Is Starbucks Politically Brainwashing Us?

     If you somehow haven't already heard, Starbucks released a new disposable coffee cup on the first of this month which, of course, immediately sparked conflict among Starbucks lovers and haters. Because what doesn't start conflict these days?

     The cup design released is primarily green and features a drawing of over a hundred people completed with only one stroke making them all connected. When Starbucks first announced the cup on Twitter, people twisted the intention behind the cup to be something political, despite the coffee chain simply stating that the cup is supposed to "...remind us that we're all connected".

     It seems like most people are accusing the company of 1) Promoting a Democratic/liberal agenda especially around the time of the election and/or 2) Suppressing Christianity by not carrying a holiday message which is a similar argument in response to last year's cup design.

     However, it has been confirmed that these new green cups aren't even the holiday cups for this year. The green "unity" design will only be around for a short time, while the notorious red holiday cups will return soon.

Conversation

     At first, I thought this outrage around such a beautiful cup design was absurd and unnecessary. I don't believe that Starbucks was trying to make a political statement as nothing about the cup's design directly implied that. It was probably trying to avoid political backlash by making the cup green which is a color that isn't associated with either major political party (like red is) and by promoting ideals that most people SHOULD agree with despite their political identity like community, unity, and peace. Those ideals are not strictly liberal or Democratic ones.

     However, I rethought the situation after reading this one tweet. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that a simple cup is receiving such political criticism considering it is being released at a time when political tensions are at their height and everyone is freaking out about the upcoming election. I still think Starbucks only meant good while releasing this cup and that the hate being received is stupid, but I do recognize that it was probably inevitable due to the timing of the release.

     Even though the theory that this was the company's holiday cup has been debunked, I still think all of the complaints received last year and this year due to the lack of a Christmas theme on the cup are incredibly ignorant. Neither Starbucks or the U.S. has an official religion and by only representing one, we are ignoring the others which, in my opinion, is not in the spirit of our country's morals. I think the reason people were so upset about the removal of Christmas themed cups last year is due to the negative associations so many people have with other religions and the fear of loosing Christianity as the dominant religion in this country.

What are your thoughts on the new Starbucks cup? Do you think the chain had a hidden political agenda? Do you think they should continue or discontinue the Christmas themed holiday cups? Leave a comment below!