When I was a teenager, married to a soldier in Vietnam; such protests were commonly done by Buddhist monks in government protests. While I don't know the man's pain or reason for doing what he did and cannot comment on it; I have to wonder how much of our feelings come from our western culture?

Fox news is a rightwing, often fictional, conservative mouthpiece. If you're going to get news from them, I hope you are balancing it by looking at other venues as well.

@Angelface I'm not offering any judgment here (except that I think it's a waste of a human life to protest this as he did). I'm not a news junkie in any sense of the word and as this particular article goes, I don't think the facts are in dispute and the article doesn't seem slanted in any way to me. He evidently communicated his reasons for doing this to the NYT, who are quoted in the article.

@IAMGROOT thank you for clarifying. I look at it through a different lens. Before being diagnosed with PTSD due to the circumstances of my adult daughter's 1991 death, I attempted suicide. Obviously, it didn't take, but I was forced into a drug-fueled therapy in which I finally was able to make those doctors understand that medicine and my body's chemistry doesn't precisely follow the doctors' textbooks. We can not know another's pain or reasoning unless we are that person. I still wonder how much of our bias is cultural?

@Angelface Oh man! I am very sorry to hear about your daughter's death and your situation. I have no idea how I would cope if I lost a child (I have two, one is an adult, the other is 16).

My thoughts exactly!

I was active in the sixties and in our hubris we thought we had accomplished so much. All we did was force it underground for a few years until like slime it began bubbling back. Now I hope our young people won't back down as I see another worldwide war in our future, all the signs are there in just about every area in this connected world.

The US alone has been killing our young men and women since Vietnam in a dozen or more continuous unannounced, unclaimed battles, police actions, sanctions, etc.

Isn't that a defeatist attitude? I hope by promoting critical thinking we can allow people to rise above their ignorance on all issues.

If so then why aren't they speaking up?

Well, they are. More people talk about/ discuss crimes than commit them. The crime rate is falling, racism is falling, transphobia is dropping. However it's humanity's nature to only care about things that personally affect us. The fact that we're overcoming that nature is rather noble.

Believe it!

If you want an eye-opener, go on some of the sites where police can let off steam And see why more and more police departments seem to feel the need for more military grade weaponry against their own citizens? Yes there are good cops and yes there is tons of paperwork, undue regulations and us against them mentalities but it is far more prejudge by color, by minority and by neighborhood. Its more open, more prejudge against women as well than from their talking points.

What I heard about the Starbucks incident is. they were waiting for a friend and were going to order together. And at least one (or both) asked to use the restroom.

I have been to Starbucks many times. When driving long distances, I pop in, use the restroom, then order. I have met people (sometimes late, at least once, they never showed at all) at Starbucks.

I have never even had anyone approach me when sitting there. I have drank my coffee, and sat there with my laptop or my phone, and not realised the hours that have passed.

I work retail management (and even run stores that have coffee shops in them). I have caught shoplifters. I have trespassed people (usually for shoplifting). IF the police responded to a trespass complaint, they escort the person off-property, no handcuffs needed.

From what I have seen, the police definitely overreacted, and Starbucks chased off potential paying customers for no obvious reason.