I’d do that in a heartbeat!!
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Thanks 
I think.
Being a member of a minority doesn’t instantly inoculate a person against tendencies instilled by various forms of group-based dominance. Including, even, those forms targeted at members of one’s own group.
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This strikes me as quite a bit worse than the Philadelphia Starbucks situation (which also was pretty bad). But at least in that incident, I mean, they could theoretically make an argument that you need to be a paying customer to hang out there, and refusal to follow this (maybe?) policy constitutes trespassing? This WAS a paying customer, for years, with a membership tag! Geez!
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Agreed. I just don’t understand why it happens.
I always think of my time in the gaming community which is by it’s nature filled with geeks and nerds who are socially outcast and looked down upon by jocks, prom queens, or whatever other teenage social group you want to throw in. But in the gaming community the same thing happens!!!
“Oh, you are a CONSOLE gamer? real gamers play on desktops!”
“Oh you play on a Mac? Get a PC you loser!”
“Oh you are just a filthy casual gamer, I’m a real hardcore gamer!”
It always has boggled my mind. Always.
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What, can’t you imagine these genius taking the call? 
“It’s some reporter guy. What should I say?”
“Tell him that we’ve been fired.”
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It’s human nature (well, especially when it’s being deliberately fueled by certain interests). There were hierarchies of slaves, even. People feel less bad/more compliant about being kicked around, when there’s someone else even lower on the totem pole. What surprises me is how easy it is for the power elite to use this approach over and over and over. But again… Peeps mostly be really dumb, yo.
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I hoping that the cops would have still done right without their actions being recorded.
Racism and bigotry is nowhere near to being limited to Anglo-Saxon Protestant males.
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I’m not doubting you… I’m just pissed that you burst my balloon.
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Yup. I got pulled over for helping an elderly friend learn how to use the weights at LA fitness. The fellow was half our age, and you should have heard the tongue lashing and arguments he got. We eventuallly came to an agreement, and did not get thrown out.
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Ta Nehisi Coates described this very thing in a recent interview with Colbert. The definition of “white” and “black” will keep changing.
Certain groups, through time, get accepted into the “white” definition, while others into the “black” definition. On this occasion the two offending individuals defined themselves into the “white” group.
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Did this happen before or since the Philadelphia Starbucks incident? No excuse, but I can’t help wondering if this blunder was a deliberate and retaliatory measure by somebody(ies?) that wanted any excuse to kick him out.
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As some kind of ‘bigot solidarity,’ you mean?
The Starbucks incident happened in Philly, whereas this one took place all the way across the country, in LA.
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Agree. 8 years is a long time, he had to have been there a bunch of times.
I have to imagine there’s a back story here that may never come to light. Not saying racism isn’t a factor; it could easily be something like the manager is on the hook for some damaged equipment, and in order to play CYA he pinned it on some black guy he didn’t like the look of.
ETA: from the article saying that 3 people got fired over this, sure sounds like there was some back story:
He adds that he has been a paid member of L.A. Fitness for eight years and has had “multiple problems” with workers there.
Later he points out that he and Oates “are the only two black people in the gym. I’ve been having problems with this staff for months — over nothing.”
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LA Fitness is the franchise name, this particular branch was in New Jersey, per the article. Though this could certainly happen in LA, too.
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I assumed it was in LA too. ::shrug::
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Ah, my mistake.
Still it’s different cities, in different states; so the idea of this being ‘deliberate’ as some sort of payback doesn’t seem very probable.
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I know it’s not in the same town, but the Starbucks thing made national news- I’d advise against looking at the facebook comments about what people would have done to a black guy trying to use the bathroom without buying anything.
I don’t know, it’s just somewhat cleansing to imagine a bunch of Snidely Whiplash characters steepling their fingers and waiting for an opportunity to be racist dickholes in retaliation, rather than just understanding that this sort of racism is baked-in to our society.
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