Spring Break
Freedom of speech should be valued
Geoff Rands
Issue date: 9/28/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
In a new attempt to replicate the atmosphere of the coffee shops whose place they wish to usurp, Starbucks now prints quotations on its coffee cups under the title, "The Way I See It," intending to stimulate conversation among customers.
The Concerned Women of America took offense to the largely liberal viewpoints expressed on these cups. One quotation - which has been singled out - came from author Armistead Maupin, saying his only regret about his sexual orientation is his initial repression of it; "I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself." Maureen Richardson, of the CWA, claims that businesses have an accountability to acknowledge the "diversity of their customers" by including quotations opposing the viewpoints of their current phrases, "so they don't offend conservatives and people of faith. If you want my money, support some of my causes."
What a load of crap. If they want your money, they'll sell you coffee. If the viewpoints it promotes offend you, begin discussing the topic with other customers, and why that viewpoint offends you. If you're too childish to do that, drink coffee somewhere else. There is no need to bring political pressure to bear on a company for taking a (very slight) stand on a divisive issue. That is beyond childish; it's selfish and bigoted. I think Ralph Lauren's preoccupation with the American flag is silly, and even offensive to the sensibilities I feel the flag ought to represent, but you don't see me threatening to boycott his clothing line. He appeals to the rah-rah-flag-wavers, and I'm okay with that. At least that gives me a reason not to wear his ugly clothes.
Starbucks sold out in a way that made it appear as though it had not backed down at all. It decided not to pull the quotation in question, but it will instead add quotations to its collection from regular customers, thereby fulfilling the bit about diversity. This puts all the pressure on its customers, those poor triple-frappuccino downing fools. These quotations from Chuck D, Quincy Jones and Nikki Giovanni are gems taken from a lifetime of speech. Maybe with a million monkeys on a million typewriters, you'd get something good, but with a million caffeine-addled Gen-Xers at the board, I have a feeling you'll just get mutilations of "Seinfeld" quotations.
These concerned women should find something to pick on besides promotion of statements counter to their views. We do live in America, after all, land of free speech. At the risk of quoting Michael Douglas, the freedom of others to say things that offend me so badly I cannot see straight only makes my freedom to say things that offend them that much sweeter.
Rather than try to silence or control those who feel differently than ourselves, we should use this wonderful freedom to discuss these issues with each other, and use our freedom to come to greater understandings of these issues. Otherwise, we squander the freedom of speech that everyone seems to believe American troops fight and die for. What use is freedom if you don't do anything with it?
The Concerned Women of America took offense to the largely liberal viewpoints expressed on these cups. One quotation - which has been singled out - came from author Armistead Maupin, saying his only regret about his sexual orientation is his initial repression of it; "I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself." Maureen Richardson, of the CWA, claims that businesses have an accountability to acknowledge the "diversity of their customers" by including quotations opposing the viewpoints of their current phrases, "so they don't offend conservatives and people of faith. If you want my money, support some of my causes."
What a load of crap. If they want your money, they'll sell you coffee. If the viewpoints it promotes offend you, begin discussing the topic with other customers, and why that viewpoint offends you. If you're too childish to do that, drink coffee somewhere else. There is no need to bring political pressure to bear on a company for taking a (very slight) stand on a divisive issue. That is beyond childish; it's selfish and bigoted. I think Ralph Lauren's preoccupation with the American flag is silly, and even offensive to the sensibilities I feel the flag ought to represent, but you don't see me threatening to boycott his clothing line. He appeals to the rah-rah-flag-wavers, and I'm okay with that. At least that gives me a reason not to wear his ugly clothes.
Starbucks sold out in a way that made it appear as though it had not backed down at all. It decided not to pull the quotation in question, but it will instead add quotations to its collection from regular customers, thereby fulfilling the bit about diversity. This puts all the pressure on its customers, those poor triple-frappuccino downing fools. These quotations from Chuck D, Quincy Jones and Nikki Giovanni are gems taken from a lifetime of speech. Maybe with a million monkeys on a million typewriters, you'd get something good, but with a million caffeine-addled Gen-Xers at the board, I have a feeling you'll just get mutilations of "Seinfeld" quotations.
These concerned women should find something to pick on besides promotion of statements counter to their views. We do live in America, after all, land of free speech. At the risk of quoting Michael Douglas, the freedom of others to say things that offend me so badly I cannot see straight only makes my freedom to say things that offend them that much sweeter.
Rather than try to silence or control those who feel differently than ourselves, we should use this wonderful freedom to discuss these issues with each other, and use our freedom to come to greater understandings of these issues. Otherwise, we squander the freedom of speech that everyone seems to believe American troops fight and die for. What use is freedom if you don't do anything with it?
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