I grew up in a small beach tourist town. There were public bathrooms at the beach and several places in the city. You did not go into a business to use a toilet. The gas stations would not even give you a key unless you were a customer. If you tried to go into a store or restaurant you would be told, "The public bathrooms are up the street."

This is what I found "To avoid being arbitrary, there must be a reason for refusing service and you must be consistent. There could be a dress code to maintain a sense of decorum, or fire code restrictions on how many people can be in your place of business at one time, or a policy related to the health and safety of your customers and employees. But you can’t just randomly refuse service to someone because you don’t like the way they look or dress."

So, not purchasing is a valid reason to have someone leave the building. That just makes sense. HOWEVER: If as you have said, the rule is not being enforced consistently. then I agree there is a problem. No one should be targeted. The rule should apply to everyone or no one but being random is not allowed.

On this point I will soften my position. Restaurants and other public facilities do have the right to set policies on who they will serve. (No uniformed police, has been a new one that cropped up recently. Completely legal.) Bathrooms are for customers only is something I grew up with and completely understand as a part of what is normal. Inconsistency on the other hand, does look like discrimination. Rules can not be enforced randomly.

Sequence of events.
The men were sitting there doing nothing (Agreed) They were not arrested for this.
Note - no one was bugging them. No one said anything to them. Everything is fine. They are doing exactly what other people are doing with no issue at all.

The men then requested to use the bathroom.
They were told the bathrooms were for paying customers only.
The men said "no." They wanted to use the bathroom.
At that point they were trespassed. "Completely Legal" They violated Starbuck's policy.
The police then arrived and talked to the men. Per the management .
The men were legally trespassed. (THEY WERE NOT CUSTOMERS) they did not follow policy.
The police asked the men several times to leave and the men refused.
As they had been trespassed by the management, the police did their job and took the men into custody. (The police did not walk up and slam handcuffs on the men. Everything done by the book) (Everything Legal)
The men were then arrested for refusing to leave. (No problem - that is the law.)

The issue is with the other customers and Starbucks employee's inconsistency. The issue was not about sitting in the Starbucks. The issue was about using the bathrooms as a non-paying customer. How long the other people had been sitting there or whether or not they had purchased anything is not the problem. Everything hinges, on what I have read, on whether or not other non-paying customers were allowed to use the bathrooms.

The men did not want to follow Starbucks policy and so they were asked to leave. If Starbucks is inconsistent in the enforcement of their policies and only target black men. I agree it is a problem. Restaurants; however, can set policies and expect them to be followed.

That's what I am seeing anyway. I think Starbucks should stand up for itself and its policy. UNLESS - other non-paying people who had purchased nothing were allowed to come and go into the bathrooms.

We will all have to wait for the court case as the two men try to sue Starbucks for discrimination. (Aw.... we won't see a thing. Starbucks will settle out of court.)

If you're in Australia and need to use the toilet at McDonald's you have to buy something in order to get a receipt with the code to the toilet lock.

"McDonald's bathroom where you need to pay before you pee has some customers seeing red"

"There are parts of France, Germany, Singapore and Turkey, just to name a few, where the practice is commonplace.

So when McDonald's customers on Queensland's Sunshine Coast learned they could only access the bathroom through a code given out once they've ordered, it was met with a mixed response.

A photo of a sign outside the door leading to the men's, women's, and disability toilets at the Maroochydore restaurant sparked fierce discussion on social media this week."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-08/mcdonalds-requiring-receipt-barcod...

What do you do if you need to wash your dirty hands before eating? Do you take your food into the toilet with you or do you leave it unattended on a table?

If you are at a car dealership will you have to buy a car before you can use the toilet?