Httpswwwnytstarbucks Is Criticized for Its Holiday Cups Yes Again

In a globe filled with many items, there is none more divisive right now than the 2015 Ruby-red Starbucks Cup™. On the surface, it might look similar a unproblematic crimson container sized to hold either 8, 12, 16, 20, or 30 fluid ounces of the life-giving nighttime nectar we know as coffee.

But information technology's much more than than that.

In certain pockets of the US, it speaks to something larger than the vessel from which we drink our hot, caffeinated beverages. To some, the naked red cup, unadorned with symbols like holly or snowflakes, is an affront against the Christian religion, a cut against Christianity. For others, information technology's a gamble to beat their chests and scream nigh Christian and conservative stupidity into the faceless void of the internet.

The civilization wars have come to disposable paper Starbucks cups.

Americans fighting over what is printed on a coffee cup designed past a billion-dollar company to promote conformity sounds like cold German satire: While the world rages on and problems like starvation, a massive refugee crisis, and homelessness remain unfixed, people in America — including an American presidential candidate — are arguing over a cherry-red beverage container.

But at that place'due south nothing satirical most this. The conflict over this dumb cup is so passionate that the original version of a viral "Starbucks' War on Christmas" video has more than fourteen meg views. Information technology's also an unflinchingly existent slice of American internet culture and the outrage machine that fuels it.

Here'due south what the Starbucks red loving cup looks like at present and what it looked like in 2014

According to Starbucks, the holiday cup began in 1997 with a "jazz-themed design in gem tones of deeper reds, greens and blues." Each year since then, the coffee behemothic's holiday cups return, and have go a corporate tradition in the procedure. The cups make the transition from plain white to holiday-themed in November; this year they changed over on Nov 3.

So here it is. Here is the source of all this hurting, anger, and outrage:

The 2015 loving cup on the left; the 2014 loving cup on the right. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

The 2015 cup (left) is patently different from the 2014 cup (right). The shade of reddish is unlike (brighter!), and the cup doesn't accept the pine tree print. Sear this image into your encephalon.

Why some Christians are mad near Starbucks's 2015 red cup

The fight over Starbucks's cup actually begins with a man named Joshua Feuerstein and a viral video in which he claims Starbucks can't celebrate Christmas.

Feuerstein, who looks a scrap similar Kevin James and whose voice bears an uncanny resemblance to Seth Rogen's, describes himself as an "American evangelist, internet, and social media personality"; his personal website touts his "Facebook fame" and net success:

Feuerstein's social media success led him to be the field of study of a recent BBC Trending episode. In improver, he has hosted or been the invitee on television and syndicated radio talk shows, such as TBN.

Feuerstein has a large Christian, conservative post-obit, and as he'll probably tell you himself, he'southward good at making things that are pop on the internet. He frequently does this past harnessing the power of polarizing religious topics. In one of his videos, he attempts to dispel development, saying that it isn't a science.

Dear Mr. Atheist ... permit me to destroy evolution in 3 minutes! #SHAREifyouCARE #WOW

Posted past Joshua Feuerstein on Friday, May 23, 2014

That slice was shared more than 201,000 times and received more than 1.8 1000000 "likes" on Facebook. Merely it's not just people who hold with Feuerstein's views who watched the video. The reason Feuerstein's videos are then popular is that many people disagree with him. One of the well-nigh "liked" comments in the meandering thread of responses to the evolution video comes from a guy who calls Feuerstein ignorant:

Feuerstein's new Starbucks outrage video might exist the biggest of his social media career. It'southward a rant stemming from a conservative Christian belief that at that place is a "war on Christmas," and that each year during the holidays, Christians are persecuted past companies. The video, which Feuerstein posted on November 5, has amassed more than 14 million views.

Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus ... And so I PRANKED THEM ... and they HATE Information technology!!!! #shareUse #MERRYCHRISTMASSTARBUCKSFollow --> Joshua Feuerstein

Posted past Joshua Feuerstein on Thursday, November 5, 2015

Over the course of nearly one and a half minutes, Feuerstein talks about how Starbucks has caved to political correctness.

"Do you realize that Starbucks wanted to take Christ and Christmas off of their brand new cups?" he asks. "In fact, do yous know that Starbucks isn't allowed to say merry Christmas to their customers?"

Just what Feuerstein'due south saying is a lie.

It'due south doubtful that Feuerstein had any input, insider knowledge, or consultation with the design team responsible for Starbucks's 2015 red cup or the coffee visitor's rationale for making the loving cup plain ruby. Simply he'due south wrong virtually Starbucks refusing to celebrate Christian holidays. If you peruse the Starbucks website, yous'll find several pieces of merchandise that show otherwise, including Christmas ornaments, an appearance agenda, and "Christmas blend" coffee:

There's also a Starbucks "Christmas" gift menu:

(Starbucks)

But Feuerstein's near blatant untruth, and the reason for all the electric current furor nigh the 2015 red cup, is the implication that Starbucks at ane time printed the word "Christmas" on its holiday cups and is now being stifled or stifling itself from doing and so. In the by vi years, Starbucks, which doesn't identify itself equally a Christian visitor, has never put the words "Merry Christmas" on its holiday cups — instead, information technology'due south used wintry and vaguely vacation-esque imagery and language, including ornaments that say things similar "joy" or "hope," snowmen, and holly. Here are the cups dating back from 2009:

However, the fact that Feuerstein'southward exclamation is false doesn't seem to matter to his followers, who've rallied effectually the video and helped information technology gain prevalence. The company has been a target of right-wing and Christian criticism in the past considering of its support for same-sex activity union and its opposition to open carry firearms in its stores, even in states where it is legal. Meanwhile, conservative media outlets similar Breitbart have weighed in, besides, echoing Feuerstein'southward message.

"The Carmine Cups are now an anti-Christmas symbol, with Starbucks declaring their formerly Christmassy cups to be 'vacation beverages' and shedding any sign of Christmas from them," Breitbart's Raheem Kassam wrote in his provocatively titled column "Starbucks Red Cups Are Emblematic of the Christian Civilisation Cleansing of the West."

The protest eventually trickled its way up to American presidential candidate Donald Trump, who couldn't resist the opportunity to comment. "Maybe we should boycott Starbucks? I don't know. Seriously, I don't care," Trump told supporters in Springfield, Illinois, on November 9. "If I become president, we're all going to be saying Merry Christmas again, that I can tell you."

The pattern of Starbucks's cherry-red cups wouldn't be every bit big of a news story if the net wasn't so predisposed to outrage

At any given infinitesimal, millions of stories are being shared online by millions of people. Those stories are as various every bit the people reading them, but there'due south one common reason we laissez passer them around: They help ascertain us. Sharing stories allows usa a low-effort way to tell people what we care almost, what we find funny, what makes us angry, and how smart we are. And plenty of Feuerstein'south followers undoubtedly experience the same mode he does.

But at that place are only as many people who detest-share his videos. If you search for "MerryChristmasStarbucks" (one of the principal hashtags for the carmine cup "controversy"), you'll find myriad posts past self-identified Christians about how dumb the protest is.

"I do have issues with #MerryChristmasStarbucks, though. Nigh of American Christianity'due south blatant problems are exposed in this i excruciatingly real social campaign," Nate Lake, a Christian college student and soonhoped-for Starbucks employee wrote in a web log post that's gone viral in the wake of the red loving cup kerfuffle. He continues:

Another reason #MerryChristmasStarbucks is everything wrong with American Christianity is its improper, miscalculated expectation of Christian values from a non-Christian entity. Merely put, Starbucks is not a Christ-centered company. That doesn't brand Starbucks bad.

There are also counter hashtags like #itsjustacup, and viral Instagram posts similar this ane denouncing Starbucks protesters:

Actress, Aries, and devout Christian Candace Cameron Bure has also weighed in, saying that the controversy is a not-issue. "Until Starbucks puts a baby Jesus or nativity scene on the cup while maxim Merry Christmas, then pulls it because they say it's offensive, let's talk," she wrote in a wildly popular Instagram post:

Journalists accept helped this backlash proceeds steam. "The phony 'State of war on Christmas' is back, fueled by those declared Jesus haters at Starbucks," the Washington Post asserted; while U.s. Weekly opted for "Starbucks' Manifestly Reddish Vacation Cups Are Causing Outrage Amid Christians," and Jezebel went with "Christians Angry Over Starbucks' Minimalist Holiday Cup Design." These are good headlines that compel y'all to click and make you a little aroused, whether it's at the publication for being glib ("Jesus Haters") or at the Christians for overreacting.

The Starbucks controversy flattened Christianity into something easy to hate

Portraying the crimson cup protestation as something that all Christians (as opposed to some Christians) are participating in makes the move seem bigger and more than continued to our personal lives than it is. The protestation began in evangelical and fundamentalist Christian circles — a earth that is foreign to a lot of Americans. Only painting it every bit something that mainstream Christianity is actively involved in — even if this is not the instance — all of a sudden makes it more firsthand, urgent, and outrage-worthy.

The fashion news is shared on the internet has an indomitable way of flattening complex ideas into simplistic, easily digestible things. With this protest, the complex idea of Christianity has been compressed into a uncomplicated matter of people who are irrationally angry at a red cup. It'southward easy to come across why people who place every bit Christians would quickly share this story to announce that they're not like the people protesting. Meanwhile, for people who don't believe in organized religion, the story marks yet another case of people acting dumb in the proper name of religion.

On social media, yelling near what we don't like defines us as much as the things nosotros do like. The wicked irony of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram is that this backlash makes more than people aware of the protest'due south existence. And as we saw during a contempo racist Star Wars protest, the anger against the movement tin dilate the original message to the point where it becomes a vast echo chamber of backfire.

It actually doesn't affair what Starbucks says about its red cups — we've already decided

On November 8, three days after Feuerstein'due south initial outrage video was posted, Starbucks explained why it chose a obviously loving cup this twelvemonth. The company explained that it went with an ombré pattern — the ruddy is brighter on top and darkens into a shade of cranberry — as a nod to simplicity.

"Starbucks has become a place of sanctuary during the holidays," Jeffrey Fields, Starbucks vice president of blueprint and content, said in a statement. "We're embracing the simplicity and the quietness of information technology. It's a more open fashion to conductor in the holiday."

Though the visitor didn't cite Feuerstein's video, information technology did make a mention of how the company wants to exist respectful of customers' religious beliefs:

Creating a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity is one of the cadre values of Starbucks, and each year during the holidays the company aims to bring customers an experience that inspires the spirit of the flavor. Starbucks will continue to embrace and welcome customers from all backgrounds and religions in our stores around the world.

And in maybe a great moment of cocky-awareness, Starbucks invited its customers to imbue the red cups with their own stories (equally many already have):

Taking a cue from customers who accept been doodling designs on cups for years (Starbucks held a competition to support this inventiveness), this year's pattern is another fashion Starbucks is inviting customers to create their ain stories with a red cup that mimics a blank canvas.

But in reality, Starbucks was never in control of the situation. Once Feuerstein's video took hold, we all made upwards our minds about both the protest and the java company, bolstered past our ain opinions (or lack thereof) on Christianity and political correctness. Starbucks says it wanted us to "create our own stories" — and we did.

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Source: https://www.vox.com/2015/11/10/9707034/starbucks-red-cup-controversy

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