# "How we 86'd a police office from our protected space" - The most sensitive anarchists ever! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300 "2010-07-20T00:36:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/1 "2010-07-20T00:36:17Z")
I have never read a more self aggrandizing, douchetastic screed than the reply on this Anarchist website as to why they asked a police office getting a cup of coffee to scram. The selective hyper-sensitivity of these hardcore anarchists at the temerity of a hapless officer of the law who inadvertently invaded their special revolutionary space for a cup of oppression free joe, makes my man nipples hurt. The quotes below are just a taste. You need to read the whole post. [The Red and Black 86′ed a cop? But why?](http://redandblackcafe.com/) > [@](#): > > So what actually happened on May 19th? > > Red and Black collective member John Langley was cleaning the beer cooler below the counter when Officer James Crooker entered the café. When John stood up, he was startled to see a uniformed officer standing at the register. At a loss, John did what food service workers are generally trained and expected to do: he avoided confrontation, did not ask questions, and quickly took the officer’s order. > > Crooker ordered a coffee to go, and he got a coffee to go. > > Although John was immediately uncomfortable, he served the officer in part because he expected Crooker to leave right after paying. John has since regretted the decision to serve Crooker and the confusion created by serving him and then asking him to leave. > > When Crooker began to linger and chat with a customer John became uncomfortable. John politely asked Crooker to leave, and Crooker left without incident. After the fact, Cornelia Seigneur (a freelance writer who happened to be eating at the café) complained that the officer should have been allowed to stay. John explained that police make him and many of our patrons and allies feel uncomfortable. John informally polled the other customers, all of whom said that police make them feel unsafe. He and Ms. Seigneur had a polite, 20-minute conversation about the issue. > [@](#): > > But isn’t that discrimination? > > We are appalled that John’s decision to 86 Officer Crooker has been compared to racism and other forms of oppression. The fact that Crooker himself compared the incident to Jim Crow-era segregation proves that he is hardly an antiracist ally. > > Oppression is generally directed against individuals on the basis of their involuntary or ascribed status (such as ethnicity or gender), and is characterized by systematic, socially supported mistreatment, exploitation, and disempowerment of one group of people by another. > > Like all cops, Crooker chose his profession. This choice won him a whole lot of power over other people’s lives. For example, it is unheard of for a Portland police officer to be criminally prosecuted for murder despite the fact that several lawsuits have been won against Portland Police for unjust killings. Many lesser examples also demonstrate the license and power enjoyed by police officers. The flip side of this power is the fear or contempt of those who have suffered police repression and violence. > > As activists and members of other marginalized communities, we have been made to feel unwelcome, assaulted, or violently removed (sometimes by the police) from spaces we wished to occupy. Our poor and houseless neighbors are regularly asked to leave other establishments or public spaces due to their physical appearance or lack of money. > > Those who are concerned about discrimination should worry more about the unjust treatment of those with relatively little power. > > Okay, but if you want to build community and share your ideas, you need to be more tolerant! Don’t you want to create a welcoming space for everyone? > > We reject all forms of hierarchy and oppression. In our ideal world, everyone would be able to come together as equals and exchange ideas. However, the world we live in is rife with power imbalances. Inequalities based on ethnicity, nationality, sex / gender / sexuality, and class are deeply entrenched in and enforced through our legal system. > > Consequently, a radical activist and a police officer are unlikely to engage in a comradely dialogue— because the latter has the power to arrest the former (or at least prompt increased surveillance and harassment)! > > A police uniform (complete with a taser and a gun) is a powerful symbol of state repression, injustice, and violence. An officer’s presence is often enough to provoke paranoia and fear in many civilians— especially those who are disproportionately affected by police misconduct. > > Until we live in a just society, we will strive to prioritize the needs of folks who are made invisible or uncomfortable, ousted, or disempowered in most other spaces. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/2 "2010-07-20T03:59:44Z")
Huh? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/3 "2010-07-20T04:25:56Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Huh? News Story here [Red & Black cafe shows Portland officer the door, won’t sell him coffee again](http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/red_black_cafe_shows_portland.html) > [@](#): > > In mid-May, Portland police Officer James Crooker went to Southeast Portland on a patrol call. With a few minutes to spare, he decided to get a coffee. > > So, he popped into the Red & Black cafe on Southeast 12th Avenue near Oak Street, bought a coffee and was heading out when a customer approached him, saying she appreciates the hard job that police officers do every day in Portland. One of the co-owners of the cafe, John Langley, has another point of view. While the officer and customer were chatting, he walked up and asked Crooker to leave, saying he felt uncomfortable having a uniformed officer in the vegan cafe. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Red\_Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/4 "2010-07-20T04:30:42Z")
Seems like it wasn’t the brightest move by the business owner, nothing like drawing more attention from the police, by indicating that they are not welcome there. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/5 "2010-07-20T11:06:58Z")
> [@Red\_Skeezix](#): > > Seems like it wasn’t the brightest move by the business owner, nothing like drawing more attention from the police, by indicating that they are not welcome there. Along with any potential robbers. “Rob us, we won’t call the police.” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/6 "2010-07-20T11:42:49Z")
I like this line from their rules for performers “No means no. If you request something of a worker, don’t be upset with them if they have to refuse you. Arguing will get you nowhere.” I don’t know about that. I mean, it seems like the amount of power the employees have is pretty unbalanced. Can’t we all just get along, man? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/7 "2010-07-20T11:53:26Z")
I’m surprised, with his attitude, that the co-owner didn’t ask the WRITER to leave, since she was the one that talked nicely to the officer and expressed her support for the police. I think every cop in the area should start going there, while off duty and in plain clothes, just to freak this guy out…why, he’ll never know when he’s serving a cop! And what if a carnivore comes in and orders something? Will that person make him uncomfortable, too? How will he know? And now that his business is under threat of attack by nut jobs, what decision will he make if something violent happens? I work retail. We love it when the cops come in to talk. We like the shoplifters to know that at any second, there might be a cop standing behind them. Plus they are a steady income stream, and friendly and polite, just like the officer in that article, who seems like a really nice guy. Unlike the business owner, who seems paranoid and judgmental and kind of creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/8 "2010-07-20T12:05:35Z")
Awwr, ain’t they [rebel](http://redandblackpdx.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/sspx0022.jpg) and all with their T-shirts very probably made in third-world sweatshops ? ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/9 "2010-07-20T12:07:55Z")
Seriously. Some people need to get off of their paranoid soap boxes. I’m sure that cop wasn’t there to bust people. Maybe if you didn’t have your stash hidden right underneath the register, if wouldn’t be such a problem for a cop to walk in and chat for a while. Lay off the weed, dude, and you won’t feel nearly as paranoid. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/10 "2010-07-20T12:20:09Z")
What’s the point of being an anarchist if you’re so nervous around cops that you can’t even drink coffee in proximity to one? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/11 "2010-07-20T12:22:03Z")
Oh, man. Yeah, that was self-righteous and moderately douchebaggish, but as far as self-righteous anarchist screeds go, that was not even on my radar. When some anarchists from Chicago (I think) came to Asheville this spring and smashed in some business windows on a rampage downtown, they quickly got arrested and held on a combined bail exceeding $100,000. Local anarchists frankly hated these invaders; while they stopped short of applauding their arrest (I, not an anarchist, didn’t), they certainly didn’t support the Chicagoan anarchist community’s fundraisers for bail. What followed from the Chicago anarchists were the absolute most self-righteous, hyperdouchebaggeriffic rants ever written in any language. They were astonishing. I’d go search for them to post them, except I’m afraid raising my blood pressure that high again would be fatal. FWIW, if the anarchists don’t want a cop in their store, that’s their right. Comparing it to Jim Crow is pretty douchebaggy itself. Neither side comes off great here. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/12 "2010-07-20T12:57:39Z")
If that cafe’ ever does get held up & they call the police, oh how I bet they wait! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/13 "2010-07-20T13:50:02Z")
> [@astro](#): > > News Story here > > [Red & Black cafe shows Portland officer the door, won’t sell him coffee again](http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/red_black_cafe_shows_portland.html) Yeah, I read the article. Perhaps I should’ve said “WTF?” Rarely do you find that level of absurdity in something that isn’t satire. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/14 "2010-07-20T14:16:36Z")
What is an anarchist cafe? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/15 "2010-07-20T14:33:00Z")
I would imagine the coffee is terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/16 "2010-07-20T14:36:10Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > FWIW, if the anarchists don’t want a cop in their store, that’s their right. Comparing it to Jim Crow is pretty douchebaggy itself. Neither side comes off great here. You believe in the right of shopkeepers to deny service to some groups? Really? Because I don’t see any difference between that and Jim Crow at all. Unless you want to say that being a police officer is voluntary, in which case it would be OK to exclude Jews, practicing homosexuals, advocates of gay marriage, atheists, etc. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/17 "2010-07-20T14:51:58Z")
A cop named Crooker? Too much wrong here. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/18 "2010-07-20T14:53:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > FWIW, if the anarchists don’t want a cop in their store, that’s their right. I don’t want Democrats in my store. My right? I don’t want same-sex marriage supporters in my store. My right? I don’t want illegal immigrants in my store, nor those that advocate in any way for illegal immigrants. My right? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/19 "2010-07-20T15:02:18Z")
Exactly. If it’s open to the public, it’s open to the public. Next, they’ll be ejecting you because of your chosen profession. Who gets that paranoid about a cop, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300/20 "2010-07-20T15:05:04Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Who gets that paranoid about a cop, anyway? Anarchists. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-we-86d-a-police-office-from-our-protected-space-the-most-sensitive-anarchists-ever/547300.md?page=2)