Get Your Activism On: A Double Shot of Discrimination and Espresso.

August 2, 2010

Earlier today, The Double Shot Company, a coffee shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, committed a big no-no: they announced on Twitter that breastfeeding was banned in their shop.

But whoops! Breastfeeding is legally protected in Oklahoma, rendering their announcement illegal. The tweet spread like wildfire. Boycotts and sit-ins started being planned. The coffee shop was being denouncement, roundly and loudly.

Their response? This Tweet:

Settle down, folks. We just don’t like walking across the room and seeing your breast. Maybe you could do it in private.

Ah, the old ‘your milk-filled breasts with babies attached are nasty’ approach. Needless to say, that didn’t help matters, to put it lightly.

I wondered, at that Tweet, if the account actually represented the business, so I did a little investigating. Brian Franklin, the owner of the account, is the “Roastmaster General” at the company, as seen on their website. The Twitter feed is even shown on their website’s main page. I was kind of hoping it was a joke. But no. It’s not. This guy is serious. Apparently he thought his response was appropriate. But anyhow, the criticism didn’t stop. What did Mr. Franklin, General of Coffee Beans do?

Backtracked.

Ok ok, breastfeeding allowed again at the DoubleShot. Hey! Breastfeeding all around. 🙂

I don’t know what it is about antagonizers, but they think an about-face and a smiley will solve the problem. Charming, real-life smiles don’t make up for discriminatory behavior-a colon+parentheses internet smiley does even less.

But us angry-feminists and lactivists didn’t react in the fantasy-woman way, namely, smiles, kisses, and forgiveness. So he tweeted again:

I was just kidding anyway. Didn’t expect that blow up. Sorry to get you guys riled up.

And here we get the non-apology apology. Us wimminz should be satisfied now, right? It was just a joke!

I don’t think the women of Twitter will be satisfied with his behavior and backtracks. I’m just waiting for the Humorless Feminists charge.

I have to wonder if there’s a misogynistic template somewhere, because these instances of sexism and discrimination always follow the same script.

Nevertheless, I know the one place I’m avoiding next time I visit Tulsa. You should avoid it too–when a business openly and publicly demonstrates their willingness to discriminate, even when it’s plainly illegal, the likelihood of worse instances of discrimination behind closed doors is high. That’s not someone I want making my coffee. Express your displeasure on Twitter, or directly at the source.

Sorry, Mr. Franklin, I see a demotion in your future.