Impassioned feelings are the norm after Alton Sterling and Philando Castile’s deaths this week, but a Connecticut pizzeria employee has learned that sharing them via the company’s official Instagram account isn’t the wisest outlet. The page for Da Legna, a popular Neapolitan-style spot in New Haven, generally just contains shots of tasty-looking pizzas, so followers were probably a little surprised yesterday when a diatribe about America’s modern police state popped up. The post’s image showed Sterling, and the caption proceeded to just rip law enforcement a new one:
If this doesn’t enrage you, disgust you, or inform you of the power differential we face in a “civilized” world, then you are heartless and/or naive. They never protected me and they only serve as a reminder that that badge makes the shooter get away with murder. Those uniform blues empower cowards to be criminals, and walk the streets like they are actually doing some sort of good. Smh. They are just irresponsible gun owners hiding behind this false pretense of service and protection.
The person responsible for it — Da Legna’s general manager would only say the individual worked part-time handling their social media — doesn’t finish for another 100 words, wrapping up only after making the claim that “Policing is gang activity, sanctioned by oblivious taxpayers, enriched by budgeting that builds military-type enforcement,” and calling on Americans to “cut back on their pay, benefits, and pensions and give it to hungry kids, schools, communities in need, and the families of those lost to their negligence and machismo.”
The restaurant addressed the controversy, which whipped local customers as well as people online into a fury, by explaining that Da Legna’s employees “respect all people, and admire anyone willing to wear the uniform and serve our communities in any capacity,” and so naturally “our first priority was severing the relationship with the party responsible for the post.”
Da Legna and/or its attorneys also seem to have prevailed upon this “party” to write one final good-bye post. “I apologize to all the viewers of this account for having to be subjected to my personal views,” it says, using language reminiscent of one of Bart Simpson’s chalkboard gags. “My convictions toward the bad apples aren’t those of Da Legna. I will no longer be representing this business moving forward.”
