Today was a beautiful, sunny day in north Texas. The sky was blue. The
birds were singing. The line at the post office was horribly long, but
the clerk was nice and left me in a good mood with her pleasantries. So
I toodled on down the road to my favorite Starbucks for a "reward." I
had, after all, managed to get my errands done, made it to my nail
appointment, was ready for dinner in a few hours and I am on Day #5 of
my "no profanity" challenge with only a couple little slip ups during
the week when on the phone with my bestie. (Does that REALLY count?)
My
reward? A delicious Triple Venti Caramel Macchiato, with no foam
(yuk--hate the foam thing). And out the window it comes in a pretty RED
CUP. The clerk and I chatted briefly, made a reference to the hub-bub
lately on Facebook about it and off I drove, happy as a clam.
----------spoiler alert!!!!!!!
We're going to talk about THE CUP. If you are offended by paper
products, read no further! While I have NEVER in the past delved into
the world of popular or unpopular opinion on any subject on social
media, I feel this "situation" needs more words. Some of my words. Maybe some snarky words. So
be prepared :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And you know what, as I was driving down the road, holding my hot, delicious coffee in my left hand, I looked over at driver stopped next to me at the light. I got a "thumbs up." I waved and drove off, quite happy with myself. It sort of happened again as I was approaching the light at main street...this time a big smile, "pointing" towards my cup, and a big wave. I'm thinking -- oh Lordy.
It's the cup.
So I looked at the now-infamous red cup. Totally innocuous. Paper. Red. Green logo. Same old standard kraft sleeve with some snowflake effects. No offensive words. Dang this coffee tastes good.
I continued my 25 minute drive back to my town, enjoying myself, the day, singing to the radio, looking at the countryside around me. I had polished off my
delicious and expertly prepared cup of joe reward in no time and was wishing for another.
After arriving home, I sat the cup on my desk. I looked at it. I wasn't offended by it. Clearly the two people who attracted my attention on the road weren't offended by it. The hubs didn't even notice, but that didn't surprise me. I tarted up the cup with a cute little Christmas tag sent to me by a sweet friend in some happy mail. The cup still wasn't offended. I surely wasn't offended. Who is offended by a red cup? I gave the cup a place of honor (at least temporarily) on top of a shelf on my desk so I could look at it, size it up. Determine WHAT was so offensive.
I called a friend of mine who is
Muslim. She does NOT celebrate the Christian holiday of Christmas. I texted her a picture of THE CUP, all tarted up. She wasn't offended, in fact, she liked it. She was jokingly coveting what had been IN the cup. I asked her if she had paid any attention to all the social media hub-bub. She said she had not, saying, "It's just a cup." I asked her if a plain red cup in any way offended her sensibilities or her right to practice her own religion. She said no. I asked her if she thought Starbucks was being "too forward" by serving their drinks in a RED paper cup. She said no. I asked her if the x-amount of Americans who DO celebrate CHRISTMAS offended her. She said no. Now mind you, people of the Muslim faith seem to be the most maligned group everywhere right now.
I have no issues with anyone, of any faith, or their right to practice their beliefs, spirituality or allegiance to anyone. I have friends of many faiths and beliefs. I value their opinions. I asked my friend if she knew the religion or beliefs of anyone in ownership or subordinate roles at Starbucks. She said no. We talked about the fact that probably most of the people stirring up this madness on social media probably don't know anything about anyone at Starbucks either, from the glass ceiling on down. Just like we don't know. Or care for that matter. As long as they keep on making great coffee, I'm in. My friend is in. Our other coffee friends are in. What they do to or with their cups doesn't affect us. Her, me, you, them, everyone. IT'S A FREAKING CUP for goodness sakes!
POW!!!!!! Right.
IT IS JUST A CUP!! A paper cup, in a bright red color, with white trim, and a green and white logo. There's no slogan. Yes, perhaps it could be considered "secular" or "Christmas-y" I suppose. But it is still just a vessel for holding my hot, delicious coffee. Is anyone holding Macy's or Hobby Lobby or a bazillion and one other retailers hostage for putting up Christmas / holiday decorations and Christmas trees in JULY? No. Is someone making a fuss anywhere that people of all religions the world over are celebrating their special days, when and how they celebrate them? No. (well maybe). But my point is..... this is a cup. A plain, ordinary, everyday paper cup that
happens to be red... just prior to the impending holiday of Christmas, widely accepted and practiced in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
I don't care if Starbucks decides to put my coffee in a pink, purple and polka-dotted cup, whether it has leopard prints, rainbow colors, tribal patterns, feathers or whatever symbol some group claims as their own. It's a FREAKING RED CUP. Do these "naysayers" ever buy RED SOLO cups to put their other beverages into? Are they boycotting BLUE cups?
I love my Starbucks. The ones close to me. The ones far away from me. The ones in Seattle and all over everywhere -- as long as they are making great coffee, giving me good service, I will still be their customer. And most of you will be too.
Stop the madness. Get over it. It's a RED cup. Put some art on it. It won't be offended.
My initial idea was to create a 'kaleidoscope' of color, and I began by creating a wheel of fall colors with acrylics in red, orange and yellows, banded in a wheel. I had these wonderful fall looking silk (or polyester?) leaves that I thought would be perfect. So I took out my trusty compass, drew a big circle and began to layer the leaves. I had just enough to do a double row. But after they were applied, the kaleidoscope really wasn't all that visible. 
