The world must act now

[thegreekdog]

It's already illegal to carry a knife around, unless you have a 'good reason' for needing one.

"I need to spread some margarine on my kidney pie gov'nor!"

[mrswdk]

It's already illegal to carry a knife around, unless you have a 'good reason' for needing one.

"I need to spread some margarine on my kidney pie gov'nor!"

You could not be more American right now.

[thegreekdog]

It's already illegal to carry a knife around, unless you have a 'good reason' for needing one.

"I need to spread some margarine on my kidney pie gov'nor!"

You could not be more American right now.

Yeah, sorry. I just don't care about other countries mostly because nothing they do affects me.

Am I more American after that statement?

[TA1LGUNN3R]

I bet sym is one of those people who would call a black Englishman an "African-American."

He feels multicultural because although sitting next to a black guy on the bus made him feel a bit uncomfortable, he totally hid it #rainbowsociety

Also, he would never listen to rap because that would be cultural appropriation.

I bet sym is one of those people who would call a black Englishman an "African-American."

A bet you would lose. You really do have an imaginary version of me in your mind. A Symmetry pro-tip- don't make bets when upset.

You overestimate your impact.

The persecution and marginalisation of black people in America by the American government continues unchecked:

Protesters targeted a Philadelphia Starbucks on Monday after two black men were arrested last week when a store employee called police to say the men were trespassing.

The protests followed the release of a video that showed the two men being arrested after a store manager called the police because they were sitting in the store without placing an order. The two said they were waiting for a friend who arrived just as they were taken away in handcuffs.

Witnesses said the two were refused access to the bathroom because they had not made a purchase but that another customer had just used the bathroom without buying anything. Another said she had been there for hours without making a purchase.

As this government so brazenly abuses the rights of its citizens, when will the world finally find its voice and speak up against this mistreatment of their brothers?

This happened like a month ago, right? Since then:

- The City settled with the two men for some large sum of money which the two men graciously asked the city to give to charity.
- Starbucks closed a bunch of stores for sensitivity training.

Seems like we got a decent result from a racist incident. I'm not sure the same can be said in other countries.

Decent result? I wasn't gonna reply to mrs because it was an obvious bait post, but you i had figured for someone with a brain in their head.

The men were trespassing, plain and simple. Now their trespassing has been rewarded with taxpayer money that'll go into a mealy-mouthed program that won't actually do anything.

All they had to do was buy a coffee or cookie.

Next time someone enters your private property and refuses to leave, think about what should happen.

People blew this out of proportion because "waah, poor black man can't get no respect" when really it was a case of overentitled turds disrespecting private property and then playing the race card.

[thegreekdog]

Decent result? I wasn't gonna reply to mrs because it was an obvious bait post, but you i had figured for someone with a brain in their head.

The men were trespassing, plain and simple. Now their trespassing has been rewarded with taxpayer money that'll go into a mealy-mouthed program that won't actually do anything.

All they had to do was buy a coffee or cookie.

Next time someone enters your private property and refuses to leave, think about what should happen.

People blew this out of proportion because "waah, poor black man can't get no respect" when really it was a case of overentitled turds disrespecting private property and then playing the race card.

They didn't disrespect private property in the context of the bounds of common usage of Starbucks. I live and work in Philadelphia. I've been to that particular Starbucks more than a few times. I've been to other Starbucks locations many times. There have been instances (albeit not many) where I've purchased nothing and sat and worked in that establishment for hours. I've never been arrested. There are plenty of instances where a person works or sits at Starbucks without purchasing anything and they are not arrested.

The manager never asked the men to buy anything, he simply refused to allow them to use the restroom unless they purchased something. They did not, he called the police, the police came, arrested the men, the guy they were meeting showed up, but the police still took them. All the eyewitnesses were appalled at what happened. And this was in center city Philadelphia which is the business district... i.e. the place where you won't find any snowflakes or social justice warriors so appalled witnesses means something in that area of the city.

As for my own private property, if two men came into my house and said they were meeting someone, I'd call the cops. There's a distinct difference between my place of residence and Starbucks. No one uses my house to hang out and work and meet people.

Literally, you know next to nothing about this specific issue and instance so I find it hard to believe you are qualified to discuss it in any meaningful way. It was embarrassing for the City of Philadelphia (such that they gave money to a charity), it was embarrassing for the erstwhile Republican businesspeople sitting at the Starbucks (such that they voiced their displeasure), it was embarrassing to the Starbucks leadership team (such that they closed their stores for sensitivity training). I even read that it was embarrassing to the police and the commissioner because of how stupid it was. These guys didn't play the race card. Sometimes things happen that are not racist. Sometimes things happen that are not racist that people think are racist. And sometimes things happen that are probably racist and we all need to acknowledge that regardless of our political opinions, especially when everyone involved in the incident including, but not limited to, the store owners, the bystanders, the police, and the city, acknowledge the situation.

[TA1LGUNN3R]

Decent result? I wasn't gonna reply to mrs because it was an obvious bait post, but you i had figured for someone with a brain in their head.

The men were trespassing, plain and simple. Now their trespassing has been rewarded with taxpayer money that'll go into a mealy-mouthed program that won't actually do anything.

All they had to do was buy a coffee or cookie.

Next time someone enters your private property and refuses to leave, think about what should happen.

People blew this out of proportion because "waah, poor black man can't get no respect" when really it was a case of overentitled turds disrespecting private property and then playing the race card.

They didn't disrespect private property in the context of the bounds of common usage of Starbucks. I live and work in Philadelphia. I've been to that particular Starbucks more than a few times. I've been to other Starbucks locations many times. There have been instances (albeit not many) where I've purchased nothing and sat and worked in that establishment for hours. I've never been arrested. There are plenty of instances where a person works or sits at Starbucks without purchasing anything and they are not arrested.

The manager never asked the men to buy anything, he simply refused to allow them to use the restroom unless they purchased something. They did not, he called the police, the police came, arrested the men, the guy they were meeting showed up, but the police still took them. All the eyewitnesses were appalled at what happened. And this was in center city Philadelphia which is the business district... i.e. the place where you won't find any snowflakes or social justice warriors so appalled witnesses means something in that area of the city.

As for my own private property, if two men came into my house and said they were meeting someone, I'd call the cops. There's a distinct difference between my place of residence and Starbucks. No one uses my house to hang out and work and meet people.

Literally, you know next to nothing about this specific issue and instance so I find it hard to believe you are qualified to discuss it in any meaningful way. It was embarrassing for the City of Philadelphia (such that they gave money to a charity), it was embarrassing for the erstwhile Republican businesspeople sitting at the Starbucks (such that they voiced their displeasure), it was embarrassing to the Starbucks leadership team (such that they closed their stores for sensitivity training). I even read that it was embarrassing to the police and the commissioner because of how stupid it was. These guys didn't play the race card. Sometimes things happen that are not racist. Sometimes things happen that are not racist that people think are racist. And sometimes things happen that are probably racist and we all need to acknowledge that regardless of our political opinions, especially when everyone involved in the incident including, but not limited to, the store owners, the bystanders, the police, and the city, acknowledge the situation.

If a store employee says to you that bathrooms are for paying customers, the obvious implication is to be a paying customer. Just because it's Starbucks doesn't mean it's any different than any other retail establishment. Your argument implies that a car towed from a Safeway parking lot with a clear sign saying that the parking lot is to be used by customers only isn't justified, and in fact the car owner should be compensated, even though they used the lot in clear violation.

According to HuffPo, the men were repeatedly asked to leave by police. It's not like they just sent swat in and tackled the guys immediately. They had fair warning and they refused. The only reason the police have backtracked now is because of mass hysteria and white guilt.

There are anti-loitering and anti-trespassing rules for a reason. How store employees/managers/owners wish to get people out of their private property isn't my concern. Saying that loitering in Starbucks is common doesn't mean a thing. I'm sure drug use and prostitution is common down by the bridge, doesn't make it legal. If store personnel ask you to be a customer or leave, then do so.

[thegreekdog]

Decent result? I wasn't gonna reply to mrs because it was an obvious bait post, but you i had figured for someone with a brain in their head.

The men were trespassing, plain and simple. Now their trespassing has been rewarded with taxpayer money that'll go into a mealy-mouthed program that won't actually do anything.

All they had to do was buy a coffee or cookie.

Next time someone enters your private property and refuses to leave, think about what should happen.

People blew this out of proportion because "waah, poor black man can't get no respect" when really it was a case of overentitled turds disrespecting private property and then playing the race card.

They didn't disrespect private property in the context of the bounds of common usage of Starbucks. I live and work in Philadelphia. I've been to that particular Starbucks more than a few times. I've been to other Starbucks locations many times. There have been instances (albeit not many) where I've purchased nothing and sat and worked in that establishment for hours. I've never been arrested. There are plenty of instances where a person works or sits at Starbucks without purchasing anything and they are not arrested.

The manager never asked the men to buy anything, he simply refused to allow them to use the restroom unless they purchased something. They did not, he called the police, the police came, arrested the men, the guy they were meeting showed up, but the police still took them. All the eyewitnesses were appalled at what happened. And this was in center city Philadelphia which is the business district... i.e. the place where you won't find any snowflakes or social justice warriors so appalled witnesses means something in that area of the city.

As for my own private property, if two men came into my house and said they were meeting someone, I'd call the cops. There's a distinct difference between my place of residence and Starbucks. No one uses my house to hang out and work and meet people.

Literally, you know next to nothing about this specific issue and instance so I find it hard to believe you are qualified to discuss it in any meaningful way. It was embarrassing for the City of Philadelphia (such that they gave money to a charity), it was embarrassing for the erstwhile Republican businesspeople sitting at the Starbucks (such that they voiced their displeasure), it was embarrassing to the Starbucks leadership team (such that they closed their stores for sensitivity training). I even read that it was embarrassing to the police and the commissioner because of how stupid it was. These guys didn't play the race card. Sometimes things happen that are not racist. Sometimes things happen that are not racist that people think are racist. And sometimes things happen that are probably racist and we all need to acknowledge that regardless of our political opinions, especially when everyone involved in the incident including, but not limited to, the store owners, the bystanders, the police, and the city, acknowledge the situation.

If a store employee says to you that bathrooms are for paying customers, the obvious implication is to be a paying customer. Just because it's Starbucks doesn't mean it's any different than any other retail establishment. Your argument implies that a car towed from a Safeway parking lot with a clear sign saying that the parking lot is to be used by customers only isn't justified, and in fact the car owner should be compensated, even though they used the lot in clear violation.

I think I need a better example than "abandoned car in Safeway parking lot" to liken to "sitting in Starbucks waiting for friends." Perhaps situations like "sitting in McDonald's waiting for friends" or "standing in Sears waiting for friends." When I was in high school I literally used to stand in a Walmart waiting for friends. The cops were never called.

According to HuffPo, the men were repeatedly asked to leave by police. It's not like they just sent swat in and tackled the guys immediately. They had fair warning and they refused. The only reason the police have backtracked now is because of mass hysteria and white guilt.

Would I have left Starbucks if two police officers (Philly police officers mind you) walked in and asked me to leave? Yes. Would I have been outraged afterwards? You bet. I think these guys just became outraged before hand. There's video you can watch to confirm whatever it is you want to confirm here, but they basically requested to be arrested.

There are anti-loitering and anti-trespassing rules for a reason. How store employees/managers/owners wish to get people out of their private property isn't my concern. Saying that loitering in Starbucks is common doesn't mean a thing. I'm sure drug use and prostitution is common down by the bridge, doesn't make it legal. If store personnel ask you to be a customer or leave, then do so.

Again, you need a better analogy. Like loitering at a supermarket or something. Or perhaps I can change your analogy a bit. Imagine that drug use and prostitution are common down by the bridge and the people that own the bridge are fine with it as long as only white people are the ones doing drugs and having the sex. Then a couple of black guys start doing drugs and having the sex and the bridge owners call the cops.

The store personnel didn't ask the guys to leave (probably because they were scared - not a lot of black folks, other than homeless who are usually kicked out immediately, go into that Starbucks). The store personnel called the cops. Again, you're putting together a narrative to fit your conclusion. Your conclusion is that two black guys violated the law and got what they deserved; and normally I would agree with you. I don't care what color you are, you violate the law you should be arrested. And yeah, these guys violated the law. But the circumstances around their violation of the law were suspect at best and racist at worst. If you read the local articles on this thing, and I cannot emphasize this enough apparently, there was literally no one involved (other than the Starbucks manager) who thought these guys should be arrested. And those people include police and the Republicans that hang out at that Starbucks. Ask yourself why that is? Don't ask yourself "why do people think that now" ask yourself "why did people think that when it was all going on." There was no white guilt until the national media got ahold of it.

[TA1LGUNN3R]

I think I need a better example than "abandoned car in Safeway parking lot" to liken to "sitting in Starbucks waiting for friends." Perhaps situations like "sitting in McDonald's waiting for friends" or "standing in Sears waiting for friends." When I was in high school I literally used to stand in a Walmart waiting for friends. The cops were never called.

I didn't say abandoned. But to utilize commercial property in the form of parking in a lot isn't any different than occupying the establishment.

For example, in high school i worked at a little market doing various things. The market was located just down the road from the county fairgrounds, and every summer when the fair was going on people would fill up the parking lot and walk down to the fair rather than pay for fair parking, despite several large signs explicitly stating our lot was for customers only and NOT FAIR PARKING in big bold letters like so. The owner eventually would just watch for when people would park and walk toward the fairgrounds and proceed to call the tow company.

Whether Wal-Mart decides to kick out some teenagers or not is their discretion, just like it's starbucks' discretion to refuse bathroom access. Btw, when i was in high school kids did the same as you, and some were asked to leave plenty of times.

Would I have left Starbucks if two police officers (Philly police officers mind you) walked in and asked me to leave? Yes. Would I have been outraged afterwards? You bet. I think these guys just became outraged before hand. There's video you can watch to confirm whatever it is you want to confirm here, but they basically requested to be arrested.

Why would you be outraged? That's my point. A business has a perfectly reasonable request- be a customer, support the business and fulfill the reason the business exists by buying something, or get out. The cops come along and respond to a violation of that perfectly reasonable request in a fair manner. And you have the gall to be outraged?

The store personnel didn't ask the guys to leave (probably because they were scared - not a lot of black folks, other than homeless who are usually kicked out immediately, go into that Starbucks). The store personnel called the cops. Again, you're putting together a narrative to fit your conclusion. Your conclusion is that two black guys violated the law and got what they deserved; and normally I would agree with you. I don't care what color you are, you violate the law you should be arrested. And yeah, these guys violated the law. But the circumstances around their violation of the law were suspect at best and racist at worst. If you read the local articles on this thing, and I cannot emphasize this enough apparently, there was literally no one involved (other than the Starbucks manager) who thought these guys should be arrested. And those people include police and the Republicans that hang out at that Starbucks. Ask yourself why that is? Don't ask yourself "why do people think that now" ask yourself "why did people think that when it was all going on." There was no white guilt until the national media got ahold of it.

It isn't illegal to be racist. If that even is purportedly the reason they were asked to leave. And you're simply reinforcing my point. If no one thought they should be arrested, why were they arrested even when given several chances to leave by the cops? Because they refused to leave or comply. That's it, end of story, they brought it upon themselves.

And you're doubly reinforcing my point. "Homeless who are usually kicked out immediately." Nobody gives a shit if the homeless are kicked out. I'm sure the homeless have a nice cross section of demographics. But they're homeless, and they don't intend to pay, so f*ck 'em. And it's okay to say f*ck 'em in this scenario, but not in another scenario. Why?

[thegreekdog]

I didn't say abandoned. But to utilize commercial property in the form of parking in a lot isn't any different than occupying the establishment.

For example, in high school i worked at a little market doing various things. The market was located just down the road from the county fairgrounds, and every summer when the fair was going on people would fill up the parking lot and walk down to the fair rather than pay for fair parking, despite several large signs explicitly stating our lot was for customers only and NOT FAIR PARKING in big bold letters like so. The owner eventually would just watch for when people would park and walk toward the fairgrounds and proceed to call the tow company.

Whether Wal-Mart decides to kick out some teenagers or not is their discretion, just like it's starbucks' discretion to refuse bathroom access. Btw, when i was in high school kids did the same as you, and some were asked to leave plenty of times.

Right. The "within their discretion" part is the important point here. I once kicked out a customer from an ice cream place for being too loud. The owner of the parking lot is not getting people to tow cars because they were driven by black people. I didn't kick the dude out of the ice cream place because he was black. By all accounts (i.e. Starbucks, the people at the Starbucks, the cops, and the city) indicated that these dudes were kicked out because they were black and loitering. And, let's be clear, the management at Starbucks didn't kick these guys out. He refused to let them use the bathroom and then called the cops... most likely because they were black. If it was me loitering at Walmart, the cops aren't getting called. I'm getting told to leave.

It isn't illegal to be racist. If that even is purportedly the reason they were asked to leave. And you're simply reinforcing my point. If no one thought they should be arrested, why were they arrested even when given several chances to leave by the cops? Because they refused to leave or comply. That's it, end of story, they brought it upon themselves.

And you're doubly reinforcing my point. "Homeless who are usually kicked out immediately." Nobody gives a shit if the homeless are kicked out. I'm sure the homeless have a nice cross section of demographics. But they're homeless, and they don't intend to pay, so f*ck 'em. And it's okay to say f*ck 'em in this scenario, but not in another scenario. Why?

There is an element of them bringing it upon themselves because they allowed themselves to be arrested. There is also an element of responsibility from Starbucks and the police. The Starbucks employee acted way outside the bounds of a reasonable person. He didn't ask the men to leave; he called the cops. That's outside what I believe to be reasonable. Was it within the bounds of the law for him to do this? Sure. Totally within the bounds of the law; but it is outside what a reasonable person in the same situation would do (i.e. a coffee shop in the middle of Philadelphia in broad daylight with men who were making no disturbance). The police acted unreasonably too. Once the guys' friend arrived, they should have let them go. The police in Philadelphia have way more important things to do than to arrest loiterers.

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 area’s 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.

And you're doubly reinforcing my point. "Homeless who are usually kicked out immediately." Nobody gives a shit if the homeless are kicked out. I'm sure the homeless have a nice cross section of demographics. But they're homeless, and they don't intend to pay, so f*ck 'em. And it's okay to say f*ck 'em in this scenario, but not in another scenario. Why?

Have you been in a retail establishment with a homeless person? They aren't sitting there quietly waiting for their friends. Yesterday I went to a retail store to buy beef jerky and a homeless guy (black, if you care) walked in the door yelling and brandishing an empty paper cup. Further, that dude probably was kicked out by the 7/11 employees and not arrested by the Philadelphia police.

Also, you keep ignoring the context here. It's the most important thing. Let's check off the list:

- Center City Philadelphia, the business district - the working location of a bunch of Republicans (of all colors and ethnicities and sexual orientations and genders). Not a liberal hotbed.
- A Starbucks in a city - not a parking lot where people park to not have to pay for parking
- Starbucks manager who doesn't tell the men to leave but instead immediately calls the cops - not an employee who asked them repeatedly to leave
- Two men who were sitting quietly - not a bunch of people causing a disturbance; not a homeless guy causing a ruckus

All evidence points to a Starbucks employee calling the cops on two guys for no reason other than that they were black. If they were white, this would not have happened. That's all that really matters here. We can talk all about the bridge where the drugs are or that the manager had every right to do what he did; still makes it racist.

[thegreekdog]

Bangert, who identifies as white, black and Puerto Rican, said he’s witnessed police ask black men playing Frisbee in Rittenhouse Square to leave for “talking loudly.”

This is from the same Washington Post article and is such bullshit. Rittenhouse Square park is a shithole. You can go down there any time of the day and there are people smoking weed out in the open. This, TG, is what I mean by pretend racism vs. real racism. First of all, I have never seen police ask anyone to leave Rittenhouse Square park. Second of all, I guarantee this is made up.

[mrswdk]

It's already illegal to carry a knife around, unless you have a 'good reason' for needing one.

"I need to spread some margarine on my kidney pie gov'nor!"

You could not be more American right now.

Yeah, sorry. I just don't care about other countries mostly because nothing they do affects me.

Am I more American after that statement?

No that's a pretty universal sentiment.

[The ram]

Stop and search hasn't ended:

A total of 8,525 of the searches were conducted in the capital in February (2018) — down from 11,406 the previous month.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/s ... 07681.html

Well if you want to be pedantic what do you think about the lessening of stop and search and the rise in murders?

The next big push for equality is structural racism. Much like the equal opportunities but on a higher level. Certain higher positions will have to have black people. This has got to be immensely good for black people.

I think there is no possible way to look at those two stats and assume they are connected - especially given you're talking about a difference over a very short space of time. For all we know, murders have spiked over the past few months and are just going to drop again.

The stats you gave were for February. What about March, April and the start of May? Yeah I'm sure you're right it's just going to drop again. Excellent input!

[TA1LGUNN3R]

Right. The "within their discretion" part is the important point here. I once kicked out a customer from an ice cream place for being too loud. The owner of the parking lot is not getting people to tow cars because they were driven by black people. I didn't kick the dude out of the ice cream place because he was black. By all accounts (i.e. Starbucks, the people at the Starbucks, the cops, and the city) indicated that these dudes were kicked out because they were black and loitering. And, let's be clear, the management at Starbucks didn't kick these guys out. He refused to let them use the bathroom and then called the cops... most likely because they were black. If it was me loitering at Walmart, the cops aren't getting called. I'm getting told to leave.

...

There is an element of them bringing it upon themselves because they allowed themselves to be arrested. There is also an element of responsibility from Starbucks and the police. The Starbucks employee acted way outside the bounds of a reasonable person. He didn't ask the men to leave; he called the cops. That's outside what I believe to be reasonable. Was it within the bounds of the law for him to do this? Sure. Totally within the bounds of the law; but it is outside what a reasonable person in the same situation would do (i.e. a coffee shop in the middle of Philadelphia in broad daylight with men who were making no disturbance). The police acted unreasonably too. Once the guys' friend arrived, they should have let them go. The police in Philadelphia have way more important things to do than to arrest loiterers.

Wimmer told BuzzFeed that a white female manager at the store had asked the pair to leave when they came in and did not order anything.

It's funny that you initially accused me of reading what I wanted into the story to fit my narrative when you're doing the exact same thing. "Most likely because they are black." Are you sure? You could be seeing prejudice because that's what been stuffed down our throats for years now. How do you know how the two acted? I worked in retail for years, people are assholes to staff in general when you tell them something they don't want to hear. Maybe these two weren't, but in that scenario, where some uppity starbucks bitch refuses to let you access the bathroom, what are two young men from philadelphia likely to say? They could have said something rude. They may not have. They could have said something like, "are you fucking kidding me?" f*ck, for all I care, I don't really give a shit if the manager is a klan member. If you're asked to leave (which, according to the HuffPo article, did happen) by a proprietor or staff, then get the f*ck out.

Have you been in a retail establishment with a homeless person? They aren't sitting there quietly waiting for their friends. Yesterday I went to a retail store to buy beef jerky and a homeless guy (black, if you care) walked in the door yelling and brandishing an empty paper cup. Further, that dude probably was kicked out by the 7/11 employees and not arrested by the Philadelphia police.

Also, you keep ignoring the context here. It's the most important thing. Let's check off the list:

- Center City Philadelphia, the business district - the working location of a bunch of Republicans (of all colors and ethnicities and sexual orientations and genders). Not a liberal hotbed.
- A Starbucks in a city - not a parking lot where people park to not have to pay for parking
- Starbucks manager who doesn't tell the men to leave but instead immediately calls the cops - not an employee who asked them repeatedly to leave
- Two men who were sitting quietly - not a bunch of people causing a disturbance; not a homeless guy causing a ruckus

All evidence points to a Starbucks employee calling the cops on two guys for no reason other than that they were black. If they were white, this would not have happened. That's all that really matters here. We can talk all about the bridge where the drugs are or that the manager had every right to do what he did; still makes it racist.

Plenty of homeless people get kicked out of establishments even if they're not loud or obnoxious. Some smell, or just look bedraggled. Is it okay to kick those ones out? Plenty of white people get kicked out of places for loitering all the time, just nobody cares to upload it to worldstar because white people can't be oppressed.

Anyway, it's established that homeless people can be kicked out because they either make a disturbance or don't pay to be there, which is ultimately what a business/patron contract boils down to. If the first, well, who knows? My previous experience indicates that people will get snarky when you tell them they can't use bathroom. If the latter, then you've already agreed that this was blown out of proportion.

[thegreekdog]

I'm sitting in Starbucks right now. I haven't purchased anything. I already used the bathroom. Let's see what happens...

[2dimes]

In the city I live in there are different businesses with their own rules about using the restrooms.

Some places have restrooms with full free access, no one would notice or care if you used it without being a customer. Some are like that but have a sign "washrooms are for customer use only" but it is unlikely anyone would notice.

Some places have a sign and they would scold you for not making a purchase.

Some places lock them, you need a key or someone to press a button to unlock it to let you in.

[The ram]

In Britain pubs, restaurants etc must let you use their toilets as there's no public toilets anymore ( I'm surprised the gay community haven't had a protest yet;0. ) thanks to the austerity measures. Who do I blame for that, socialist Tony Blair.

@mrswkd no answer? I thought you were concerned about the welfare of black people?

[DirtyDishSoap]

The persecution and marginalisation of black people in America by the American government continues unchecked:

Protesters targeted a Philadelphia Starbucks on Monday after two black men were arrested last week when a store employee called police to say the men were trespassing.

The protests followed the release of a video that showed the two men being arrested after a store manager called the police because they were sitting in the store without placing an order. The two said they were waiting for a friend who arrived just as they were taken away in handcuffs.

Witnesses said the two were refused access to the bathroom because they had not made a purchase but that another customer had just used the bathroom without buying anything. Another said she had been there for hours without making a purchase.

As this government so brazenly abuses the rights of its citizens, when will the world finally find its voice and speak up against this mistreatment of their brothers?

I mean, if you were told to leave and refused to do so, that's pretty much trespassing.

Case closed, go home people.

[2dimes]

In Britain pubs, restaurants etc must let you use their toilets as there's no public toilets anymore ( I'm surprised the gay community haven't had a protest yet;0. ) thanks to the austerity measures. Who do I blame for that, socialist Tony Blair.

@mrswkd no answer? I thought you were concerned about the welfare of black people?

I don't know if it was a city bylaw or some other level but, restaurants and gas (petrol) stations used to be required to provide public washrooms with full access. That seems to have changed. Or like lots of other things it's still there but not enforced.

The city run public washrooms are locked at night now and many parks have a full curfew

[mrswdk]

In Britain pubs, restaurants etc must let you use their toilets as there's no public toilets anymore

I mean that's not true, but sure.

@mrswkd no answer? I thought you were concerned about the welfare of black people?

You mean to this question?

The stats you gave were for February. What about March, April and the start of May? Yeah I'm sure you're right it's just going to drop again. Excellent input!

The stats I gave were for the number of stop and searches conducted. Is that what you are asking about here - murders or stop and searches? What even is your point? You're not being very clear.

[saxitoxin]

Why don't they just go to Barnes & Noble like everyone else?

Anytime I need to take a piss I just go into the nearest Barnes & Noble and go to the restrooms using a detour through the periodicals section so it looks like I'm going in to shop, then I pivot right and double-back through the manga aisle and then head to the lavatory. Then, when I'm done, I walk out and pick up the first book I see and fake reading the back cover for two minutes, then I scowl - as if I thought about buying it but decided not to - put it down, and leave the store.

This is why Barnes & Noble still exists.

[mrswdk]

Or you walk into McDonald's, scan the menu as if deciding what you want, then head into the pisser.

The best thing about the automatic screens for ordering food is probably that soon you won't even need to bother doing the fake scan. Just walk straight into the toilet and back out again with no pretence whatsoever.

[saxitoxin]

Or you walk into McDonald's, scan the menu as if deciding what you want, then head into the pisser.

The best thing about the automatic screens for ordering food is probably that soon you won't even need to bother doing the fake scan. Just walk straight into the toilet and back out again with no pretence whatsoever.

Bad strategy ... at fast food restaurants you never know if they're going to have a lock and key system, plus many of the bathrooms are below my cleanliness standards. No Barnes & Nobles have locks on the lavatory doors and they're all a B+ on the public restroom cleanliness scale.

One time I went into a Costa Coffee in London ... I had to piss so bad, I just went in and ordered a coffee. I don't even drink coffee. Then I sat down at a table and ... voila ... they had no lavatories in the Costa Coffee. How is it legal for an eating establishment not to have lavatories? If that had been America I would have called TheGreekDog to jam up their urethra with lawsuits and, today, I'd own that Costa Coffee.

[mrswdk]

Or you walk into McDonald's, scan the menu as if deciding what you want, then head into the pisser.

The best thing about the automatic screens for ordering food is probably that soon you won't even need to bother doing the fake scan. Just walk straight into the toilet and back out again with no pretence whatsoever.

Bad strategy ... at fast food restaurants you never know if they're going to have a lock and key system, plus many of the bathrooms are below my cleanliness standards. No Barnes & Nobles have locks on the lavatory doors and they're all a B+ on the public restroom cleanliness scale.

One time I went into a Costa Coffee in London ... I had to piss so bad, I just went in and ordered a coffee. I don't even drink coffee. Then I sat down at a table and ... voila ... they had no lavatories in the Costa Coffee. How is it legal for an eating establishment not to have lavatories? If that had been America I would have called TheGreekDog to jam up their urethra with lawsuits and, today, I'd own that Costa Coffee.

It's not, which makes you pissing yourself in that London Costa even funnier.

[Dukasaur]

Or you walk into McDonald's, scan the menu as if deciding what you want, then head into the pisser.

The best thing about the automatic screens for ordering food is probably that soon you won't even need to bother doing the fake scan. Just walk straight into the toilet and back out again with no pretence whatsoever.

When I was in Nice a few years ago I encountered a system where the washrooms had a an electronic lock with a keypad. You had to buy something. There was a passcode at the bottom of the receipt to enter into the keypad to use the washroom. You couldn't even defeat the system by picking up a discarded receipt on the sidewalk because the code was only good for 15 minutes.

We'd had Vietnamese for dinner about half an hour earlier and I felt violent diarrhea coming on. Too far to go back to the Vietnamese place. I tried a couple of establishments but either they really didn't have a bathroom or they were just really anti-foreigner and wouldn't let me use it. The McDonalds was my last hope. I wasn't opposed to the idea of spending money to use the washroom. I would gladly have bough a Big Mac. Hell, at that point I would have gladly bought 20 Big Macs if that was the price. The trouble was the lines for food were huge and they weren't moving. (Blows your mind that the French have some of the world's best food but they'll line up for McDonalds garbage. But I digress.) I knew I wasn't going to last long enough to get to the front of the line.

In desperation I started begging at the tables, and some person who deserves sainthood gave me his receipt. I tried to shove 5 Euros at him but he wouldn't take it. Just in the nick of time I entered the stall and unleashed a barrage such as you haven't seen since the Red Army crossed the Vistula.

[Symmetry]

Or you walk into McDonald's, scan the menu as if deciding what you want, then head into the pisser.

The best thing about the automatic screens for ordering food is probably that soon you won't even need to bother doing the fake scan. Just walk straight into the toilet and back out again with no pretence whatsoever.

When I was in Nice a few years ago I encountered a system where the washrooms had a an electronic lock with a keypad. You had to buy something. There was a passcode at the bottom of the receipt to enter into the keypad to use the washroom. You couldn't even defeat the system by picking up a discarded receipt on the sidewalk because the code was only good for 15 minutes.

We'd had Vietnamese for dinner about half an hour earlier and I felt violent diarrhea coming on. Too far to go back to the Vietnamese place. I tried a couple of establishments but either they really didn't have a bathroom or they were just really anti-foreigner and wouldn't let me use it. The McDonalds was my last hope. I wasn't opposed to the idea of spending money to use the washroom. I would gladly have bough a Big Mac. Hell, at that point I would have gladly bought 20 Big Macs if that was the price. The trouble was the lines for food were huge and they weren't moving. (Blows your mind that the French have some of the world's best food but they'll line up for McDonalds garbage. But I digress.) I knew I wasn't going to last long enough to get to the front of the line.

In desperation I started begging at the tables, and some person who deserves sainthood gave me his receipt. I tried to shove 5 Euros at him but he wouldn't take it. Just in the nick of time I entered the stall and unleashed a barrage such as you haven't seen since the Red Army crossed the Vistula.

You went to Nice and chose to eat at a Vietnamese place? To be fair, I once ate at a TGI Friday's in South Korea, which is probably worse.