Remember. Today is 'Skip Starbucks Day'

[onehandle]

Mothers are asking us to skip Starbucks because of their pro-open carry gun freak nonsense.

[oldhippie]

1. I'm going to stop by ....

.... for a Mocha on the way to the gun show in Belton. Maybe stop on the way back also.

Sorry, but we have different views on this.

[Duckhunter935]

2. I think I will stop by today

I support them following the local laws as I do not care for tell others how to live their lives.

[oldhippie]

44. Well, it was a no-go .....

When I drove by there was a line out the door and no place to park. Maybe later.

[TheFarseer]

3. on a Saturday?

on a day when most people aren't going to work and maybe grabbing a coffee on the way?

[Boom Sound 416]

10. Even gun owners work during the week too

[BlueStreak]

4. Every day is a "Skip Starbucks" day for me

Mediocre product. Way overpriced. Served by inadequate help. Owned by assholes.

Other than that, it's a pretty good company.

Others must agree with me because a bunch of the Starbucks stores have closed in my city over the past 4 years.

There is one Starbucks that moved in 50 yards from a great little mom & pop coffee house (actually I think it is 2 lesbians that run it, but that's beside the point). Now I make a point to patronize that shop every time I am in that part of town. I park right in front of the Starbucks and make sure everybody in the Starbucks can see me carrying my coffee. Sometimes I linger outside the Starbucks a few extra minutes enjoying that coffee. I don't know if this affects anybody, but it is my little protest.

And that little shop is still going strong 5 years later. It seems there a lot of people doing the same as me -- giving them extra business BECAUSE of the Starbucks assholes.

[CurtEastPoint]

7. Well stated, Blue. SB is not even on my horizon.

[mimi85]

42. Same here

Probably haven't been in one in 10+ years. Why waste hard earned money on their overpriced crap. Loved them when they were in just a few small locations in Seattle. How times change.

[Boom Sound 416]

11. So all things considered

Why is it a pretty good company

[BlueStreak]

15. Ah say, that was a joke, son

[Boom Sound 416]

18. You wrote

"Other than that, it's a pretty good company."

Maybe I missed the sarcasm, yes?

[BlueStreak]

22. It is always a bad sign when one has to explain a joke.

You have to take the two lines together.

"Mediocre product. Way overpriced. Served by inadequate help. Owned by assholes.

Other than that, it's a pretty good company."

It is like the old "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?" joke.

[Boom Sound 416]

45. Yeah I think it was the paragraph break that threw me

Fair enough

[BlueStreak]

50. No problem. Thanks for coming. You've been a great audience. Don't forget to tip your waitress

and folks, please drive safely on your way home.

[HardTimes99]

13. Um, Starbucks is a publicly traded company. I'd wager half of the folks on DU

own stock in Starbucks, many unwittingly, through their retirement accounts or pension plans.

I can't stomach paying $2 for a cup of coffee when I can brew a good cup at home for about $0.05. My wife and I go to locally owned coffee houses here that support live music and art.

[BlueStreak]

14. Probably true, but what is the point?

Owning a tiny sliver of shares through a mutual fund is not the same thing as patronizing the business.

If I own a little Starbucks stock, then I hope all the gun fanatics out there come right in and give me your 5 bucks for a mediocre cup of coffee. I'll take your money.

On second thought, we probably don't need any over-caffeinated gun owners. They are dangerous enough without the extra dose of caffeine.

[HardTimes99]

16. Unless I misread you, you wrote that Starbucks is "owned by assholes." I didn't

think you meant to suggest that the DUers who own Starbucks stock, whether wittingly or otherwise, are 'assholes.'

Just so we're clear, I dislike Starbucks and generally despise guns and gun owners. So I think you and I are singing from the same hymnal

[BlueStreak]

17. OK. I should have said "run by assholes"

[HardTimes99]

23. I'm too anal-retentively logocentric

for my own good, I think I don't really know much about how Starbucks management operates, so I'll defer to your assessment there.

[BlueStreak]

37. There is a vibe about them like they are above it all

Their regional management team showed up at a zoning board hearing a few years ago. Nothing but arrogant pricks.

Part of their request was to allow a curb cut that would have created a dangerous and traffic-snarling left turn into their place just 50 feet from a very busy intersection. Their attitude was, "Maybe you don't know who we are. We're Frigging Starbucks, so you have to pass this for us." Their petition got rejected.

[HardTimes99]

38. I'm a musician and my wife is a visual artist, so we tend to spend our

entertaiinment dollars supporting venues that support live music and art displays. Fortunately, in Santa Monica and Venice, there are many such locally-owned and operated places. Glad to hear their petition got rejected, which should be the fate of any arrogant pricks' petitions.

[Paladin]

41. Sounds painful. Have a cup of coffee. (nt)

[whistler162]

29. Well then it is a very accurate description!

[NuclearDem]

30. Exactly, owned by assholes!

[zappaman]

49. You and me both.

I always go local.

[Hekate]

58. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf started here & has a better product; Peet's is superb; local Coffee Cat...

... is convenient to my meetings in the County building.

But Starbuck's is everywhere, and I do have to give them credit for setting a much higher standard for publicly-brewed coffee than used to be the case before they came on the scene. They also set a good standard for how they treat employees, and I wish that would spread with as much alacrity as their French Roast did.

All in all, it is a good company, and probably the best way to protest their foolish policy is to use social media and not a boycott. Because I doubt a boycott would actually work.

I think the 4 shops that closed in your area had to do with oversaturating the market, just as the expansion and contraction of frozen yogurt places.

[hobbit709]

5. to me every day is skip Starbucks day and it has nothing to do with guns

Crappy, overpriced coffee.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. "Hey, were'd everybody go?"

[Paladin]

8. Those who feel compelled to engage in open carry.....

....are exhibiting the very traits which ought to prevent them from owning firearms. It's nothing more than flagrant public intimidation. And I know for a fact that many of you Gun Enthusiasts agree with me on this---open carry sure as hell isn't doing your cause any favors.

[Boom Sound 416]

12. I'm not a gun owner

And I'm not threatened by them either.

It's the illegal gun owners that that threaten me

[BlueStreak]

20. People who do open carry have issues -- like Hummer drivers

It is surely a spectrum from mostly benign feelings of inadequacy all the way through sociopath. But because I don't know exactly where on the spectrum any particular open carry person lies, I regard them all as a danger to society. If you open carry, I assume you very well may be a sociopath.

[Boom Sound 416]

25. Ok so you generalize the majority from the minority

And out of safety or at least caution. That's cool. That's you.

[Paladin]

21. I'm a long-time gun owner, and you're wrong about open carry.

Just because an action attains legality, doesn't make it advisable or free of danger. Open carry is controversial, even among Second Amendment Absolutists. Yahoos strolling into department stores with assault rifles on their shoulders aren't doing anybody any favors.

[Boom Sound 416]

27. Again an extreme minority

I'm nearly 40 and have never seen an open carry assault rifle at a department store. I've seen plenty of open carry and it just doesn't bother me. I'm more offended my disgusting tattoos frankly

That's just me

[BlueStreak]

32. And because they are such a minority, it not unreasonable to assume they have some serious issues

If I am at a rifle range or Ye Olde Gun Shoppe, I expect people to have their guns at the ready. Anywhere else, if the person is not a cop, then I am going to assume they have some serious mental/social problems and do my best to steer clear of them. And I most certainly would never patronize a business that lets them inside.

[Boom Sound 416]

46. Ok.

One note. Most department stores in malls which are most gun free zones

[cherish44]

9. Starbucks is a splurge purchase for me

I do like their coffee but it's too darn expensive

[Synthesize]

19. Bet that sales increase slightly today...

Comes across as preachy...

[Brother Buzz]

26. Moms of dead kids are "preachy"?

[Throd]

48. What does open carry have to do with dead kids?

[petronius]

24. If I was ever inclined to feel sorry for a corporation, I might feel a small

tinge of it for Starbucks here: they aren't pro- or anti- anything, and all they've done is recognize local laws in the places where they have stores. I imagine many large corporations do the same, but for some reason both sides have decided to make SB a symbol...

[BainsBane]

28. The good thing about all this starbucks gun stuff is

It's made me realize how much better the coffee at the locally owned shop near here is.

[NuclearDem]

31. I gave up SB a few months ago.

Not a lot of good vegan friendly options.

[oberliner]

33. They have many vegan-friendly options

In fact, in terms of national chains, they are one of the best in that regard.

Not sure where you live, of course, but, at least here, in the past few months they've even added more vegan-friendly options - specifically cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices.

[Sissyk]

34. Somebody forgot to get the word out

in my town apparently. Went by one of them this morning. Very crowded.

[ZombieHorde]

35. I only go to Starbucks about 2-3 times a year, so I don't think I'll be missed. nt

[TroglodyteScholar]

36. Every day is "Skip Starbucks Day" n/t

[HolyMoley]

39. Like everything else the gun control movement attempts

this too will fail.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

40. To skip it all the time,

...get one of these (stay on Ebay or other such sites and grab one when it's on sale; they're not made anymore) and then get a Coffee Duck to go with it. Makes unbelievable coffee. Amazon has it, but it's on sale for hundreds there, because since it's not made anymore the few that are left are of course valuable. But you can sometimes find someone selling it for relatively cheap on Ebay. Some other sites have a few on sale for a reasonable price too.
It was rated the best coffee maker evah by a lot of people. Never quite sold enough to keep going though, more's the pity.
If you get one let me know, and I'll point you to a few tips for maintaining it and making good coffee with it.

[rrneck]

43. Thanks for the heads up.

I'll be sure to stop in, even though I don't like their coffee.

[HarveyDarkey]

47. That would be every day for me

I've never even been inside one, and I won't start now.

[Cleita]

51. I'm happy to comply as everyday is skip Starbuck's day for me.

I find their product too pricey for the quality. I rather support our local mom and pop coffee houses when I'm in the mood for fancy coffee.

[friendly_iconoclast]

52. Starbucks boycotters are also helping some rather nasty homophobes:

Decisions, decisions...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11377924

People Rally to Starbucks' Defense After NOM Boycott

After the National Organization for Marriage announced this week that it had launched a boycott of gay-friendly Starbucks, the Internet exploded with support for the Seattle-based coffee chain.

The notoriously antigay NOM announced Wednesday that the group was boycotting Starbucks for the company’s support of marriage equality in Washington State. This came after NOM members quizzed Starbucks board members on the company’s marriage stance at a recent shareholder meeting (watch video below). Almost immediately, the topic of Starbucks began trending on social media, with Twitter hashtags supporting Starbucks proliferating — #LatteLove, #StarbucksBrewsLove, #Equaliventi, #LGrandeBTall, and #StarbucksEquality have all circulated.

The consumer advocacy group SumOfUs is asking people to sign a thank-you card to Starbucks for its support of LGBT equality. Over 26,000 people have signed their online card at the group’s website.

“The National Organization of Marriage is targeting Starbucks because the company recently stood up publicly to support gay marriage legislation in their home state of Washington,” reads a release from SumOfUs. “The bill’s sponsor, Democratic senator Ed Murray, explained how support from major brand-name businesses helped convince moderate legislators to vote for it. Without support from prominent companies like Starbucks, the gay marriage law might have failed. Starbucks customers are speaking loud and clear: Being for equality is good for business ... NOM is soon going to have to face the truth that it’s losing the culture war it’s been waging against LGBT people.”

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/03/23/People_Rally_to_Starbuckss_Defense_After_NOM_Initiates_Boycott/

[DiverDave]

53. Not a prob, 5 buck coffee is way out

of my budget.
I haven't had any of their products for several years.
I used to get the espresso canned from the turnpike service plazas, but that was so out there in price that
I stopped buying them, that and a coffepot I could plug into my truck pretty much took care of my caffeine needs.

[distantearlywarning]

54. Skip Starbucks Day. Otherwise known as 'Saturday'.

Not a store I typically frequent anyway. Fancy lattes are a waste of my money.

[gopiscrap]

55. I skip Starbucks everyday!

[IDemo]

56. It's Skip Starbucks Life for me

Never been there, one more day shouldn't be too hard...

[steve2470]

57. I grind my own at home, thank you very much !

I very rarely buy Starbucks and usually only at a mall food court type place. Horribly overpriced.