More Pix For A Laugh

[JasonPratt]

"Oh crap, I forgot 'holiday' is a religious word!"

[JasonPratt]

[JasonPratt]

[Tpek]

And for those of us who don't get it?
(Probably because I'm not watching American news channels a lot)

[bayonetbrant]

There's a 'controversy' here (because some people walk around just looking for stuff to get pissed off about) because Starbucks is using plain red cups for the holiday season over here.  In past years they've been decorated with snowflakes or snowmen or other winter symbols.  Some agitators are claiming that Starbucks is joining this fake "war on Christmas" that they've conjured up over the years by removing "Christmas" symbols from their cups.  Never mind that Starbucks still sells "Christmas Blend" coffee in their stores alongside gift cards that say "Merry Christmas".

[Con]

Are those communist cups for your stern Uncle Joe Stalin Coffee

[Staggerwing]

Or maybe the red is for the blood of all the human sacrifices conducted during the heathen Winter Solstice festivals that the religio-political fringe would have us believe are supplanting Christmas, with the tacit approval from the Federal Bureaucracy.

[besilarius]

Con, Unka Joe's preferred beverage was vodka with RED pepper flakes.

[Tpek]

There's a 'controversy' here (because some people walk around just looking for stuff to get pissed off about) because Starbucks is using plain red cups for the holiday season over here.  In past years they've been decorated with snowflakes or snowmen or other winter symbols.  Some agitators are claiming that Starbucks is joining this fake "war on Christmas" that they've conjured up over the years by removing "Christmas" symbols from their cups.  Never mind that Starbucks still sells "Christmas Blend" coffee in their stores alongside gift cards that say "Merry Christmas".

How are snowflakes and snowmen unique associated with a holiday?
They're just normal things in cold regions during the winter.

I know people in the U.S are oft considered over-sensitive, but being offended by snow is quite a silly thing  :))

[Barthheart]

Bozo's like this don't help matters either....  ::)

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/11/10/donald-trump-starbucks-holiday-cup/75506574/

[Centurion40]

Of course, they still sell cards saying "Merry Christmas" and still sell a "Christmas Blend". But that loops back around to why they'd remove stuff from the cups for those reasons. It's inconsistent.

FYI Starbucks sells the very same "Christmas Blend" labeled in a "Holiday Blend" package for those folks who are offended by the notion of Christmas in any way, shape or form  ::)  :P

Hmmm. That gives me an idea.

We need to come up with a new brand. The brand name is "If You're Offended."

We'll sell everything that proves to be an alternative to offensive products. So, if you're offended by a "Christmas Blend" coffee, we'll sell you a "Holiday Blend." If you're offended by "Holiday Blend" we'll sell you an "Everyday Blend." If you're offended by "Everyday Blend" then we'll sell you an "Unremarkably Unique Day" blend.

It will be awesome.

^This, and actually producing those Gullibility Test machines.  Oh we'd be in the money!  >:D

[bayonetbrant]

OK, back to silly stuff...

[JasonPratt]

There's a 'controversy' here (because some people walk around just looking for stuff to get pissed off about) because Starbucks is using plain red cups for the holiday season over here.  In past years they've been decorated with snowflakes or snowmen or other winter symbols.  Some agitators are claiming that Starbucks is joining this fake "war on Christmas" that they've conjured up over the years by removing "Christmas" symbols from their cups.  Never mind that Starbucks still sells "Christmas Blend" coffee in their stores alongside gift cards that say "Merry Christmas".

That is certainly one side of it. The other side is that instead of saying, "In the past couple of years we've been phasing out extra decorations on our cups as a cost-cutting measure", or if that sounds too negative saying nothing at all, Starbucks management decided to send out a press release lauding themselves for doing this as a favor to their customers, using rhetoric fairly similar to language used by people hot to neutralize any public expression of specifically "Christian" religious meanings for the holiday.

And then doubled down with a second press release using the same kind of language again.

Inadvertently or not (and the second press release couldn't have been too inadvertent), they hopped on a particular side of that cultural issue by how they described the favor they were doing for their customers by printing slightly cheaper cups (which do admittedly fit better for a worldwide company than winter iconography, since the Southern Hemisphere is going into summer during Christmas season. I'm assuming they're planning to use these cups worldwide and not, for example, use Valentine Day-ish themed cups in Japan since that's how most people there treat Christmas season.)


Like Bart said, cretins like the Donald aren't helping. All Starbucks really deserved was some fun poked at their pompous marketing campaign. (Thus the Pix For A Laugh provided above, on topic.  8) )

[LongBlade]

And for those of us who don't get it?
(Probably because I'm not watching American news channels a lot)

Don't worry, I didn't get it either.

[LongBlade]

OK, back to silly stuff...

<chuckle>