Starbucks, Jesus, and You
Is everyone really this upset over a Starbucks holiday cup?
Starbucks Holdiay Cop 2015
Look at it! It's plain red! Nothing to get offended by, right? Wrong. Some Americans think that it is suppressing Christian values and being overly politically correct. What Starbucks is doing is making a smart business move. They have many different customers who celebrate many different holidays, and making it holiday non-specific lures in more customers. And Donald Trump has even said, "Maybe we should boycott Starbucks, I don't know. Seriously, I don't care."
Are Starbucks employees not allowed to say "Merry Christmas"?
That is not true, and Starbucks has said that employees, "are not provided a script or policy around greeting customers. They are simply encouraged to create a welcoming environment to delight each person who walks through our doors". So baristas say "happy holidays" so they don't offend anyone. But if you simply must have someone say Merry Christmas to you, go ahead and pick up some coffee from you local church.
Information
Joshua Feuerstein
This is the man who started it all in a You tube video; a pastor who claimed that Starbucks hated Jesus and took it off the new 2015 holiday cup. He encourages people to order a drink and say their name is "Merry Christmas" in order to force the barista to say it when their drink is ready.
2008
This is a Starbucks holiday cup from 2008; as you can see it is adorned with symbols for Christmas. A white dove, a reindeer, and the Starbucks logo was even turned into what appears to be a Christmas tree ornament.
The Truth
While many people are taking Feuerstein's advice and tricking baristas, snapping a picture, and posting it on Instagram under the hashtag #merrychristmasstarbucks, there are more serious issues going on in America. What does this say about us, about our country? And really, we're going to talk about how offensive this is while we are COMPLETELY skipping over Thanksgiving? What is wrong with the USA today?
If you need to have art your cappuccino, get out a sharpie and draw on your cup!
No need to pop out the old crosses and holy water, Starbucks isn't atheist!
While it might not be a religious cup this year, Starbucks still sells gift cards with "Merry Christmas!" written on them. They even have a blend of coffee called the "Christmas Blend".