Starbucks Cups and Trump Supporters
I don’t drink coffee. No, that’s not dickish statement of self-superiority, it’s just something I thought I should get out of the way first. I tried it when I was maybe 10 or 11 — one of those half-assed attempts to act “adult” — but couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. So as a ’90s teen, I couldn’t figure out how or why this Starbucks suddenly showed up everywhere. I was as if one day people just got coffee from, well, anywhere, and the next day that I couldn’t turn my head without seeing that damn mermaid.
As such, I don’t follow trends in the world of Big Coffee (that’s a thing, right?) unless they somehow make headline news. I came across such a headline this morning. Turns out that the oh-so-classy Mr. Scott Baio took to Twitter to encourage his fellow Trump supporters to give the president-elect’s name when ordering at Starbucks.
Now you might think this is stupid… and it is, but it’s WHY it’s stupid that fascinates me. I’m by no means the first or last to point out the ineffectiveness of “hashtag activism,” but when real money is brought into it, then it’s moved past mere talk and become some form of action… which is why it’s so funny that these “activists” are using their money this way.
Think about it: Trump supporters — who are disproportionately racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, White male gun-nuts — are getting their coffee at Starbucks, which means they’re paying Starbucks. They’re throwing their hard-earned cash at a company that refuses customers who open-carry firearms, supports its customers representing Black Lives Matter, and whose CEO has gone on record saying that both he and his company support Marriage Equality. 💵💵💵
As a Black/cis/hetero/non-denominational American-born dude, I applaud the way a racist misogynist like Scott Baio would encourage his fellow Americans to financially support a company that’s totally down with BLM and the infamous “Gay Agenda”. Because hey, it’s one thing to just say you support something, it’s another to put your money where your mouth is.
I don’t drink coffee, but I’d gladly raise a cup to the #TrumpCups/#TrumpMovement’s support of the very people they’re trying to oppress. Now the healing can really begin. ☕
