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In reply to the discussion: Starbucks arrests: Who gets to decide whether youre a patron or a trespasser? [View all]BumRushDaShow
(128,849 posts)5. Thank you for posting because I just found this article before I saw your post
This article is an excellent summary of the problem that some DUers apparently can't wrap their brains around.
<...>
The incident illustrates a pervasive bias that can affect even the most mundane activities in U.S. public spaces in this case, meeting someone for a coffee. The two men were waiting for a business associate when the manager called the police.
Nowhere else in Philadelphia are African Americans more disproportionately stopped by police than in the Center City neighborhood surrounding the Starbucks, two blocks from ritzy Rittenhouse Square, where rents in luxury apartments run as high as $10,000 a month. While African Americans make up 3 percent of the areas residents, they account for 67 percent of pedestrian police stops, according to a 2017 analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union, which has monitored racial disparity in Philadelphia policing for eight years. Most of those stopped were never charged.
<...>
It raises all kinds of questions. How long can you be on a property? Can you not browse at these stores now? Who gets to determine whether youre acting as a patron or as a trespasser? said Jason D. Williamson, senior staff attorney with the ACLUs Criminal Law Reform Project, referring to the disproportionate targeting of African Americans. It goes to the judgments that are made not only by the police but by store owners who ratchet up the level of suspicion depending on what you look like.
For many African Americans, particularly young black men, the pervasive scrutiny means never letting down their guards while shopping, dining or gathering with friends, Williamson said.
The incident illustrates a pervasive bias that can affect even the most mundane activities in U.S. public spaces in this case, meeting someone for a coffee. The two men were waiting for a business associate when the manager called the police.
Nowhere else in Philadelphia are African Americans more disproportionately stopped by police than in the Center City neighborhood surrounding the Starbucks, two blocks from ritzy Rittenhouse Square, where rents in luxury apartments run as high as $10,000 a month. While African Americans make up 3 percent of the areas residents, they account for 67 percent of pedestrian police stops, according to a 2017 analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union, which has monitored racial disparity in Philadelphia policing for eight years. Most of those stopped were never charged.
<...>
It raises all kinds of questions. How long can you be on a property? Can you not browse at these stores now? Who gets to determine whether youre acting as a patron or as a trespasser? said Jason D. Williamson, senior staff attorney with the ACLUs Criminal Law Reform Project, referring to the disproportionate targeting of African Americans. It goes to the judgments that are made not only by the police but by store owners who ratchet up the level of suspicion depending on what you look like.
For many African Americans, particularly young black men, the pervasive scrutiny means never letting down their guards while shopping, dining or gathering with friends, Williamson said.
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Starbucks arrests: Who gets to decide whether youre a patron or a trespasser? [View all]
tulipsandroses
Apr 2018
OP
DU got sued several years ago under the claim that it was violating copyright laws.
pnwmom
Apr 2018
#1
And they can't apply the "trespasser" label selectively to exclude members of protected classes.
tblue37
Apr 2018
#4
It wasn't trespass. This is a business which allows people to come and go...by your definition any
Demsrule86
Apr 2018
#23
Yeah, they were asked to leave because they were Black...good thing Rosa Parks didn't
Demsrule86
Apr 2018
#36
I got that...and you are so right. The cops botched it. But suing isn't as easy as people think
Demsrule86
Apr 2018
#76
Exactly, any lawyer would have a field day with these cases where race was obviously
Eliot Rosewater
Apr 2018
#53
The businesses pay taxes. So do the people who use the businesses. They have just as much right
EffieBlack
Apr 2018
#41
Thank you for posting because I just found this article before I saw your post
BumRushDaShow
Apr 2018
#5
They were waiting for a friend which happens all the time in Starbucks...and is not big deal if you
Demsrule86
Apr 2018
#18
As a poor college student I often didn't buy much or anything during our study sessions...they had
Demsrule86
Apr 2018
#24
That is the law. Also wondering if police asked them to leave before arresting.
Sneederbunk
Apr 2018
#27
Except a white woman came in during this time and requested the bathroom code without making a
tblue37
Apr 2018
#63
It is you who is having trouble comprehending,Boo, so let me break it down for you again
EffieBlack
Apr 2018
#72
I am using the Starbucks case as a trump card because that is the topic of the discussion
EffieBlack
Apr 2018
#81
Except that this was clearly a civil rights violation. The manager had no right to
tblue37
Apr 2018
#64
Isn't the eventual expectation that when that person joins you, you'll buy something?
RhodeIslandOne
Apr 2018
#80
People do sit at restaurant tables and wait for friends before ordering. It is not unusual. nt
tblue37
Apr 2018
#65
Finally, some sanity. Yes, just about everything seems traceable to racism.
Eliot Rosewater
Apr 2018
#54