Rant #1,403: Hashtag This!

You might remember that in one of last week's rants, I talked about that ridiculous new program started by Starbucks, where baristas were instructed to scribble on coffee cups a message about race to try to get the conversation going in this nationwide chain of coffee shops.

Here is some of what I wrote:

"I know that this was probably well meaning, but you know what? I will talk about race relations when I want to talk about race relations, not when somebody who is brewing coffee, of all people, wants me to.

The next thing, we will be having in-restaurant dialogues with illegal aliens about their problems while I munch on my Big Mac.

Please. Again, there is a time and a place for everything.

Thank goodness I do not drink coffee, but I am sure the PC Police will get around to something I like to do and screw that up too.

Heck, I have something better for these baristas to hashtag.

How about #Coffee Is Too Expensive? Or better yet, #Putting Local Coffee Shops Out of Business?

Now I am sure those two things would get people talking."

That is what I wrote a few days back,and I am sticking with what I said.

Now, I hear that Starbucks has discontinued the program. It said it was supposed to be a short-term program anyway, and that it had run its course.

Nonsense. The chain tried to be so, so politically correct, and it backfired in their face.

People don't want to be assaulted when they order a cup of coffee, and yes, such an expensive cup of coffee.

They want to relax, they want to unwind, they want to take in the day at that point in time.

They obviously do not want to talk about race relations, certainly not at 6 a.m. in the morning, or maybe not even at 6 p.m. at night.

It was Starbuck's attempt to be relevant, or what they believe to be relevant, and it fell flat on its ear.

Good.

Now, of course, as I brought up in my Rant last week, heaven forbid they talk about, with a hashtag, how much their coffee costs and how overpriced it is, or better yet, how the emergence of Starbucks put many local coffee shops out of business.

Those topics hit too close to home.

Evidently, the race issue didn't.

One interesting post on Facebook that I saw had one woman wondering why Starbucks was even bothering with this topic of race, because at her local Starbucks, (and I paraphrase), "most of the workers there are people of color."

I think Starbucks is like any other fast food place, and honestly, even though no one looks at it that way, that is what it is. You have whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, people of all races who work there.

In fact, I am sure there are Starbucks in certain areas with mainly white staffs.

Look, they wanted to get a dialogue going, and they did, but it was so negative against Starbucks, and had nothing to do about race relations, that really, the whole thing came out as the charade it was.

What Starbucks did get from this whole thing was more than a large coffee cup full of publicity ... and you know what they say, no publicity is really bad publicity, and the more publicity the better.

I think that with the demise of this program, everyone should take a step back, exhale and if you drink coffee, go to your local coffee shops to get your dose of java, that is, if that local coffee shop even exists anymore.

The type of nonsense Starbucks tried to pull on its patrons was just that, nonsense, and they need to be told that they should never try to pull this stunt--and yes, that is truly what it was--ever again.

You want to be relevant? Have a free coffee day, to pay back your patrons for having to go through this nonsense.

That would show that Starbucks really, really does care about something outside of its four walls, and its cash registers, of course.