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Source: 30dB.com – Starbucks-and-Philadelphia
On Apr. 12, the pair entered a Starbucks in Philadelphia to wait for a friend but didn’t order anything. Employees asked the men to leave if they weren’t buying, and when they refused, police were called. Perhaps because meeting up with a friend at Starbucks or just hanging out there happens untold numbers of times a day, social media users are rallying behind the men. Starbucks is being called “disgusting” and “reprehensible” for the resulting arrests, and some are saying that the store manager showed his implicit racism. The episode is getting 92 percent negative sentiment online, and Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has said the arrests were a big mistake. Johnson invited the men to meet with him and find solutions to fighting implicit bias in his company. “My responsibility is to look not only at that individual but to look more broadly at the circumstances…to ensure that this never happens again,” he said on Good Morning America. –Hugo Guzman
Republished from 30dB