Themis wrote:The issue is whether they were treated unfairly because they were black.
There have been several other posts since I looked at this last, rather then respond to all of them, I also think a significant issue is how this situation was set up.
- The manager brought LE in by a extremely narrow reading of company policy
- LE responded and handled the situation by the most narrow interpretation of the law (they must really have had nothing to do that night to respond so quickly and in such number to such a trite 911 call.)
- Starbucks policy has in letter apparently shifted over the years from explicitly open-door, to managerial discretion on loitering (to match more typical business customs) without any kind of direct clarification to the public, and in fact, attempting to conceal that there has been in fact a policy change to maintain their brand of open doors.
- There is a natural confusion of about one's rights in terms of criminal and civil law, this is drastically complicated by the above point. To me, a big question is, had the men been in McDonalds and asked to leave by the manager, would they have done so? While it's hard for me to imagine any big chain nickel and dime customers within 2 minutes of walking in, customer expectations elsewhere would likely be lower.