LINK: http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55564
This is an article about a woman who was extremely offended by a quote on the side of the Starbucks cup. In an effort to display different opinions by different individuals, Starbucks has allowed people to send in their own little opinions on different things to put on the cups of Starbucks customers. The quote basically questioned why people go to God in difficult situations. Yes, there is the issue of freedom of speech, but for someone who is really in love with God, this is really hard to see. I agree with this woman completely because i feel like she does. I could not enjoy a cup of coffee that was demeaning God in such a way, since He is our creator. It is cool to see the opinions of people around the world, but to me this is repetative. We all know there are people who don't believe in the power of God, we don't need to read it while we sip our coffee. I think Starbucks should do a better job of screening what goes on the cups in order to prevent a loss of customers. In another instance in the same article, Baylor University, a baptist university in Waco, TX refused to use a cup which included a quote by a homosexual. The quote reffered to his homosexuality basically encouraging people to come “out of the closet” and not to repress it. To me, this is also a very personal issue and shouldn’t be printed on my cup of coffee. This is a moral issue and putting these words on the cup only encourage people to believe this is right. Whether it is or not, Starbucks is not repecting the opinions of it’s customers by adding these quotes. I now have a new view of the company because I know the words on these cups were chosen by a Starbucks individual and probably reflect the company in some way.
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What a fantastic article to find! I am also a strong believer in God and agree that Starbucks should have done a better job at screening the quotes that they put on the cups. Everything you argued and counter argued in your article is perfect and you should definitely use it in your papers. Freedom of Speech is going to be a really big argument brought back on the placing of this quote on a cup. Now to play the devil’s advocate in this argument, what about the quotes on the cups that are for God? How do the people that do not believe in Him view these quotes? And with your homosexuality example, what about the people that are homosexual? These are just some questions to think about when writing your paper if you use this example because your audience is not going to universally agree about your views of God. I have absolutely no problem with what you are saying but you have to remember your major university.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Starbucks should limit their "cup quotes" to just one subject area (i.e. atheism/theism/sexual preference) but try to reach some kind of balance. The fact that a university wouldn't use a cup because it contained a message about a real problem (the repression of homosexuals) is petty in my opinion. I think the quote referring to asking why people go to God in difficult situations is a legitimate question. If God is omnipotent, then the difficult situation was inadvertently caused by him. It seems to me like an understandable question then as to why you would go to him for help with the situation that he caused. Though you may not agree with my line of thinking, justifying the quote or not, Starbucks can print whatever they want on the side of their cups and I guarantee they will still sell copious amounts of beverages. If seemingly negative comments aren't allowed, then will positive comments be allowed too? If Starbucks can't impose one theology (in this case Atheism or cynical Christianity or whatever you want to call it), then can it impose another (i.e. Christianity or Islam, etc.)? Again, I honestly do not think it really matters, unless Starbucks feels that the costumers it will lose outweigh the customers they may gain over displaying such messages. Some questions you may want to consider is that whose opinions are more important? Since the quotes are obviously infringing on some people's opinions, but advocating others what can the company due to rectify the situation? If Starbucks continues to print quotes on their cups, then what would you suggest as suitable subject matter?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting subject, and one that I don't think has an easy solution. I would not be opposed to the Starbucks cups having quotes about social issues if all sides were equally represented. I believe the problem is that all sides are not likely to be represented well. Regardless of what the company says about being objective, some individual is deciding what goes onto the cups, and that individual has opinions regardless of who they are. Ultimately I don't believe that a coffee cup is a very effective medium to have discussion about social issues.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is an excellent issue to explore in your writing! Starbucks is using their place as a business leader to influence their customers lives. What are the ethical implications of this?