Hospitality offered as a screen let a Palestinian walk away from soldiers

Evidence

“I’ll make you guys some tea,” he said, offering an invitation that he hoped they wouldn’t accept. And he was right. They said nothing, and the soldier went back to the Humvee and started talking to the others. Akram took advantage of the situation. “All right. I gotta go now,” he said loudly, and he walked away, first slowly and then as fast as he could, without looking as if he were running. It was a small moment of confrontation, but it stuck with him. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 538

Categorization

• XREF: Hospitality weaponized as a social blocking move — echoes the Uses of the Law Merchant conversation about informal signaling; the tea offer is a cheap formal signal to defuse a confrontation.