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Coffee Plantation Refuses Service to Black Veteran
by Free to Camp Coalition
Tuesday, Apr. 06, 2004 at 3:25 PM
freetocamp@bust.com
Read about how Coffee Plantation has refused service to a young veteran because he was wearing his uniform.
This is a flyer that will be used in the Coffee Plantation demonstration.
Do you support veterans?
Coffee Plantation doesn’t!
In early March, a young veteran of the war in Iraq, Jesse MacBeth, 20 years old, was banned from Coffee Plantation, where he had he was enjoying a drink that he had bought. His crime? He was dressed in his informal military uniform, which had insignia on it, and he was told by the owner that he could not sit at the table dressed in it, that it was offensive.
Coffee Plantation has recently embarked upon a campaing of discriminating against, refusing service to, and banning people that the owners do not think fit its image, which the new owners want to “clean up.” While this discrimination is mostly targeted at homeless people, who are also being unfairly refused, the Coffee Plantation has also refused service to other “unsuitable” people, including Jesse, a fully employed and housed veteran!
While Jesse was drinking his coffee, he was approached by the owner of the store and a security guard. After being told that his uniform was not appropriate dress, he was asked to leave. He rightfully refused. Many other people at the restaurant began defending his right to be there and drink the coffee he had paid for. The owner and the security guard called the police on him, and, when asked to show identitfication, he showed his Military ID card. He was thus only escorted (and not directly arrested) from the property and told that he couldn’t return to all of Centerpoint, lest he wish to go to jail. He asked the police officer if it was possible that the owners could legally refuse service to anyone, including people of color, for any reason, and he was told that they could. As a black veteran, he found this very disturbing.
Previously, Jesse used to go to Coffee Plantation “all the time,” and would spend $30 to $40 dollars a week there, buying hot chocolate and coffee, and playing chess. He started hanging out on Mill Avenue after coming back from Iraq because he wanted to get back into civilian society and civilian life.
Now, Coffee Plantation has a sign that says that they don't refuse service to veterans, but he still can't go in there, and he knows it is a lie.
For five nights in a row, Jesse held up signs near the Coffee Plantation that read, “Coffee plantation is anti-American,” “I fought and killed for freedom but I am not free to drink their coffee,” and “If I can fight and die for American freedom, then how come I am not free to drink coffee in America?”
Jesse talked about the injustice inherent in the whole affair. “If America is supposed to be about freedom, equality, and justice, that is supposed to be the country that millions of other soldiers and vets fought and died for then why are still supporting companies that discriminate against soldiers. Nowadays they can be considered terrorists, because who else would have something against the American soldiers if they are not terrorists?”
Coffee Plantation claims that it has never discriminated against any veterans.
The fact is, Coffee Plantation banned a veteran of the Iraq war from their property, who had already bought a drink and was sitting peacefully, telling him that his outfit (military garb) was not appropriate and that he had to leave!
Is this what “freedom” looks like?
Soldier struggles with memories of Iraqi war
By Pam Crandall, staff writer
Eastern Arizona Courier
11-03-2003
http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2003/11/03/news/news02.txt
The war in Iraq was officially called to an end a few months ago, but according to Private First Class Jesse MacBeth, 19, of Pima, the turmoil has just begun.
MacBeth, a ranger in the U.S. Army, returned to the states two-and-a-half months ago after sustaining an injury in his back. He spent 14 months serving in the Middle East -- first in Afghanistan and then in Baghdad. Formerly from Tucson, MacBeth now resides in Pima, where he has family, friends and a fiancé. He said that small-town life is the perfect remedy for the various traumas that he suffered during his service in the Middle East.
"Loud noises startle me," he said. "Its nice and quiet here. I live in a trailer out in the middle of nowhere." According to MacBeth, his reaction to loud noise stems from the horrible experiences that he had while in Iraq. After returning to Ft. Benning in Georgia, he was officially diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and received both medication and counseling to help him adjust to a non-combative environment.
"The Iraqis would stand in a crowd and shoot at us. We had to kill civilians to get to them because we were ordered to shoot anything that came at us," he said. "I keep having nightmares about it."
MacBeth and others in the 10-man unit in which he served were some of the first soldiers in Baghdad. He said his unit had a special duty to perform. "We had to clear the loyalists from the tunnels under the city. Some were from the Republican Guard."
MacBeth was shot in the back by an M-16 rifle while in a tunnel. He remembers that he had to continue fighting after a Canadian nurse quickly stitched up his wounds. "They would sew you up and you'd have to just keep on going," he said. MacBeth is haunted daily by the memories of his service in Iraq. "We didn't think about what was going on while we were there," he said, "but it's coming back in dreams. I don't like to remember it." He recalls watching his buddies die, which he said is nearly unbearable for him to think about at times. "I lost good friends that I trained with," he said. "I gave some dog tags to family members personally."
For MacBeth, one of the most important duties during the war was protecting those he served with. He said that after the traumas U.S. soldiers faced daily, loyalty became their main area of concentration. "It wasn't for the glory," he said. "We fought to protect each other."
He remembers the conditions that he and fellow soldiers faced in Iraq with much trepidation. "There was so much stress and pressure there," he said. "I saw grown men that I looked up to crying." MacBeth said that often American soldiers went for days without sleeping or eating due to the stress and paranoia brought on by the dangerous environment. "We never knew where the gunfire was coming from," he said, "and we were losing battles. A lot of my friends wanted to kill themselves over there."
According to MacBeth, the attitude displayed by Iraqi civilians further dampened the U.S. soldier's spirits. "Some people were grateful that we were over there, and that helped," he said. "But that was only a handful of people. Most of them hated us." The vehemence displayed by the Iraqi people is not completely unjustified, he said. "We wouldn't like it either if soldiers came into our homes with weapons and forced us to live a certain way."
MacBeth joined the army when he was 17 with hopes of defending America's security. He said that he felt a strong sense of duty and a desire to serve during his days of military training. After his experiences in Iraq, he said his feelings have changed. "All of the values like honor, pride and integrity don't mean anything in war," he said. "There's nothing honorable about killing kids. I did nothing heroic."
Though he has been scarred by the desolation of war, MacBeth said he wants to start a new life. He plans on marrying soon and wants to find work and buy a home here in the valley. Counseling sessions to battle his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are still on his agenda and he is undergoing surgeries to remove shrapnel from his back. In November, he'll attend a hearing for his medical discharge from the military. The battle in Iraq is behind him, but MacBeth said he will struggle with his memories of war for a lifetime.
For more information write freetocamp@bust.com.