I like Starbucks

I get that it’s not trendy or cool, but I like Starbucks. I find all the people carrying on like it’s some sort of act of treason to like them hilarious. What happened to the right to have your own opinion? Oh, and all those local coffee shops that some people claim are so much better, well if it wasn’t for Starbucks bringing coffee culture to the masses, none of them would exist.

There’s a real mob mentality every time something becomes successful, especially here in Ireland. It becomes this thing where people feel that it elevates them above others to bash something that’s mainstream. If you rail against something that’s popular, I think some people feel that it makes them seem smarter than the commoners.

It’s fine if you actually don’t like something, but in many cases it’s not about that. It becomes a badge of honour that people are publicy displaying to be part of the cool gang who know better than everyone else.

It’s perfectly ok to say you don’t like something, if you resepct other’s right to have a different opinion, but all the commentary around Starbucks lately has been different. People are assuming that nobody actually does, or even should like Starbucks, or that you’re somehow uninformed, dumb or otherwise not deserving of respect if you do. There are plenty of things I don’t like, but I don’t look down my nose at those who do. It’s the whole, “I want you to have freedom, but only when I agree with your choices” brigade. Yet, as an extremely succesful company clearly a lot of people like Starbucks and its coffee. It’s the same way some people carry on about Apple.

Well, I’m not dumb, or uninformed, and I like Starbucks. I like the coffee, and I like the environment of the stores. I wouldn’t have gotten my book written if it wasn’t for Starbucks. Are there places to get better coffee? Of course there are, but as I said, if it wasn’t for Starbucks bringing coffee culture to the masses, many of them wouldn’t exist.

So before you get up on your caffeinated high horse and look down on the little folk who like something you don’t, maybe stop and think about something…

Anything else will do, really…maybe the weather…