General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Starbucks thing... [View all]EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)As is a lawful order.
Another way to handle it ...
Police come. They talk quietly to the manager, who tells them the men are sitting in the restaurant but havent bought anything. The police ask her if its store policy that only paying patrons can sit. If she says no, they tell her the men arent doing anything wrong, theres nothing they can do and then leave without incident.
If she says yes, it is store policy, they ask her if that is posted anywhere in the restaurant and whether she has confirmed that every other person in the restaurant at that moment had purchased something.
Depending on her response, they can actually check with other patrons themselves - several of them said they had not purchased anything. Maybe they could have issued a lawful order for everyone to produce a same-day receipt or an empty or full cup and then demanded that everyone in the place who hadnt bought anything must leave immediately.
But, while it would have been the fair thing to do, it would have been stupid.
Better yet, they could have quietly spoken to the two black men, tell them about the stores policy and politely ask them why theyre there. When the men told them theyre waiting for a friend, the police could have said to the manager:
Maam, we dont really see the problem. These men arent bothering anyone. You have plenty of empty seats. Theyre just waiting for a friend and it would be inconvenient for them to leave right now. Do you really want to make a scene? We dont. Why dont you just let them stay? If you do, who knows? Maybe all three of them will eventually order something.
Glad to be of service. Have a nice day.
They tip their hats and leave.
See? Its all about the paradigm you come in with. No need to issue a lawful order. The police could have easily diffused the situation had they not just marched in, issued orders to the two black guys and no one else and arrested those two black guys for not complying.