Cupgate 2015

Let me start this post by saying, I despise Starbucks for many reasons, but their holiday cupgate of 2015 is not one of them. In fact, I realize that I really just don't want to live on this planet anymore (thanks professor for that gem of a phrase). What a ridiculous offense to put any energy into when there are terrorist out there blowing us up everyday and politicians pulling the wool over our collective eyes on a daily basis. No, let's all get pissed off that Starbucks didn't put a Christmas tree on a cup. Get your priorities in order, people.

First, lets look at the offensive cup in question. It is a vibrant red cup with an ombre effect that transitions from a deep cranberry red to a bright poppy red. Then there is the vivid green logo of Starbucks in the center. Simple. Elegant. And yet somehow it is an attack on christians.

I get it. I like to say “Merry Christmas” during the holidays. I also say “happy holidays” to people. In fact I say “Happy Hanukah” to people I know are Jewish. And I always wish people pleasant celebrations of their respective holidays if they let me know what it is they are celebrating. I am no longer a practicing catholic, but I do believe in the spirit of this season; the sharing, time with family, giving meaningful gifts, watching the joy on my daughter's, nieces' and nephews' faces, holding open doors, chatting with people, and just general warmness for everyone. That is what this time of year is about; caring about people. Not. A. Cup.

Now, I had no clue what the old cups looked like. None whatsoever. So I took to google, and then promptly screamed at my computer screen. The image I saw pop on my screen was their 2014 holiday cup. It was red with light red snowflakes, creating an etched in look of snowflakes on a red cup. Snowflakes. SNOWFLAKES. When did Christmas claim snowflakes? When did snowflakes stop symbolizing the winter season? Why did I not get the memo all those years in my catholic school as a child that the real meaning of Christmas was snowflakes? Or how about the year with the snowman? Don't let me see someone of another religion build a snow man because I will be offended! That's for christians only.

And now we have people applauding Dunkin Donuts for their Christmas cup. If you haven't had the time to look, it is an octagon made of evergreen tree branches with just the word joy in red in the center. Yes I get it that it is Christmasy, but it is only the feeling of Christmas, just like the 2015 cranberry and poppy red colored Starbucks cup with the green logo, that is given off. None of these cups actually say “Merry Christmas”, but the all give off that nice holiday vibe.

What stops other religions from being offended that the cups are too Christmasy? Either way you look at this, the company can't win. We as a people need to stop with ALL these fabricated offenses over such unimportant non-issues. Soon people will not be able to step out of their homes without offending someone. I understand fighting for something, but I think it is time to direct our energy into important issues! Politics, terrorism, economics, education. All of these things deserve our attention a little bit more then a freaking cup.