Thread by @OaklandElle

Hi, so this is happening in my community, and I have some thoughts. #HastaMuerteCoffee

google.com/amp/www.indepe…

First of all, #HastaMuerteCoffee has every right to deny service to police officers. I keep seeing this being compared to denying service to marginalized groups, and that’s entirely bullshit.

People do not get to choose whether or not they are of color, queer, trans, disabled, or otherwise marginalized. Being a cop is a choice, and they get to STOP BEING THAT THING whenever they choose.

Additionally, unlike marginalized groups, police actually hold structural and institutional power. Their entire function in society is to maintain institutional power, and police are heavily armed to facilitate this. They’re a domestic military.

In fact, many of the customers and staff of #HastaMuerteCoffee are survivors of abuse at the hands of law enforcement officers. Like all abuse survivors, they have every right to hold space free from their abusers.

#HastaMuerteCoffee is in Fruitvale, in a neighborhood disproportionately at risk for both local police violence, and also devastating ICE raids. By instituting a police-free zone, they are actively creating a safe space for at-risk neighbors.

At a time where we are all asking, “how can we protect our neighbors?” #HastaMuerteCoffee is stepping up and actually making an attempt at DOING it. And they’re being rewarded for it with death threats.

It seems to me that one thing those of us in the Bay Area can do to protect our neighbors, and protect our community, is to support the folks at #HastaMuerteCoffee in their efforts to create a safe space.

Further reading for anyone who might be confused about why people of color might not feel safe around police:

theintercept.com/2017/01/31/the…

And for further reading about why people of color in Oakland might feel unsafe around cops:

mercurynews.com/2018/02/27/ice…

Some other reasons people of color in Oakland might feel unsafe around police officers include: Alan Blueford, Yuvette Henderson, Raheim Brown, Demouria Hogg, Marcellus Toney, Oscar Grant, and countless other people killed by police.

m.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/law-en…

I could keep sharing links about the harm police cause in our community all night, but instead I’ll just invite you all to join me in supporting #HastaMuerteCoffee and the cop-free space they are trying to create.

I’m planning on spending a lot of time there for the foreseeable future... I hope you’ll say hi if you see me. 😊💖

(I’m nicer in person, I swear.)

#HastaMuertaCoffee update:

The line is hella long, and the empanadas are hella good! I’ll be here for a while, come say hi!