personally witnessed people sitting for hours without making a purchase to use the service. Never seen an Oklahoma Starbucks (or McDonalds) refuse the bathroom or press loitering charges. The Lee Blvd McDonalds allows some very rough people to hang out near the back by the bathrooms. The Starbucks on Quanah Parker Trailway allows people to sit without purchase.

The crap about the Mayor's office and home is BS. No one wanted to use the Starbuck's office or the manager's home. Please try to stay away from absurd arguments.... eace
 
Polar Bum said:
Right?

Since when is it a huge social blunder by not ordering in Italian? :roll:

A bit too pretentious for my very shallow and limited, "its just coffee" intellect.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is pretentious. But it pays okay.
 
sangha said:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/14/us/philadelphia-police-starbucks-arrests/index.html


I have gone to restaurants literally hundreds of times where I had to wait for someone and I have never been asked to leave.

But, then again, I am white
Click to expand...

Nope.There is white, right and wrong. You could be whright but you are just plain whrong....:lamo

You also have been lucky, there is no right that you are to be granted privilige to use a business' space for free, no matter what your color. To make every concocted offense about race has become so banal that most take to opposing it just based on the annoyance factor.

A useful hobby would be way more productive for all the whinning cynics out their over crying woof woof in your wildernesses, life is ruff ruff all over. :lamo :2wave:
 
Headline should read "2 people arrested for loitering at Starbucks".


Anything else is racist.

#racistnews
#newfakenews
 
The Starbucks people should have let them use the bathroom and shut up about it. I hate the "restroom for paying customers only" crap. When you gotta go, you gotta go; can't exactly piss on the sidewalk, in public. That's a bad idea for several reasons.
 
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