First things first: There’s some context missing in a recent #DumpStarbucks social media trend. What we do know for sure is that 6 police officers in Tempe, Arizona, say that after they purchased drinks at a local Starbucks, a barista asked them to either move out of a customer’s line of sight or leave the establishment entirely because the customer felt “uncomfortable.” The officers left the store—and then a tweet from the Tempe Officers Association about the alleged incident went viral.
This happened on the Fourth of July; since then, more details have come out, though still not the full picture. On July 6, Sylvia Moir, the Tempe Chief of Police, tweeted the following:
What “narrative about police”? It’s unclear. But what is clear is that police violence and brutality make many communities (and even individuals outside of those highly impacted communities) wary of the police. Along with physical violence, racial profiling and police brutality have documented impacts on the mental health of communities that face exceptionally high rates of them. Trauma is real.
Of course, it’s also possible that this situation centered on specifics of the relationship between the customer in question and law enforcement. Or even that the tension stemmed from an entirely personal conflict, and the police being on the job was merely a coincidence. It’s all still very unclear.
Starbucks has responded in a few different ways on various platforms. For example, Starbucks executive vice president and president for U.S. retail, Rossann Williams, made a statement on the Starbucks website apologizing to the officers.
"On behalf of Starbucks, I want to sincerely apologize to you all for the experience that six of your officers had in our store on July 4," the statement reads. She noted that she "will be in Tempe this evening and welcome the opportunity to meet with any of you in person to address concerns or questions."
As reported by CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO, Starbucks issued a statement saying, in part, that it is attempting to "better understand what took place and apologize for any misunderstandings or inappropriate behavior that may have taken place."
And how has the general public reacted? Well, let’s check out some gems from the #DumpStarbucks Twitter trend. Many people are arguing that boycotting Starbucks is just another way of avoiding what might be the underlying issue in the situation.
But plenty of people seem into the Starbucks boycott. Here are some of their rationales…
Surprising no one, Tomi Lahren weighed in pretty early:
Phew. What do you think?