Bathroom brouhaha

May I use your bathroom please?

One wouldn't expect such a simple question to ignite an international uproar but that is just what has happened in Philadelphia. 

Two gentlemen entered a Starbucks in that city to await a third companion with whom they were going to have a meeting.  I'm sure most have heard of the details of the incident already as it has been top of the news cycle for some time. Of course, the whole incident was caught on camera and to put it mildly all heck broke out. Starbucks employees were let go, apologies were made, and Starbucks is going to close most of its stores for a day in May to offer enhanced training against racial profiling.

While the incident might have unintentionally uncovered an attitudinal bias that will now be addressed, it need not have exploded as it did.

Lost in all the hoopla is a basic question of when is a washroom a public facility and when is it not?  Just because the public can enter an establishment does not necessarily make it a public place.

I have been in many stores and other businesses which have notices that facilities are for patrons only. It is only reasonable; the facilities are there for the convenience of patrons so they can attend to their needs while conducting their business at the establishment.

What has turned out to be a major incident could have been resolved with a minimal purchase. I've often stopped at a coffee shop or gas station to make a “pit stop” but I always make some sort of purchase in return.  That makes me a customer, and I have yet to find an establishment that refuses its customers the use of its facilities.

Frank Likely is a retired Anglican minister and past president of the Springhill and Area Chamber of Commerce.