Thursday, March 19, 2015

Take on race relations

As Starbucks rolled out another failed idea (uninspired lunch sandwiches, limited availability of Pumpkin Spiced Latte, new mermaid logo) with their Race Together initiative it was occurred to everybody-except Starbucks executives apparently, that having a constant dialogue about race is great but believing it can be achieved on the side of a coffee cup is silly. The side of a Starbucks coffee cup has always been a canvas used by baristas to miserably butcher the names of their patrons so why not use it to bring a conversation about race to the coffee table??

For one because the basically all white (and asian) clientele being served by an almost entirely minority staff, race relations although civil still show a gigantic rift right at their espresso station. Maybe open up a couple of Starbucks in East New York or Compton and see a social experiment in action or do some community outreach in minority neighborhood instead of writing "race matters" on a side of a coffee cup for a completely white washed clientele looking for a caffeine kick
I am all for Starbucks tackling issues like clean water, sustainable harvesting and better working conditions for their bean pickers but race is a bit heavy at 8am when the only race I want to hear about is the one my heart will be doing when I pound down a Venti Pike Place Roast with a double espresso thrown over top.

1 comment:

Baby Stu said...

Oh, you do NOT throw a shot of espresso in your coffee every morning, you big drama queen...