So I just visited a Starbucks and got a drink in one of their new Horrifyingly and Contemptuously Non-Christmassy Cups. And you know what?
The Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte is really pretty blah.
But aside from that … well, egads and gadzooks, to think that Starbuck would dare to dis Jesus by not having snowflakes (a symbol specifically prophesied by Isaiah as a harbinger of the Messiah, I think) on their holiday season paper goods … how blasphemous and Scrooge-like can you get?
Ditto for a shopping mall opting for a "glacier" scene by their Santa Claus booth, rather than a sacred Jesus Tree, as first set up by the Archangel Gabriel in the Gospel of John to give shade to the infant Christ. The horror!
(Dear Right Wing Noise Machine: When Starbucks actually starts printing"Jesus is a myth – Hail Satan!" on their cups, you can get back to me with your "War on Christmas" malarkey. Ditto when those shopping malls put up big signs saying "No gift wrap for sale. No presents may be purchased for Christmas here, because we don't believe in it." Until then, keep your sense of entitlement in your pants where it belongs.)
Fox Host: “The War On Christmas [Is] Off To An Early Start” On Starbucks’ Coffee Cups
Gah. This is exactly why the right is alienating us "millenials." They preach religious freedom for companies and individuals… So long as those companies and individuals are christian.
Sort of like the Henry Ford quote, "Any color, as long as it's black" 🙁
+JD McCay To be fair, there is a difference in religious freedom as a governmental issue and as a social issue. They would probably suggest that it is illegal for the government to interfere with religious freedom, but that social and commercial ostracism against unpopular religious opinions is perfectly legal (and, of course, just what Jesus wants).
(They sometimes forget that point on those rare occasions when it is conservative Christian businesses that are being ostracized and criticized for their belief, e.g. Chik-fil-A.)
And that said, my objection to this particular kerfuffle is not that it is illegal (it's not), nor even that it is improper (applying moral beliefs to one's commercial indulgences, and encouraging others to do so as well, is quite proper), but that it's stupid. It's finding offense where not only is none given or intended, but where it doesn't even make sense.
Personally, I do not take my theology from the decoration on a paper cup. Obviously, the mileage of others, varies.