Well, no.
It is karmatic payback that a few years after Starbucks' ridiculously pretentious program to fix racism by writing "Race Together" on coffee cups will now be seen as racist after a YouTube video surfaced of two black men being arrested in a Philadelphia chain over trespassing.
What actually happened? (The story is ongoing.) Apparently two black men--clean cut but wearing street cloths--walked into a Starbucks and took a seat. One asked for the restroom code and was denied because neither he nor his friend had purchased anything. They were waiting for a third man, you see, and they were about to have a business meeting. They were asked to buy something or leave. They refused to buy anything and they refused to leave. The police were called. The police showed up, and asked the non-customers to comply with the manager's orders and leave. They still refused. They were arrested for trespassing, and the arrest was caught on tape and the story went viral.
There's a misconception that trespassing is when you break into a car and steal an iPad. If a business manager asks you to leave and you don't, it is criminal trespassing. If you were denied service, you can sue. These black men weren't denied service. Nor were they practicing a political protest, like the lunch counter sitters of the 1960s. They were engaged in a pissing contest with a white person or American society or the concept of private enterprise, and they lost. Nothing was resolved. They missed out on their business meeting and got arrested.
[Disclaimer: I have been a Starbucks bum numerous times in my life. I sit alone at a table, using the free WiFi. I will always give up my table if a customer needs it. I don't bring additional black guys with me.]
Starbucks bums are a serious problem (okay, not serious), and we should not allow liberal activists to change the subject from the rights and responsibilities of business owners to insure their actual customers are treated well. Though we should all be treated equally by our government, we are not all equal in a private business. Those who spend the most money should receive the best service to encourage repeat business. Those who spend the least should be treated with civility. Those who don't spend at all should be told to fuck off. Welcome to capitalism, bitch!
In my life, I've seen just as many black bums and black customers at various Starbucks throughout Los Angeles. And if you don't notice the bums because they're black makes you racist, not the manager who called the police on them. You must not be looking at black people outside of your preppy friends. When you really hate someone, you don't condemn their behavior. You just ignore them.
This is the bigotry of low expectations. You expect white people to act a certain way, but black people are to be given wide latitude to act like jackasses--whether it's smoking marijuana, saying "nigger" or being unemployed. It is the point where tolerance becomes condescension. This is similar to the Trayvon Martin case in that what began as an episode of racial profiling escalated. The manager shouldn't have called the police so quickly. However, he might not have noticed that the black men were there for only a few minutes. She might've thought they had been there for a half hour or an hour. She didn't notice them because she's colorblind.
Starbucks is worried that this boycott will be a campaign taken upon by their white liberal customers--the ones who spend hundred of dollars a month at their branches. The corporation could draw out this issue, and though it would be factually right, it would lose the PR war. The corporation is sending their employees to sensitivity training and paying these men's tuition. "See? Not racist!"
Now this former manager is going to sue Starbucks for wrongful termination, and the corporation will probably give her a few thousand dollars to go away. She wasn't properly prepared by corporate in the art of being taken out of context.
If a boycott does occur, the people who will suffer most are the people whose incomes are tied to tip jars. The CEO and other high-ranking officials--who never opening condoned racial profiling--will be mildly impacted. The black baristas will suffer the most, as their tips will fall off a cliff. Hardworking black men and women will suffer to protect the "rights" of bums. Good job, liberals. Fixing racism like champs!
