Over the weekend, protesters in New York and Oakland temporarily took the fight to end racial oppression to that most hallowed bastion of whiteness: the brunch spot.

In New York, a group of about three dozen demonstrators worked mostly in eastern midtown, hitting such quiche-and-mimosa joints as Lallisse, Maialino and Pershing Square, Yahoo News reports. When they arrived, they began reading the names of black Americans killed by police to diners. From the Washington Post:

The protesters, most dressed in black, read the names of African Americans killed by police punctuated with chants of "ashe," a word from the Yoruba language of West Africa comparable to "amen." Timed by participants, the ritual takes four-and-a-half minutes — since Michael Brown's body was left on the street for four-and-a-half hours in Ferguson.

"Every 28 hours, a black person in America is killed by the police," the protesters said. "These are our brothers and sisters. Today and every day, we honor their lives."

Among other things, #BlackBrunch led to some very tense photo opportunities.

As is to be expected when such a sacred institution is so callously attacked, the protests sparked lots of fervent tweeting. Racists got racist; liberals wept over the tarnished sanctity of bottomless Bloody Marys; conservatives like this guy told protesters where they could shove their eggs benedict; with Herculean effort, Chuck Johnson turned it into an item about Hillary Clinton.

It's hard to imagine a funnier needling tactic. People are reacting viscerally to the idea that diners were targeted as racists simply for enjoying a Sunday morning meal—and if they had been subject to any discomfort beyond five awkward minutes, they'd have a legitimate complaint. But it's just brunch, and as soon as you complain about it, you get to the heart of the issue: while some people are out there wondering whether a trigger-happy cop might decide to gun them down today, you just want to finish your capers and lox in peace.

[Image via sharminultraa/Twitter]