It's not often I see the worst of people and the best of people all in the same story. But that is what happened earlier this week in Los Angeles.
We're going to start with the worst, unfortunately. Let's get that out of the way, so we can use the example to show what good human beings are capable of.
The worst, in this case, comes in the form of a woman named Evelyne Jones, the owner of a popular West Hollywood coffee shop on Melrose Blvd., the Mauro Cafe. On her website, Jones claims to be 'the heart of Mauro Cafe, [whose] warmth and passion for people permeates every aspect of the restaurant.'
Jones may or may not be those things. One thing that we do know Jones is, unfortunately, is a hateful, raging antisemite.
Watch:
West Hollywood cafe owner throws out Jewish customer and REFUSES to serve him after seeing he was wearing a kippah.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 2, 2024
Mauro Cafe in Melrose refused to allow the man to buy coffee with one waitress telling him to “get off the property.”
🎥 @growthfactororg pic.twitter.com/BXDqPpSBYP
The cafe refused to serve him because he looked Jewish and was wearing a yarmulke. Unbelievable.
I thought there had to be more to this story, and there was. For that, we can visit the Twitter account of Era Gigman, who told us a lot more about Jones.
Evelyne Joan, owner of Mauros Cafe on Melrose Ave, verbally assaulted police at a pro-Hamas riot outside an LA synagogue and then kicked out a customer who wanted to host a Jewish event at her cafe. pic.twitter.com/ifPGxxicxV
— Era Gigman (@idan_bg) July 2, 2024
Well, would you look at that? She sounds like just a wonderful person. Not only does she not serve Jews, but she also tries to block them from going into their places of worship. (Twitchy covered this Los Angeles riot from pro-Hamas protesters, including the abysmal response from the police and the city.)
She can be seen here. Highly active. pic.twitter.com/teGFtpxww5
— Era Gigman (@idan_bg) July 2, 2024
There is no evidence that Jones joined in any of the violence that day, she preferred to simply spew hate from her megaphone. And then she went back to her swanky coffee shop to hate and discriminate against Jews some more.
If you're like me, right now you are seething that such people even exist in our society. And she is not just existing, but by all measures, she is thriving in her cafe that regularly sees celebrity traffic based on its location.
But I promised earlier that this incident also showed the best of humanity, so now I will get to the part that gives me hope.
It started that very day. As you recall from the original video above, one of the servers at the restaurant also demanded that the people outside leave the property. (I guess she's not a fan of the Jews either.)
But then another employee did something outstanding. That is at the end of the video above from Oli London. If you didn't make it to the 45-second mark or so, go back up and watch that part. Here are a couple of screenshots.
Not all heroes wear capes.
— LAWYERGONEROGUE (@lawyergonerogue) July 2, 2024
Sometimes they’re just people who do the right thing when everyone around them isn’t.
God bless this man. 🇺🇸❤️✡️🇺🇸❤️ pic.twitter.com/I9VkRaOFZl
Notice that the restaurant didn't buy the Jewish man a coffee, the employee did.
I don't know that young man's motivations. Maybe he knew what Jones was doing was wrong. Maybe he just wanted to defuse the situation and restore calm.
His motivation doesn't matter too much. What matters is he did the right thing. As the tweet above says, God bless him.
And the story is still not over. The community also stepped up and gave Jones a taste of her own medicine with a megaphone.
This is how you stand up against their hatred. Well done! pic.twitter.com/5kgEEL0m90
— Era Gigman (@idan_bg) July 2, 2024
Unlike the 'pro-Palestine' protesters in Los Angeles in front of the synagogue, notice that there is no violence here. No one is trying to block anyone from entering or exiting the cafe. They are simply calling Jones out for her hypocrisy and hatred. To her face.
(On a side note, I love how Jones is so supportive of Palestinians ... but also flies countless 'pride' flags in front of her store. The cognitive dissonance is off the charts.)
After the in-person protest was over, people took to social media to continue to call out the hate online.
Mauro Cafe
— MBD ✡️🎗️🇮🇱🇺🇸 (@beezwaxbee) July 2, 2024
(323) 653-2874
https://t.co/kCKPTqH3FZ
Leave them a 1 star.
The restaurant was getting flooded with so many bad reviews based on the incident that Yelp disabled comments (at least temporarily).
Aww. That's a shame.
But it is fantastic to see that Jews -- and, frankly, just normal people who don't hate Jews for no reason -- are standing up and fighting back.
I want to end with some more kudos for the store employee who took it upon himself to serve the man a coffee.
That kid deserves a better job.
— Eviltroy (@DelEviltroy) July 2, 2024
Yes bless the man who bought him a coffee. I'm glad he stood up for doing the right thing. At least he had a good heart.
— Roberta Beach (@Roberto21755702) July 3, 2024
Well done young mn. This is who we need for the future of mankind.
— Dr. Kimberley (@HeadDoc123) July 4, 2024
For his humanity.
— LAWYERGONEROGUE (@lawyergonerogue) July 3, 2024
And that's the point. Yes, he was brave. Yes, he was kind. But mainly, he simply showed basic humanity and decency toward his fellow man, regardless of external influences.
It may be sad that we have to hold such basic values up as heroic, but this is where we are. And because this is where we are, it makes it all the more essential that we celebrate such acts of bravery and decency.
As Portia said in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice:
'That light we see is burning in my hall. How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.'
-- The Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene I
(Or, if you prefer a more modern reference, it was more or less the same thing Willie Wonka said when Charlie Bucket gave him back his Everlasting Gobstopper.)
Whichever version of the quote you prefer, shame on Evelyne Jones, and cheers to the young man in her shop who deserves a far better boss.
