STARBUCKS NO MORE!

Call me crazy, call me insane, call the men in the white jackets. The fateful day has finally come and I am boycotting Starbucks.

I love Starbucks. I am a major fan of their Venti Caramel Frappuccino with EXTRA Caramel. So why will that delightfully creamy concoction never pass these lips again?

Why am I boycotting Starbucks?

Lately it has become apparent that Starbucks is yet another in a long line of anti-Christian, pro-left/liberal establishments that cares nothing about offending someone like me. A conservative Christian with a strong sense of morals and ethics who doesn't agree with the World but rather the Word.

My dear friend Jack Kinsella put it so well in his daily briefing today. In the interest of space, I won't post all of it but I will post the first part of it.

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It is a shame. Despite the fact it is overpriced, I confess that I always LIKED Starbucks coffee. But I will never put another penny into Starbucks coffers.

Starbucks has launched an incomprehensibly stupid promotion in which it posts selected messages submitted by its customers on various subjects.

I seldom get outraged the way I was when I read a story, complete with a photo of the offending cup* [with quote displayed], in the Cincinatti Post yesterday.

Under the heading, "The Way I See It", Starbucks published the following *[on the cup]:

"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."

The quote was written by Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, Canada, (where else?) and was included as part of an effort by the Seattle-based coffee giant to "collect different viewpoints and spur discussion."

I did a bit more digging and found the following quote from a Starbucks coffee cup in a related story on WorldnetDaily:

"My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too d**n short."

Starbucks has a disclaimer on its website that says, "The opinions put forth by contributors to “The Way I See It” do not necessarily reflect the views of Starbucks."

Starbucks has evidently expanded into the deli business, since that is usually where one goes if one is looking for baloney. What do you bet that nobody will send me an example of a Starbucks cup that opposes abortion?

Or one that discusses sexual abstinence outside of marriage? Or, horror of horrors, one that expresses a view that being gay isn't normal?

The dictionary defines "normal" this way: "In behavior, normal means not deviating very much from the average."

If even 10% of the population is gay, (a figure disputed as wildly inflated) then by definition, 90% of the population is not. If 50% constitutes 'average' then does it not follow that 90% vs 10% constitutes "deviating very much from the average"?

Or is arithmetic to join language on the trash heap of political correctness? Orwell would have been proud.

Starbucks also offers a place on its website where customers can offer up their own words of "wisdom" or, alternatively, render their opinion about the comments that Starbucks selected for publication.

Make no mistake about it. Starbucks SELECTS the opinions that it claims "do not necessarily reflect their corporate views." They admit in their FAQ page that comments must 'fit within the scope of our editorial guidelines." What ARE their 'editorial guidelines?'

I searched their website in vain looking for the answer to THAT question. But I doubt rather seriously that the comment I posted at Starbucks will fit within those editorial guidelines, (whatever they may be):

"Regarding "The Way I See It"

"Here's the way I see it. Your disclaimer that it isn't your opinion is meaningless. You wouldn't have published an anti-gay opinion on your cups. You wouldn't have published an anti-abortion opinion on your cups. But you DID publish an anti-God message by Bill Schell. Hard for me to believe.

I used to buy Starbucks coffee every time I passed one of your stores. My wife used to buy Starbucks coffee at the grocery store. The operative word here is "used to."

You clearly care nothing about offending ME. I will not only boycott all things Starbucks, I will encourage everyone I know to do the same. I am outraged.

It matters not whether you publish my comment. I will never know. It's a shame. I liked your coffee. A lot more, evidently, than you liked my business." . . .
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*[these are my additions to the above article for clarification]

What Jack wrote is so true. You will never see a slogan on Starbucks that is anti-abortion, or anti-radical Muslim or any of the other anti-"far left" viewpoints, only those that are anti-Christian, anti-"right wing" and anti-traditional values. After all, haven't you heard? The only groups that are fair game anymore for attacking are the fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians and the Jews. Everyone else is "off limits" but you might as well call us a piñata because the hits just keep on coming.

So, it is a matter of principle for ME that I am starting this boycott on Starbucks because of this direction that they have decided to take in not caring if they offend someone like me, or Jack, or YOU. Goodbye Venti Caramel Frappuccino. I knew you well. We had some great times together over the years.

Actually, I'm not too broken up over it.

After all, there's always the Dunkin' Donuts Iced Latte or DQ's MooLatté. And anyway, taking a stand for my faith and personal beliefs is more important than any chilled concoction from a company who could care less about offending me.

If you want to sign your name to the Starbucks Boycott or grab one of the Starbucks No More! icons as shown below for your site, click HERE or on one of the icons below.

Starbucks No More! Medium Icon:
I'm Boycotting
Starbucks!

Starbucks No More! Small Icon:
I'm Boycotting
Starbucks!


Take a stand for your rights as a conservative Christian, or as someone who feels that your right to believe in God and proclaim it is being threatened by the increasingly hostile anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-traditional values sentiments embraced and encouraged by major corporations/companies out there who pander to the loud minority voices such as Starbucks, FORD Motor Company, Disney, AT&T – the list is endless. Ever notice that it's progressively only a free speech right when it's not a conservative Christian espousing their beliefs or talking about their faith?

Take a stand for your beliefs! Let them know that they can't silence us just because they don't like what we have to say. Change in the world starts with one person, then catches on to two, then four – and so forth and so on. If we put our collective efforts behind it, together we can be even louder and make our voices HEARD!

Note:
If you want to share your opinion with Starbucks, here is the link:
http://www.starbucks.com/retail/thewayiseeit_comments.asp