SerpApi.Org
After online backlash, 2nd Base Espresso, a “bikini barista” drive-through coffee stand in Spokane, Washington, removed its outdoor public-facing sign last Wednesday ], which said, “Trans women are r**arded men,” using a slur for people with intellectual disabilities. Protestors and counterprotestors also aired their views about the sign in a public protest last Sunday.
The business, which is in the city’s Hillyard neighborhood and is owned by Jeana Ruth Byran, is known for posting offensive signs, including ones opposing immigrants and supporting the right to bear arms, according to The Spokesman-Review. One sign the business posted in 2017 read, “Why can’t u play Uno with Mexicans? They take all the green cards.”
Related
9 unapologetically trans-owned businesses redefining fashion, art, and more
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Images of the anti-trans sign spread on social media, with some users encouraging their followers to leave bad reviews for the business on Google and Yelp. The reviews lowered the coffee stand’s scores on both, though Yelp has reportedly restricted any new reviews for the business because of its recent media attention.
One review said, “This establishment should be ashamed of itself. The fact you think it’s funny to put such nasty messages about your fellow human beings on your sign is appalling.”
The sign’s slur offended Elbe Seaton, a queer Hillyard resident who has a special needs child. So she organized a protest against the business on Sunday morning.
“Spokane will make headlines for the wrong reasons. People will say, ‘Oh, that’s Spokane for you.’ But that’s not us. That’s not Hillyard,” Seaton said. “She is putting hate in our neighborhood that doesn’t represent us. This does not represent Spokane as a city.”
Daniel Jolley, one of the Sunday protesters against the sign, told KXLY, “They used some pretty horrendous language targeting trans people, and I think that is obviously disgusting.”
“What we’re saying as Hillyard is we do not agree with your comments or your statements, and we don’t want to do business with you, and we don’t think anyone should do business with you,” said Jacqui Walker, another protester. “Hillyard is for everyone. There’s families, communities moving in here… Everyone is welcome here.”
Counterprotestors said the business owner’s First Amendment rights allow them to say what they want, but the First Amendment protects people’s self-expression from government censorship or retaliation, not from public response.
Erin Hut, the city’s director of communications and marketing, said of the sign, “While we do not condone this type of messaging, it is our understanding that it’s protected under the First Amendment,” KHQ reported.
Spokane City Councilwoman Sarah Dixit, who represents the Hillyard district, said that, as a private business, the city cannot force the coffee stand to remove its signage, but she opposes the sign nonetheless.
“This is not what our district is about. It’s not what I want our district being known for,” Dixit said. “I ran to be someone who will represent everyone, and this is disappointing to see.”
The business replaced the sign last Wednesday with one reading, “Calm your t**s,” using a slang term for breasts.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
