Posted on 11/17/2011 10:26:48 AM PST by HeadOn
This weekend will be quite the spectacle in Bartlesville.
A group of Oklahoma veterans plans to picket the Starbucks.
Tjuana Boulanger, says, "This is how we feel. We will not support Starbucks anymore in Bartlesville." Boulanger was at the coffee shop last Saturday when a manager kicked the veterans of the property and called police for trespassing.
The vets were on motorcycles to attend the funeral for Sgt. Chris Gailey. He was killed recently in Afghanistan.
Boulanger says, "At one point I looked over and I saw one of the workers out with an apron out in the parking lot screaming at somebody." [Boulanger] is one of the organizers asking everyone to boycott Starbucks on Friday.
They’ll picket outside the Bartlesville store on Saturday. The organizer says, "It wasn't just one they upset. Everybody down there was upset."
Starbucks did issue a statement apologizing for the manager's behavior right after the incident. Still, the protest seems to be spreading.
At the very least I’d like to hear the Starbucks’ manager’s version.
occupy starbucks - NOT
If I were the Starbucks manager, and I realized the veterans were gathering for a fallen serviceman, I would have given each one of them a free coffee and a public “thank you.”
So what was the reason they got kicked out? There was surely a reason, good or bad. And it still mystifies me why folks would even go into a Starbucks in the first place.
Why did he kick them off the property?
Maybe he was offended by their being real men. :)
There are always two sides to a story, but isn’t Starbucks a coffee version of Ben and Jerry’s?
Why did he kick them off the property?
_______________________
I bet they said the coffee tastes burnt and is way too expensive. Just guessing.
Yeah. It would be interesting to hear, but the author didn’t put it in there. If I had to guess, I’ll bet the Vets looked a little too rough for the patrons. Or maybe they were flying an American flag...
I believe the Westboro Baptist Church nutjobs had set up a protest near the Starbucks. Naturally they’d attract counter-protesters.
I love the police reaction after they escorted the WBC away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGcCLdAwNlg
Me too!
Too expensive? $2 for a 20 ounce. Hum?
WOW!! Great link! Thank you.
Looks like there were several groups of riders showing up to counter protest the Westboro loons and some of them were carrying vulgar signs and such and those were the ones the manager asked to leave.
Side note - This bit from the first comment on the article would seem to back up the part about the vulgar signs: "....I was in the middle of those groups and they did nothing wrong and was there to support the troops..just because they had things on their signs that others do not have the balls to put does not mean they are or were in the wrong..."
Thanks, Reese. I guess KRMG (and I) could have done a little more research...
Still, I have approached people who seemed scary, and offered my hand, and asked politely for them to move (they were in front of us at a concert), and had no trouble. I think the screaming Starbuck’s employee is what caused the problem.
Six Westboro Baptist nutjobs had set up a protest catacorner from Starbucks at Frank Phillips and Washington Blvds. They had a permit, but following Oklahoma law, the permit positioned them a long way (about a mile) from the funeral route.
Bartlesville is a pretty patriotic town, and an early estimate said that about a thousand Bartians came out to counterprotest the Westboro protesters. Some of them accumulated in the Starbucks parking lot including some motorcyclists.
Don't know what set the Starbucks manager off, but Starbucks issued an apology.
The chief of police was just trying to keep from getting anyone hurt.
Last paragraph of the article you linked:
“Starbucks released a statement saying “We apologize for the misunderstanding at our Bartlesville store. Our store partners (employees) In no way meant to dishonor or disrespect members of the military or their families. We are sorry for the loss of Sgt. Christopher Gailey and send our condolences to his family. To express our gratitude to those in the Bartlesville community who serve and have served in our armed forces, we welcome any of our troops or veterans to our Bartlesville store to enjoy a cup of coffee on us.”
I personally would I just asked them to put the signs away or something, especially if there were kids around. Otherwise, as mentioned upthread, I would have offered them a coffee.
Then again, there are other reasons to avoid Starbucks other than their lousy, overpriced coffee: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2807012/posts
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