What's new

Starbucks in Clearwater does the right thing

Free to shine

Shiny & Free
Weblog of G. Allen

http://blackfish.biz/allen/?p=257#commen
Signs and portents part II
Posted on 26 April 2008


I write a wee bit, some of you may have noticed. One of my favorite places to write (outside of my home-office.) is a certain Starbucks coffee house. The one in Downtown Clearwater Florida to be specific. deep inside the Scientology campus. A stone’s throw from Flag and a block away from the infamous Fort Harrison Hotel and the Super Power building.

I’ve been going here on and off for some time, years perhaps. I write and I watch the Sea-Org people march back and forth between classes, late into the night.

There used to be a steady flow of Flag staff in and out of the Starbucks, On stats-day they would line up at the counter. Most of them looked like they were in a big hurry. I nodded at them but never really tried to talk to them. Sea Org members have little time to chitchat.

This is not happening anymore. The last few weeks have been very quiet. No one lines up at the counter. I don’t see any Flag staff relaxing in the shops couches or Delphi kids doing their homework. I don’t see teens hanging out in the veranda. It’s been oddly quiet in there. I see people, not locals. lots and lots of people from other counties, I hear Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Japanese being spoken. There is Japanese lady that come in sometimes with a small child. she looks lost and homesick, they have Starbucks stores all over Japan now. Perhaps it helps.
But the Flag staff are conspicuous in their absence.

So I did what I usually do when posed with a mystery, I asked.

“What religion are you?” said the person behind the counter nervously,
“I’m not one of those guys, I can tell you that” I said, indicating the hordes of Sea Org people in their uniforms walking by.
The person behind the counter relaxed a bit, “well, have you heard of this group Anonymous?”
“I’ve heard of them.” I said.
“They did some protesting over here a few weeks ago.” Said the counter person.
“So I understand,” I said.
“Well, ‘they’ (indicating the Sea Org people outside)” came in here and asked us not to serve the Anonymus people, we told them no.”
“Hmmm,” I said, “ what are they doing now, boycotting you?”
“We think so “ said counter person. “They seem to be going to another place, they don’t have very much money and the other places are cheaper.”
I thanked the counter person for the information and left, not too surprised to tell the truth.

Starbuck’s is one of the only places downtown that has not sported “No Anonymous” signs in its windows. Personally I intend to go there more often now. I have little tolerance for discrimination and that’s what the No Anon signs are. I don’t care if you agree or disagree with the protests. Actions speak louder than words and those Anon people have impressed me with their passion as well as their platform. In all the protests I’ve witnessed, I have not seen any of them get out of line.

Starbuck’s has impressed me too, with their solidarity, not to the Anons but to what is right. The management of Starbucks knows instinctively something that most of the Scientology run businesses seem to have forgotten. That people need to speak out from time to time, that free speech and free expression are something tha’s been fought for in this country, and it’s being fought for once again, in the streets of Clearwater Florida.

They have forgotten, bit not everyone has.

And as long as that is so, there is hope.
------------------------------------------
Additional comment:

Hey an_anon;

Thanks for the advice; I do know something of their fair game policy, enough to understand that, from Scientology’s point of view, they have not yet evoked “fair game” on anyone in Clearwater. To them, this is just “legal actions” to intimidate people as per Hubbard’s directives. They think that by casting such a wide net they can keep people away from the protests. That is their objective at this stage. Staying away for any reason plays into their hands and achieves their objectives. Their objective BTW (IMO) is to keep Clearwater a profit center. Protests interfere with that.

– They took out a restraining order and two injunctions, one of them has my name on it. And what am I as a respondent accused of?

Specifically as a person supposedly acting in concert with “Anonymus” I’ve (allegedly) made “repeated and explicit threats threats of attacks, raids, wars and assassinations upon petitioners.” I (as a respondent) have encouraged “Anonymus members” to use “bombs, machine guns and baseball bats to attack and kill petitioners and other Scinetologists.”

Now, should seeing this kind of crap on a public document serve to keep me away from the protests? If I were guilty of such things, perhaps so. Otherwise a normal human reaction would be to make it a point to attend the protests to protest such an outrageous series of allegations.

And I hope that the around 50 people that were named on these absurd civil actions are all out there too.

The only way to deal with a bully is to stand up to one, Scientology has become the bully of Tampa Bay and I for one am sick of hearing about their continual antics (which date back to 1976 BTW.) Additionally (and I almost forgot…) I’m not doing anything wrong, nor have I done anything wrong, nor do I intend to do anything wrong. Going to a protest is a “protected” activity,

To even suggest that someone should steer clear of a protest because the subject of the protest might resort to the reason for the protest; their policy of “destroying their foes,” most especially as this protest is all about protesting the “fair game policy” in the first place is … Hmmm…...

Besides, I don’t think of myself as a foe of Scientology, I’m a foe of some of their habits and I disagree with a few of their assertions. Or as someone said while being burned at the stake – – “No – no people; I agree with your goals, its your methods I question!”

Thanks for coming by dude, sorry about the rant; these folks have a way of getting under one’s skin.
 

Emma

Con te partirò
Administrator
Yay Starbucks.

I wish I drank coffee, I'd drop in and spend some cash.

Do they do tea?
 

Emma

Con te partirò
Administrator
20f8b42.jpg
 

Zinjifar

Silver Meritorious Sponsor
Does that only go for card-carrying 'members'?

How can one tell if one is anonymous?
Is failure to present 'your papers please' ipso facto conviction?

Is it enough to say, 'Hi! I'm Tory Christman and I'm not Anonymous!'

[enter Beavis and Butthead mode] Hehe he
They said 'member'

Zinj
 

Good twin

Floater
Does that only go for card-carrying 'members'?

How can one tell if one is anonymous?
Is failure to present 'your papers please' ipso facto conviction?

Is it enough to say, 'Hi! I'm Tory Christman and I'm not Anonymous!'

[enter Beavis and Butthead mode] Hehe he
They said 'member'

Zinj

:conspiracy: Uh, shut up..Beavis!
 

Kathy (ImOut)

Gold Meritorious Patron
I thought that that Starbucks was owned by Scientologists.

That was what was said years ago when they opened.

To the best of my knowledge, Starbucks is NOT franchised. All stores are owned by the Starbucks corporation.

The Starbucks that are located in grocery stores, is some special arrangement.

Go to the Starbucks web site and find, but that's what I was told years ago.
 

Royal Prince Xenu

Trust the Psi Corps.
Weblog of G. Allen

http://blackfish.biz/allen/?p=257#commen
Signs and portents part II
Posted on 26 April 2008


I write a wee bit, some of you may have noticed. One of my favorite places to write (outside of my home-office.) is a certain Starbucks coffee house. The one in Downtown Clearwater Florida to be specific. deep inside the Scientology campus. A stone’s throw from Flag and a block away from the infamous Fort Harrison Hotel and the Super Power building.

I’ve been going here on and off for some time, years perhaps. I write and I watch the Sea-Org people march back and forth between classes, late into the night.

There used to be a steady flow of Flag staff in and out of the Starbucks, On stats-day they would line up at the counter. Most of them looked like they were in a big hurry. I nodded at them but never really tried to talk to them. Sea Org members have little time to chitchat.

This is not happening anymore. The last few weeks have been very quiet. No one lines up at the counter. I don’t see any Flag staff relaxing in the shops couches or Delphi kids doing their homework. I don’t see teens hanging out in the veranda. It’s been oddly quiet in there. I see people, not locals. lots and lots of people from other counties, I hear Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Japanese being spoken. There is Japanese lady that come in sometimes with a small child. she looks lost and homesick, they have Starbucks stores all over Japan now. Perhaps it helps.
But the Flag staff are conspicuous in their absence.

So I did what I usually do when posed with a mystery, I asked.

“What religion are you?” said the person behind the counter nervously,
“I’m not one of those guys, I can tell you that” I said, indicating the hordes of Sea Org people in their uniforms walking by.
The person behind the counter relaxed a bit, “well, have you heard of this group Anonymous?”
“I’ve heard of them.” I said.
“They did some protesting over here a few weeks ago.” Said the counter person.
“So I understand,” I said.
“Well, ‘they’ (indicating the Sea Org people outside)” came in here and asked us not to serve the Anonymus people, we told them no.”
“Hmmm,” I said, “ what are they doing now, boycotting you?”
“We think so “ said counter person. “They seem to be going to another place, they don’t have very much money and the other places are cheaper.”
I thanked the counter person for the information and left, not too surprised to tell the truth.

Starbuck’s is one of the only places downtown that has not sported “No Anonymous” signs in its windows. Personally I intend to go there more often now. I have little tolerance for discrimination and that’s what the No Anon signs are. I don’t care if you agree or disagree with the protests. Actions speak louder than words and those Anon people have impressed me with their passion as well as their platform. In all the protests I’ve witnessed, I have not seen any of them get out of line.

Starbuck’s has impressed me too, with their solidarity, not to the Anons but to what is right. The management of Starbucks knows instinctively something that most of the Scientology run businesses seem to have forgotten. That people need to speak out from time to time, that free speech and free expression are something tha’s been fought for in this country, and it’s being fought for once again, in the streets of Clearwater Florida.

They have forgotten, bit not everyone has.

And as long as that is so, there is hope.
------------------------------------------
Additional comment:

Hey an_anon;

Thanks for the advice; I do know something of their fair game policy, enough to understand that, from Scientology’s point of view, they have not yet evoked “fair game” on anyone in Clearwater. To them, this is just “legal actions” to intimidate people as per Hubbard’s directives. They think that by casting such a wide net they can keep people away from the protests. That is their objective at this stage. Staying away for any reason plays into their hands and achieves their objectives. Their objective BTW (IMO) is to keep Clearwater a profit center. Protests interfere with that.

– They took out a restraining order and two injunctions, one of them has my name on it. And what am I as a respondent accused of?

Specifically as a person supposedly acting in concert with “Anonymus” I’ve (allegedly) made “repeated and explicit threats threats of attacks, raids, wars and assassinations upon petitioners.” I (as a respondent) have encouraged “Anonymus members” to use “bombs, machine guns and baseball bats to attack and kill petitioners and other Scinetologists.”

Now, should seeing this kind of crap on a public document serve to keep me away from the protests? If I were guilty of such things, perhaps so. Otherwise a normal human reaction would be to make it a point to attend the protests to protest such an outrageous series of allegations.

And I hope that the around 50 people that were named on these absurd civil actions are all out there too.

The only way to deal with a bully is to stand up to one, Scientology has become the bully of Tampa Bay and I for one am sick of hearing about their continual antics (which date back to 1976 BTW.) Additionally (and I almost forgot…) I’m not doing anything wrong, nor have I done anything wrong, nor do I intend to do anything wrong. Going to a protest is a “protected” activity,

To even suggest that someone should steer clear of a protest because the subject of the protest might resort to the reason for the protest; their policy of “destroying their foes,” most especially as this protest is all about protesting the “fair game policy” in the first place is … Hmmm…...

Besides, I don’t think of myself as a foe of Scientology, I’m a foe of some of their habits and I disagree with a few of their assertions. Or as someone said while being burned at the stake – – “No – no people; I agree with your goals, its your methods I question!”

Thanks for coming by dude, sorry about the rant; these folks have a way of getting under one’s skin.

To the ANON person: Get yourself a few MP3 player/recorders with enough capacity to last an entire demo, and make sure you recorded every word that comes out of your mouth. If you can prove that the Scn allegations are falsely sworn, the signatories could get into a great deal of trouble for bearing false witness.
 

ThisFenceHurts

Patron with Honors
The canteen located within the Fort Harrison Hotel does serve Starbucks coffee. This would be by special arrangement and may be what anyone who said that Scientology owns the downtown Starbucks was referring to. It was promoted at one time by the CoS to be a coup for PR as they now had their own Stabucks "franchise".
 

Tanstaafl

Crusader
The canteen located within the Fort Harrison Hotel does serve Starbucks coffee. This would be by special arrangement and may be what anyone who said that Scientology owns the downtown Starbucks was referring to. It was promoted at one time by the CoS to be a coup for PR as they now had their own Stabucks "franchise".

The ultimate in credibility for any true religion! :)
 

Voltaire's Child

Fool on the Hill
Tea for Emma!

Dear Ems,

Yes, they do tea. Iced tea, hot tea, etc. I am a coffee drinker but sometimes I switch off to some nice earl grey tea or a nice iced tea when I'm in the mood.

Can get hot chocolate and "Chai", too.
 

Ladybird

Silver Meritorious Patron
My opinion and more information from this thread:
http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=27392

Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 12:39 am Post subject:


Hmmm, is it illegal? It smacks of putting up signs like "No Blacks" or "No Jews" or "No Pigs" all of which are illegal.

Maybe a Clearwater resident could take some pictures right quick before the cult figures out they just shot another hole in their foot and get them to the press and the ACLU and other authorities?

That said, I would be very leary of buying a stick of gum from a store that would do such a thing. If they think you might be anonymous (meaning anyone who is not a card carrying scientologist in "Occupied Clearwater") does that make you fair game? They might think it was justified to spike your toothpaste or spit in your soda?

What kind of people publicly discriminate against others in such a blatant manner, all the while they are howling to high heaven about being discriminated against? The scientologists are not being discriminated against but are in fact doing what they are accusing others of.

The cult has proven itself over and over to be the kind of people who defaced Lisa McPherson's memorial brick and who lie through their teeth about their cults disconnection, fair game, enemy declares, black PR Operations and other criminal cult policy, and who dressed up like Nazis to intimidate government officials, the Press and others in Clearwater, Germany and Australia...just to name a few of their criminal and fair game tactics.

Story of the Lisa McPherson Memorial brick:

http://www.whyaretheydead.net/room174.html
 

Lulu Belle

Moonbat
Here's the thread from ARS when that Starbucks opened.

http://tinyurl.com/6ekak2

It's true that Starbucks isn't franchised; however, Scientologists own the building.

This may be why they didn't have a "no anon" sign.

From one of the posts:

Being a large international chain, they will not be able to engage in
the practice of denying service to anyone for their religious or personal
belief system.

That makes sense.
 
Top