I’m sure you’re well aware of the horrible tragedy that occurred at a Starbucks recently. Two men were asked to leave, because they were not paying customers. When they refused, the manager called the police. A bit drastic, you might say, but most businesses have strict policies when it comes to loitering. Most people would have been accommodating and just left.
It would have been just another event to file away and forget. But because the two men were black, the social justice mob of the cesspool we call the Internet pounced. Suddenly asking two non-customers to leave an establishment was tantamount to racism! The fevered, brain-dead bloggers of the world cried out over this obvious injustice. Starbucks—a liberal company—must pay!
Despite the fact the staff was following company rules, Starbucks got terrified. They actually thought social justice warriors had power! Imagine telling Americans not to shop at Starbucks. Good luck. Considering there is one every five feet in the contiguous United States, that would be hard to do. But for some reason, Starbucks felt compelled to address the situation in the most dramatic way ever.
Starbucks has had a poor track record when it comes to race. I’m not saying they are racist. Their sins fall on the other side of the spectrum: meaningless virtue signaling. Some of you might remember their ill-fated attempt at “sparking dialogue” among baristas and customers.
Starbucks published a full page ad in the New York Times on Sunday — a stark, black, page with a tiny caption “Shall We Overcome?” in the middle, and the words “RaceTogether” with the company logo, on the bottom right. The ad, along with a similar one on Monday in USA Today, is part of an initiative launched this week by the coffee store chain to stimulate conversation and debate about the race in America by getting employees to engage with customers about the perennially hot button subject. (Forbes)
Ugh. That’s just what we want with our morning coffee: a complicated talk about one of the touchiest subjects in the world. As you can imagine, they canceled this idea almost immediately.
But it seems the geniuses at corporate didn’t learn their lesson. Obviously, the recent dust-up required some kind of fix. Instead of standing by their policy and supporting their staff, Starbucks rescinded their very reasonable “Customers Only” rule. Yes, now anyone can just hang around at your local Starbucks. Just like the McDonald’s you avoid in the bad part of town.
That alone boggles the mind. It only got worse from there. In an obvious attempt at placating the liberal elites, Starbucks shut down their stores this week for “training” on race relations. Is this really necessary? Aren’t their employees properly trained on how to treat customers? Shouldn’t the guidelines be: treat everyone with respect and professionalism?
Not so fast! This is a liberal company, after all. We need to know that people of different races are different than you. Instead of just treating them the same, we have to highlight their race and skin color, just because. After all, centuries of oppression, hate, and violence will only be forgiven after we constantly remind ourselves about how we different we are.
Starbucks closed 8,000 stores across the United States for four hours on Tuesday afternoon to conduct racial bias training for employees – a move that employees have shared mixed feelings about.
The training, which lasted from 2 – 6 pm, was designed to spark conversation about “race, bias, and creating an environment that is welcome to all.” It was created in response to nationwide protests after two black men were arrested for trying to use the restroom without making a purchase. (Fox News)
There’s no better way to create racial bias than by telling people they a have racial bias. Never mind the fact that the original event had nothing to do with race. Only after it was over did race-baiters online claim it was a factor. But they say that about everything. It’s come to a point where we can’t believe much of what social justice warriors say—because they cast every issue as a race issue.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this event was very different. Maybe, as this one Starbucks barista claims, it was a magical, beautiful thing:
#Starbucks racial bias training made me a proud partner. They approached the topic in a very honest, intersectional way and verbalized their speech so that it was clear their words were sincere. They also made a documentary including multiethnic people to discuss awareness.
— XXXistentialist (@JohnHan76887425) May 30, 2018
Yikes. I can’t believe people would agree with this guy. Or how about this one:
I cried today at our meeting. I was so moved by how proactive Starbucks is. I’m so glad I chose to be part of this company #tobeapartner
— Eloisa (@reallyellie) May 30, 2018
Geez. Remind me to never go to her Starbucks. I don’t want coffee from someone that emotionally gullible.
But there is a silver lining. There seems to be plenty of Starbucks employees who weren’t buying the company’s blatant pandering and empty statements. And they were happy to let us know.
So happy to be here. I'm having fun. from r/starbucks
Eh. I contributed vocally. from r/starbucks
finally, i said it. from r/starbucks
Wow. They handed out workbooks!? Like elementary school? It’s comforting to know that the company’s empty statements weren’t enough to pull the wool over some people’s eyes. One called it, “4 hours of filler with no substance, a bread sandwich if you will.”
What else can you expect? A four-hour meeting where a CEO tells you what to believe won’t accomplish anything. Decades of racial tensions cannot be solved with corporate pandering.
Let’s be honest: do the staff at Starbucks really want to discriminate? Nope. If they did have an employee who was openly racist, they’d be fired in a second. This was about covering their asses to look good in the media. Nothing they said would really improve a situation that’s not nearly as bad as some claim. Instead, they only managed to waste a few hours.
Further proof that we cannot look to corporations for the solutions to our society’s problems. We can only look to ourselves. But I thought that was obvious.
