My Candid Opinion Regarding The Starbucks Cups

My newsfeed have been littered with controversy over this year's Starbucks's jolly holiday cheer-or lack thereof-beverage cups. In case you missed it (although I'm pretty sure you haven't), Starbucks is using plain red cups rather than a festive design. There are some outspoken believers claiming this is the corporation's way of stamping out religion during the Christmas season. Of course, that attitude has been met with the practical idea that a disposable coffee containers should not be defining your reason for the season. I think it's a bunch of hulabaloo with passive-aggressive efforts to remove any thing that could remotely be construed as offensive.

The holidays should be celebrated with appropriate icons on the cups. What are "appropriate icons?" The vast majority of Americans celebrate Christmas in some way. Some celebrate it with Christ or simply a tree that Santa Claus places presents under. Then there's simply snowflakes, hats, and mittens symbolizing the winter season. Appropriate holiday symbols are subjective and vary from person to person, but none should be construed as offensive.

Christmas is offensive for those who don't celebrate it. Okay. Didn't I just mention that the vast majority of Americans celebrate Christmas?! Even if Christmas isn't celebrated for religious reasons, it is still commonly celebrated with Santa, a tree, and the gift-giving tradition because, you know, IT'S WHAT WE DO HERE! Christmas isn't offensive. If a person of another faith wished someone with "Happy (insert chosen holiday)" there is no need to get your panties in a wedgie-induced wad! It's their way of expressing joy during the holiday season. If Americans moved to another country and protested that their holiday celebrations were offensive I don't think it would fly. I think it's more important to appreciate and welcome all forms of seasonal celebrations. Different customs should spark our interests and curiosity, help us learn about one another, and bring strangers closer together. 

Liberals are trying to wipe out Christmas to be more sensitive to various beliefs. And here is where the heart of Starbucks's stunt lies. Starbucks originated in Seattle, land of liberals and left-wing transplants who force their cockeyed ideas on the rest of the state. There IS a rest of the state outside of the metropolitan blue spot by the way, and we tend to lean red and don't take to all their hippie views too easily. C'mon, the left-wing craziness emitted by the west wing of Washington is as clear as day with their NFL team's colors: Blue for the liberals, green for the pot (I am really the only one who's noticed that?). The middle-of-the-road-to-conservative population of the state doesn't want to give in to their "let's constantly be sensitive to everyone's feelings" antics.

Frankly, plain red is a pretty boring marketing chose if you ask me. I preferred the cups in previous years with a cheery, jolly design on them. I'm not going to be as excited about a seasonally offered flavor served in a plain ol' cup, meaning I probably won't be spending extra money on it. I don't see why there can't be festive cups and just original ones for the overly-sensitive liberal whiners, but it's not my corporation.

Ultimately, yeah, I do think the Starbucks cups display a passive-aggressive way to stamp out Christmas because that's the liberal standard. Starbucks sells other Christmas merchandise in their stores, so I feel the cups should also be a seasonal representation of that. I also feel that this is all blown a tad out of proportion. They're just cups. While I have pretty vivid opinions about the sinister undertone they portray, it's just a paper cylinder that will become trash. Disposable beverage containers shouldn't hinder feelings or beliefs about holidays. Boycott the product, or if it's that bothersome bring stickers to decorate them in a festive fashion. If this plain red cup hulabaloo is, in fact a liberal-minded-anti-Christmas-so-we-don't-hurt-anyone's-feelings-ever-again antic, shame on Starbucks. I know I'm not the only one who is tired and annoyed of being forced to cater to a one-size-fits-all mentality because it can't be done. I'm not letting a giant corporation take control of my happiness during the holidays and neither should anyone else. 

So It's Been A Month

I guess it's been over a month since I started my English 101 class at Spokane Community College. It's intense and I am definitely being challenged. Writing generally comes easy to me, but when I have to think of topic sentences, themes, and following a prompt it makes things much more complicated! I also have to put my creative writing edge on the sideline in order to focus on the assignment organization.

The college had a family fun night in honor of Halloween. I took G to this carnival-type event where she collected a bag of candy, got her nails painted, and jumped on a bouncy house. She even got to meet my professor who we happened to run into as well.

Munchkin has been enjoying first grade. She is learning in a way that seems quite foreign to my recollection of grade school. It's definitely harder. The math is different because the simple things are made much more complicated. Adding basic numbers requires number bonds and fact families and not allowing students to use traditional mathematical methods. I understand that each student learns differently, but if they can add numbers the old way then why do they need to know all the other "new" ways? Well, whatever. She seems to be picking up on most of new ways just fine and even explains it to me.

I don't have much time to free-write so I will just keep this short and sweet and hopefully will come up with more involved subject matter next time.