the hearTbrOKEN libertarian

Count Dankula (of “nazi pug” fame) was convicted of “hate crime” and intentionally stirring up racial hatred with his video of having taught his girlfriend’s dog tricks using the commands “heil hitler” and “gas the jews” in, as he stated, an effort to piss off his girlfriend.

He was sentenced on the 23rd.

HE DID NOT GET JAIL TIME!

I am absolutely blown away, frankly, considering the court’s repeated demonstration of making an example of him, openly ignoring his clearly stated intent, and assigning intent to make people racist to his video. 

He was fined 800£!!

I am genuinely, truly shocked. In the best way possible, of course, I’m totally overjoyed! I completely expected them to lock him away for the full possible sentence. I was trying to figure out how to get over to Scotland to protest! 

You are celebrating too much my friend. I would greatly suggest you go watch his video “The price of freedom is £800″ as well as Tim Pools videos on the matter

The fact he was given a fine is arguably worse than him getting prison time because now people will look at it in much the same way you wrote this post “oh it’s only a fine, that’s a relief no big deal”

That leads to people getting complacent to the fact he was arrested and dragged through court for two fucking years without a jury  only to be  -convicted-  For a fucking joke! 

But... shit. I really really really hope I didn’t sound like I was saying anything even remotely like “no big deal”!! This whole thing is still very much a big, horrific deal. I very carefully selected the word “hope” and NOT “justice” or anything like that, and I really genuinely pray my post didn’t come across that way! That was just an initial reaction to the fact that he isn’t in jail right now and that he can take a fucking breath for once in two years.

I am overjoyed for him that he isn’t going to jail, and glad for him that this farce of a case against him is over, at least from the prosecution’s point of view. And I feel like there is HOPE, to me, because the max sentence precedent wasn’t also set, which is 100% what I was expecting to happen to him. I’m so happy for him that he isn’t going to spend the next year in jail over this completely insane orwellian bullshit. I honestly fully expected that to happen, and I can barely believe that they didn’t throw the whole entire book at him, given the way this whole fucking travesty of justice has gone so far. I seriously can hardly believe it!

Yeah, the fact that he was ever even investigated over this is fucking ridiculous and utterly unacceptable, and that it went this far is fucking shocking. I’m just glad that the guy himself isn’t fucked over even further.

And I AM TOTALLY ECSTATIC that his gofundme raised MORE than its goal in the FIRST DAY! I completely support that he’s going to appeal, and absolutely for the reasons he stated - that the precedent his trial and conviction set is absolutely unacceptable - and I’ll be putting as much money as I’m able into the fund because holy shit is that important. I thought about adding the link to my OP, but I decided to leave it out because I didn’t want anyone to think I was shilling for it or anything - I DON’T KNOW I get paranoid about weird stuff like that - but I’m gonna add it here just in case anyone else wants to contribute to his further fight against the complete erosion of free speech in the UK:

HELP COUNT DANKULA APPEAL HIS CASE AND FIGHT FOR FREE SPEECH BY DONATING TO HIS LEGAL FUND HERE. THIS IS  *N O T* THE FUND TO PAY HIS FINE. HE IS NOT PAYING THE FINE. HE IS APPEALING HIS CONVICTION.

This guy is really awesome, actually. I’d never heard of him before the whole bullshit case made the news, but, naturally, I went to his channel, and have been a huge fan ever since. The guy is smart and funny and awesome, and he’s absolutely right that this shit cannot be allowed to happen.

Count Dankula (of “nazi pug” fame) was convicted of “hate crime” and intentionally stirring up racial hatred with his video of having taught his girlfriend’s dog tricks using the commands “heil hitler” and “gas the jews” in, as he stated, an effort to piss off his girlfriend.

He was sentenced on the 23rd.

HE DID NOT GET JAIL TIME!

I am absolutely blown away, frankly, considering the court’s repeated demonstration of making an example of him, openly ignoring his clearly stated intent, and assigning intent to make people racist to his video. 

He was fined 800£!!

I am genuinely, truly shocked. In the best way possible, of course, I’m totally overjoyed! I completely expected them to lock him away for the full possible sentence. I was trying to figure out how to get over to Scotland to protest! 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/28/us/ar-15-rifle-mass-shootings.html

^^^

“Since 2007, at least 173 people have been killed in mass shootings in the United States involving AR-15s, according to a New York Times analysis.”

Honestly, I just don’t understand why y’all feel the need to defend these guns so vehemently. They’re not the only guns that exist and they’re just more likely to cause harm than good. If you want a gun for self defense, get a hand gun, get a shotgun, or something else. No one is trying to “take your guns away” or “abolish the 2nd amendment”. We just want some common sense around here.

Real talk, we just want to create a safer environment and society and there’s more than enough evidence to show that the AR-15 is not necessary for civilians as a means of self defense. So why? Why take that risk? Sure, you might be a safe and responsible gun owner and want to have that style of gun because it’s “cool” or “fun” or whatever, but with that gun, it only takes one person to kill a large group of people.

It’s just selfish.

How do you rationalize it to yourself that it’s worth it? I’m genuinely curious. If your mother or father, brother or sister, or whoever close to you was killed, would you still rationalize it the same way?

Also... 

And if you think that you, a good guy with a gun, would be able to stop a mass shooter then you’re fooling yourself man. Sure it may happen here and there...

I sound like the intervention of the police was justified because from a legal standpoint, it was. I’m not leaving behind any misinformation whatsoever.

Here’s what happened according to every single story.

Two men walked into the Starbucks to meet up with a third man, who had yet to arrive. These two men asked to use the bathroom. They were informed that only paying customers could use the bathroom. They refused to buy anything. They were then informed that they needed to buy something if they wished to remain in the store. They refused to buy anything a second time. They were asked to leave. They refused to do so. At this point, police were called. Police arrived. They asked the men to leave three separate times. The third man arrived somewhere around here.The two men refused to leave all three times. The police then arrested them.

First they were loitering, which people aren’t allowed to do. Then, they were tresspassing as they were asked to leave. At that point, from a legal standpoint, police intervention is completely justified.

Whether or not you or someone else thinks they SHOULD have been called relies entirely on your own personal feelings. From a legal standpoint, which is what I’ve been talking about this entire time, the arrests we’re completely justified as was calling them. Legally speaking, the two men were in the wrong.

I’ve never just been hanging out at a Starbucks where I haven’t bought anything and been allowed to stay. Nor have any of my friends, as far as I know. If we ever went to one when we were younger to hang out, we knew most of us had to buy something if we wanted to stay there, or we would be asked to leave. At the movie theaters I worked at, we had an official policy that we could not allow people who weren’t guests to use the bathroom. We would ignore the policy and let the public use the bathroom on a limited basis, but that was at Management’s discretion. They could decide to enforce that policy from then on at any point. At one of the theaters I worked at, no one who wasn’t a guest was allowed to use the bathroom. At each one, anyone who remained far past the end point of their movie was officially loitering and we’d have to ask them to leave. If they refused, then they were tresspassing. We’d either call for security or management to come talk to them. If they still refused, I’ll give you one guess as to who we called to get them out.

If you’re loitering, a place of business has the right to ask you to leave. If you’re trespassing, a place of business has the right to call the cops on you.

The thing I personally find weird about this story is why the bathroom policy was suddenly enforced this time, and that’s because I can only draw on my own personal experience.

I’ve never once seen anyone denied the starbucks restroom, and I’ve never seen anyone asked to leave, especially not for just hanging around not buying things. In fact, ive only ever seen starbucks appear to encourage people to hang out. That’s why I think the whole thing is weird.

But nobody with a sound mind thinks the company starbucks is inherently racist, en masse. It looks like the one manager may have been being rude or weird or selective. One person. If that.

If that is it then it seems more like a problem with all the other managers who have allowed people to stay or use the restroom without purchase, against company policy.

The only thing I guess I was even trying to say is that I don’t understand - and that’s probably because I still haven’t yet had the chance to actually sit down and read all the details of the events as they happened yet, as more has come out - why they decided this time to enforce the ‘restrooms only if you’ve made a purchase’ policy, because I, personally, have never seen that enforced. But for all I know, this location never lets anyone in or is really strict or whatever. Like I said, all I have to go on is my own personal experience. Then again, I’ve never actually been into a starbucks that has locked bathrooms, and I’ve definitely never been to this location.

it’s a VERY BAD IDEA to spring a dog on somebody. unless you know that they are very seriously looking for a dog, and you know just what they want in a dog, and you know they are totally ready for a dog and the HUGE commitment it takes to raise a good dog, you should never surprise somebody with a dog.

i know this is a family and at least one parent was cool with the dog, but it needs to be a FAMILY decision, particularly one with ALL adults involved. it’s a family commitment to take care of, train, and raise a dog, so everybody involved in the commitment should be involved in the decision. everybody should meet the dog and make sure that they all get along with and love the dog, for the dog’s sake. everyone should be ready for the dog, and the house should be ready too.

everybody should agree on what kind of dog they want, and they should do research into the breed’s tendencies, grooming needs, energy needs, intelligence, temperament, and every other aspect. even with mixed breeds and mutts, you should know at least what kind of mix it is the best that youre able and understand the tendencies and temperament that you are likely to end up with. or you should be ready for anything, no matter how high-energy, guardy, neurotic, whatever.

surprise somebody with a dog, or bring a dog into a home that is not fully prepared, and you could end up with an unhappy family, an unhappy dog thrown in the back yard alone, or a “naughty” destructive dog who is not well cared for and maybe even ends up unwittingly abused.

PLEASE don’t surprise people with dogs! dogs are a HUGE 15+ YEAR COMMITMENT, every single day, and they require much more attention, energy, training, and love than many people understand!

I thought about that when I saw the pic. It sure looks like a pet store. And, yeah, having gone in for a fish… I thought about including something about pet stores, but, as you’ll see, I have a LOT to say and would have made that an even longer post!

NEVER, EVER, EVER BUY A DOG FROM A PET STORE unless they are working with a shelter! Otherwise, you’ll probably end up with a puppy mill dog… supporting horrible conditions and inhumane practices, as well as very possibly getting a dog that is genetically monstrous and will likely be very unhealthy and cost you a lot of money in vet bills while living a hard life.

If you MUST have a purebred dog, first, think about WHY you insist on a purebred dog and make sure it’s the right decision. Go through BREEDERS and make sure they are responsible breeders and not puppy mills.

There are 1000 semi-reliable ways to ensure your breeder is responsible (this is NOT a perfect or comprehensive list), but the best possible way is to VISIT the breeder, see their facilities, and make sure they don’t have tons of puppies everywhere. If they won’t allow you to come, run the other way. Make sure that they have their dogs in their home, not outside in kennels (unless they are working dogs, which you do not want as a pet anyway). Make sure that they don’t have more than one litter, maybe two litters at a time. Look at their website or the walls of their puppy room for trophies from showing the breed or other indicators of the reason that they breed. Make sure that they keep in contact with those who have bought their puppies. Make sure that they will take their puppy back from you for any reason, ever. Make sure that they have humane reasons for breeding and creating puppies, NOT MONEY but usually a dedication to the improvement or maintenance of the breed and its health and viability. Make sure that they have a relationship with a vet and keep good records.

Pretty much NO responsible breeder sells puppies FOR A LIVING, so that is a good indicator right there.

And, in my own experience and opinion, a really good indicator that a breeder is responsible, strange as it may sound, is that they may actually try to talk you OUT of taking their dog! I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but good breeders generally are NOT there to make a living off of selling puppies, and they generally only make enough money to cover the cost of the puppy itself. They will clearly explain to you just how much energy their puppies have and how much exercise they need, just how much they shed and how complicated their grooming is, just how difficult they are to train. They will make sure that you are the right people for their dogs and that you understand all of the risks involved in owning a dog, particularly one of theirs.

And if you don’t necessarily insist upon a purebred dog, ADOPT FROM A SHELTER! SAVE A LIFE! I don’t even want to cite the overwhelming numbers of sweet family friends who die alone and scared in shelters every year. I can’t bring myself to think about that. Go and save the life of one of those babies!

There are a lot of misconceptions about shelter dogs: that they were returned/surrendered for being naughty or untrainable; that they are “bad” or would have been adopted by now, that they are “feral” strays that cannot abide life in a family home, that they are violent and have been abused, that there are no puppies and a dog will be bad or won’t bond if you don’t get him as a puppy, and on and on. Well 99% of the time, that’s BULLSHIT!

Friends of mine who have worked in shelters for years tell me that a LARGE portion of the dogs that come them are surrendered due to their family moving or changing living situations in which they simply cannot keep their beloved pets. MANY of them even come pre-trained, having lived in a family home for most of their lives. Most shelters test and even train their dogs to ENSURE that they are not dangerous but are in fact good with children, other dogs, cats, and popular pets, that they are house trained, that they are GREAT PETS. A shelter dog is NOT a hardened criminal and ex-con. And you can spend as much time as you like getting to know the dogs in the shelter to make sure you find the right dog for you.

It’s entirely untrue that an adult dog, even an elderly dog, cannot be trained or won’t bond as closely with you as a puppy would! Adult shelter dogs are just as able to be trained, equally able to bond and love! You will get exactly as much back from your dog as YOU put in, almost no matter what! You may have to un-train habits that you don’t like, but that’s easy and there are millions of resources (try Victoria Stillwell or youtuber KIKOPUP who is an absolute goddess and has something for everyone - every parlor trick and every problem!) available at your fingertips for learning how. You will have to put in just as much (if not more) work into training a new puppy, anyway. There is no reason not to get a shelter dog and save a life. They WILL understand and appreciate what you’ve done for them! They really do seem to know it; it’s amazing.

ALL of the dogs I’ve ever had have been and are shelter mutts, and every single one has been a GOOD, loving, loyal, gentle, sweet FRIEND. I have never had a bad shelter dog. You can find anybody in a shelter, and you can look at just about any shelter! You’ll find purebred dogs, mixed breed dogs, big shaggy dogs, little wiry dogs, old lazy dogs, young energetic dogs, outgoing boistrous dogs, shy quiet dogs… everybody!

It doesn’t matter where you get your dog (as long as you’re not supporting abuse and neglect); what matter is what YOU put into training and loving your dog. There aren’t bad dogs, just bad owners! SAVE A LIFE!

if you really do want a purebred, particularly a specific kind, and there’s none in your local shelter, go look up breed specific rescues! There’s tons of them that specialize in a breed!

Again, I am honestly VERY sorry about being such a killjoy on such a sweet post, but surprising people with a puppy can actually be tragic and end horribly, for both the recipient AND the dog. 

And there is lots of info in this thread about how and where to get a dog, identifying responsible breeders, and lots of other stuff. 

I sound like the intervention of the police was justified because from a legal standpoint, it was. I’m not leaving behind any misinformation whatsoever.

Here’s what happened according to every single story.

Two men walked into the Starbucks to meet up with a third man, who had yet to arrive. These two men asked to use the bathroom. They were informed that only paying customers could use the bathroom. They refused to buy anything. They were then informed that they needed to buy something if they wished to remain in the store. They refused to buy anything a second time. They were asked to leave. They refused to do so. At this point, police were called. Police arrived. They asked the men to leave three separate times. The third man arrived somewhere around here.The two men refused to leave all three times. The police then arrested them.

First they were loitering, which people aren’t allowed to do. Then, they were tresspassing as they were asked to leave. At that point, from a legal standpoint, police intervention is completely justified.

Whether or not you or someone else thinks they SHOULD have been called relies entirely on your own personal feelings. From a legal standpoint, which is what I’ve been talking about this entire time, the arrests we’re completely justified as was calling them. Legally speaking, the two men were in the wrong.

I’ve never just been hanging out at a Starbucks where I haven’t bought anything and been allowed to stay. Nor have any of my friends, as far as I know. If we ever went to one when we were younger to hang out, we knew most of us had to buy something if we wanted to stay there, or we would be asked to leave. At the movie theaters I worked at, we had an official policy that we could not allow people who weren’t guests to use the bathroom. We would ignore the policy and let the public use the bathroom on a limited basis, but that was at Management’s discretion. They could decide to enforce that policy from then on at any point. At one of the theaters I worked at, no one who wasn’t a guest was allowed to use the bathroom. At each one, anyone who remained far past the end point of their movie was officially loitering and we’d have to ask them to leave. If they refused, then they were tresspassing. We’d either call for security or management to come talk to them. If they still refused, I’ll give you one guess as to who we called to get them out.

If you’re loitering, a place of business has the right to ask you to leave. If you’re trespassing, a place of business has the right to call the cops on you.

The thing I personally find weird about this story is why the bathroom policy was suddenly enforced this time, and that's because I can only draw on my own personal experience.

I've never once seen anyone denied the starbucks restroom, and I've never seen anyone asked to leave, especially not for just hanging around not buying things. In fact, ive only ever seen starbucks appear to encourage people to hang out. That's why I think the whole thing is weird.

But nobody with a sound mind thinks the company starbucks is inherently racist, en masse. It looks like the one manager may have been being rude or weird or selective. One person. If that.

Thing is you never see guy dressed for fanservice.

I could go on all day, but there are so many I’m actually getting bored of this.

Movies are for everybody, and I don’t understand why people think that Hollywood doesn’t know the living shit out of that. They want to draw in ANYONE who’ll pay for a ticket, so if putting a hot dude in a sexy outfit might sell a few more tickets, then that shit’s going in the trailer, or maybe even on the poster.

The thing is, though, women TEND TO find more than merely showing skin sexy. Women TEND TO find lots of other characteristics attractive, and some of those things - like intelligence, sense of humor, success - aren’t easy to put on a movie poster. Hell, some women get literally physically aroused by a weird and specific shit like a little bit of gray at the temple or a widow’s peak, or just the top of the band of a dude’s boxers, so we don’t need something as simple as showing more, or strategic, skin for what people consider fan service. Women are a hell of a lot more difficult to turn on than men, so it’s a little more complicated to do us fan service.

I wonder if Starbucks will see their business diminish after the incident in Philadelphia.  Starbucks has been a preachy company touting their business model to the rest of Corporate America, and now this happens.

I heard earlier that when Starbucks first started, only people from a certain income group could afford it.  That’s true, its coffee was always overpriced and there was a running joke that when you saw a Starbucks open in a certain neighborhood, it meant that property values were going up.  Now, people who couldn’t always afford Starbucks can, and what we have seen is minorities having the police called on them.

They didn’t just call the cops. Those men were fucking ARRESTED. 

WHAT THE FUCK?! I really cannot wrap my head around this!!

Who here HASN’T popped into a Starbucks just to take a piss? Who here HASN’T met up at a Starbucks because it’s never been a problem to go in and use their restrooms?? It’s one of the few places where you can usually just walk in and use the restroom, no problem.

This is utterly outrageous. Absolutely fucking disgusting. 

_________________ What I can tell so far - after an admittedly brief search - is that the manager of a Philadelphia Starbucks called fucking 911 to report these two men for TRESPASSING because they used the restroom without buying anything (….yet???), while they were waiting for a third party to arrive. 

The men asked to use the restroom, were refused their simple request (whyyyyyyyy???) and… then I guess they used it anyway? The men were “eventually” asked to leave the premises (whyyyyyyy???).

When the police came, the two refused to leave. Which, honestly, I can’t really blame them. When the handcuffs came out, they were escorted out without incident.

The other patrons in the shop, however, appeared to be pretty pissed off, arguing with the police that the two men had done absolutely nothing wrong.

The two men were held in custody for NINE FUCKING HOURS before being released! With no charges filed!!  __________________

Now what I can’t understand is WHY WERE THE POLICE CALLED IN THE FIRST PLACE? I would loooooooooove to hear that 911 call released. 

This is hideously ugly. 

In my (again, admittedly brief - I’m looking for the WHY here!!) searches so far, there are loooots of articles on the outrage and the aftermath, and seemingly millions about the manager “no longer there”, but they don’t appear to have a lot of detail about the exact sequence of events, nor, more importantly (imo), the WHY. 

This article has the most detail about the incident itself (that I’ve personally found so far), and even this is pretty scant:

(Sorry that’s a fkn image! For no good reason, it won’t let me copy the text!)

If anybody has any further info, please let me know! Is there more to this? Can this REALLY be all there is to it?? How could this have happened?? I cannot seem to find any real detail on WHY the police were called. What the fuck is the justification for that?

Starbucks is NOT pressing any charges - no shit, sherlock! can you imagine?! - and in fact the CEO has publicly apologized, rather profusely. It appears that the company is, wisely, taking this very seriously. They’ve already held a company-wide meeting to discuss the incident, and they plan to take internal action with further training and more. They also apparently plan to meet in person with the two men, as well, and it appears the victims have agreed to the meeting. [I think they should sue, and hopefully they’ll settle something in this meeting.] The CEO has publicly called the incident “wrong” and “nothing but reprehensible” and - I’m not sure whose decision it was ultimately - the manager who made the 911 call is no longer with the company… or at least “no longer at that store” for whatever THAT’s worth.

This is all just so FUCKING BIZARRE! Why did this happen? I simply cannot wrap my brain around why anybody would EVER call the cops for somebody taking a piss in a Starbucks restroom, whether they’ve bought anything (yet??) or not. Everybody does that! Starbucks has never seemed to have a problem with it! Why was there a fucking problem this time?? It just makes NO sense!!

I wonder if Starbucks will see their business diminish after the incident in Philadelphia.  Starbucks has been a preachy company touting their business model to the rest of Corporate America, and now this happens.

I heard earlier that when Starbucks first started, only people from a certain income group could afford it.  That’s true, its coffee was always overpriced and there was a running joke that when you saw a Starbucks open in a certain neighborhood, it meant that property values were going up.  Now, people who couldn’t always afford Starbucks can, and what we have seen is minorities having the police called on them.

They didn’t just call the cops. Those men were fucking ARRESTED. 

WHAT THE FUCK?! I really cannot wrap my head around this!!

Who here HASN’T popped into a Starbucks just to take a piss? Who here HASN’T met up at a Starbucks because it’s never been a problem to go in and use their restrooms?? It’s one of the few places where you can usually just walk in and use the restroom, no problem.

This is utterly outrageous. Absolutely fucking disgusting. 

_________________ What I can tell so far - after an admittedly brief search - is that the manager of a Philadelphia Starbucks called fucking 911 to report these two men for TRESPASSING because they used the restroom without buying anything (….yet???), while they were waiting for a third party to arrive. 

The men asked to use the restroom, were refused their simple request (whyyyyyyyy???) and… then I guess they used it anyway? The men were “eventually” asked to leave the premises (whyyyyyyy???).

When the police came, the two refused to leave. Which, honestly, I can’t really blame them. When the handcuffs came out, they were escorted out without incident.

The other patrons in the shop, however, appeared to be pretty pissed off, arguing with the police that the two men had done absolutely nothing wrong.

The two men were held in custody for NINE FUCKING HOURS before being released! With no charges filed!!  __________________

Now what I can’t understand is WHY WERE THE POLICE CALLED IN THE FIRST PLACE? I would loooooooooove to hear that 911 call released. 

This is hideously ugly. 

In my (again, admittedly brief - I’m looking for the WHY here!!) searches so far, there are loooots of articles on the outrage and the aftermath, and seemingly millions about the manager “no longer there”, but they don’t appear to have a lot of detail about the exact sequence of events, nor, more importantly (imo), the WHY. 

This article has the most detail about the incident itself (that I’ve personally found so far), and even this is pretty scant:

(Sorry that’s a fkn image! For no good reason, it won’t let me copy the text!)

If anybody has any further info, please let me know! Is there more to this? Can this REALLY be all there is to it?? How could this have happened?? I cannot seem to find any real detail on WHY the police were called. What the fuck is the justification for that?

Starbucks is NOT pressing any charges - no shit, sherlock! can you imagine?! - and in fact the CEO has publicly apologized, rather profusely. It appears that the company is, wisely, taking this very seriously. They’ve already held a company-wide meeting to discuss the incident, and they plan to take internal action with further training and more. They also apparently plan to meet in person with the two men, as well, and it appears the victims have agreed to the meeting. [I think they should sue, and hopefully they’ll settle something in this meeting.] The CEO has publicly called the incident “wrong” and “nothing but reprehensible” and - I’m not sure whose decision it was ultimately - the manager who made the 911 call is no longer with the company… or at least “no longer at that store” for whatever THAT’s worth.

This is all just so FUCKING BIZARRE! Why did this happen? I simply cannot wrap my brain around why anybody would EVER call the cops for somebody taking a piss in a Starbucks restroom, whether they’ve bought anything (yet??) or not. Everybody does that! Starbucks has never seemed to have a problem with it! Why was there a fucking problem this time?? It just makes NO sense!!

Yeah that manager is a dick, pure and simple.

I wonder if Starbucks will see their business diminish after the incident in Philadelphia.  Starbucks has been a preachy company touting their business model to the rest of Corporate America, and now this happens.

I heard earlier that when Starbucks first started, only people from a certain income group could afford it.  That’s true, its coffee was always overpriced and there was a running joke that when you saw a Starbucks open in a certain neighborhood, it meant that property values were going up.  Now, people who couldn’t always afford Starbucks can, and what we have seen is minorities having the police called on them.

They didn’t just call the cops. Those men were fucking ARRESTED. 

WHAT THE FUCK?! I really cannot wrap my head around this!!

Who here HASN’T popped into a Starbucks just to take a piss? Who here HASN’T met up at a Starbucks because it’s never been a problem to go in and use their restrooms?? It’s one of the few places where you can usually just walk in and use the restroom, no problem.

This is utterly outrageous. Absolutely fucking disgusting. 

_________________ What I can tell so far - after an admittedly brief search - is that the manager of a Philadelphia Starbucks called fucking 911 to report these two men for TRESPASSING because they used the restroom without buying anything (....yet???), while they were waiting for a third party to arrive. 

The men asked to use the restroom, were refused their simple request (whyyyyyyyy???) and... then I guess they used it anyway? The men were "eventually” asked to leave the premises (whyyyyyyy???).

When the police came, the two refused to leave. Which, honestly, I can’t really blame them. When the handcuffs came out, they were escorted out without incident.

The other patrons in the shop, however, appeared to be pretty pissed off, arguing with the police that the two men had done absolutely nothing wrong.

The two men were held in custody for NINE FUCKING HOURS before being released! With no charges filed!!  __________________

Now what I can’t understand is WHY WERE THE POLICE CALLED IN THE FIRST PLACE? I would loooooooooove to hear that 911 call released. 

This is hideously ugly. 

In my (again, admittedly brief - I’m looking for the WHY here!!) searches so far, there are loooots of articles on the outrage and the aftermath, and seemingly millions about the manager “no longer there”, but they don’t appear to have a lot of detail about the exact sequence of events, nor, more importantly (imo), the WHY. 

This article has the most detail about the incident itself (that I’ve personally found so far), and even this is pretty scant:

(Sorry that’s a fkn image! For no good reason, it won’t let me copy the text!)

If anybody has any further info, please let me know! Is there more to this? Can this REALLY be all there is to it?? How could this have happened?? I cannot seem to find any real detail on WHY the police were called. What the fuck is the justification for that?

Starbucks is NOT pressing any charges - no shit, sherlock! can you imagine?! - and in fact the CEO has publicly apologized, rather profusely. It appears that the company is, wisely, taking this very seriously. They’ve already held a company-wide meeting to discuss the incident, and they plan to take internal action with further training and more. They also apparently plan to meet in person with the two men, as well, and it appears the victims have agreed to the meeting. [I think they should sue, and hopefully they’ll settle something in this meeting.] The CEO has publicly called the incident “wrong” and “nothing but reprehensible” and - I’m not sure whose decision it was ultimately - the manager who made the 911 call is no longer with the company... or at least “no longer at that store” for whatever THAT’s worth.

This is all just so FUCKING BIZARRE! Why did this happen? I simply cannot wrap my brain around why anybody would EVER call the cops for somebody taking a piss in a Starbucks restroom, whether they’ve bought anything (yet??) or not. Everybody does that! Starbucks has never seemed to have a problem with it! Why was there a fucking problem this time?? It just makes NO sense!!