Dear Starbucks: Your Mocha isn't Worth It

Before I make the long journey north to Petaluma each and every morning at 4:30am, I stop first at my local Starbucks and grab a delicious white chocolate mocha to ensure I don't fall asleep and crash on the road. 

"I'll have a medium in that." 

"You mean Grande?" 

I nod my head. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." 

I grab my coffee, but before I leave, I ask: "Can I use the restroom?" The employee gave the go ahead. 

Later on in the day, as I saw the news and heard about the recent incidents regarding the arrest of two black men for literally asking to use a Starbucks restroom,  I sat in disappointment and wondered: how much longer are black people going to be punished and scrutinized for everything that they do? 

Sadly, it is a common thread throughout history. The Rodney King incident that occurred in Los Angeles in 1992 began a cascade of rebellion because of the awful, inhumane killing of a completely innocent black male. Now, more than 20 years later in Philadelphia, black men are still being apprehended and mistreated for, once again, nothing. It is worth asking whether things have gotten any better, or if they have only gotten worse. 

Indeed, since the aftermath of the riots in 1992, we have witnessed the murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Oscar Grant in Oakland, and the unwarranted arrests of numerous innocents across the country. Eerily, the racial climate currently mirrors much of what we saw in 1992. Although we have newer department stores and fancier hotels in our cities (including in L.A.,) the root of the problem remains the same. For too long, minorities have been discriminated against with no one paying attention. If we do pay attention, we seemingly go back to the way things were beforehand in slightly different ways. Although the Starbucks incidents may not seem as immediately important as something like murder, we need to learn to simply pay attention. Understanding, compassion, and leveled perceptions can bring us closer to where we want - and should - be. Seriously; anybody should be able to use the restroom without getting arrested. 

Next time I begin my commute at 4:30 in the morning and need something to wake me up, I think I'll skip the mocha and instead look at my surroundings.

-Anker Fanoe

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-philadelphia-starbucks-arrests-20180419-story.html