'Woke' Diner Thought People Support Their Anti-Police Move, They Thought Wrong
A San Francisco restaurant received a much-need wakeup call after they refused to serve police officers. Hilda and Jesse's Diner thought the community would rally behind them but nothing could have been further from the truth.
After the owners were hit with public outcry they took to Twitter to explain that armed officers made them feel 'unsafe' and defended their decision to turn police away:
"Our restaurant is a safe space - particularly for queer and BIPOC individuals. Furthermore, the fact that they were in uniform with multiple weapons on them made our staff uncomfortable, and potentially other guests, so they were asked to leave. We would happily welcome them off-duty, out of uniform, and without weapons.
We're sorry that the decision upset you. We understand your perspective and we hope you'll consider ours."
SFPD Police Chief Scott heard what happened to his officers and responded to the restaurant accordingly:
"Community engagement is a core principle of SFPD’s 21st-century police reforms, and we are intentional about asking our officers to support local businesses and get to know those they’re sworn to safeguard.
The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect, even when it means respecting wishes that our officers and I find discouraging and personally disappointing.
I believe the vast majority of San Franciscans welcome their police officers, who deserve to know that they are appreciated for the difficult job we ask them to do — in their uniforms — to keep our neighborhoods and businesses safe."
The restaurant's owners were shocked to discover that the public came out in support off officers and quickly tried to walk back their hair-brained stance on a different platform:
"We made a mistake and apologize for the unfortunate incident on Friday when we asked members of the San Francisco Police Department to leave or restaurant. We are grateful to all members of the force who work hard to keep us safe, especially during these challenging times. We hope this will be a teachable moment for us as we repair and continue to build bridges with the SFPD. There are stressful times, and we handled this badly."
Really, though, it was too little too late. The restaurant's mistreatment of officers hit social media like wildfire. The people of the internet took to Yelp and destroyed the Diner's rating.
