What change are you making?

Since we stopped eating artificial sugars two? three? years ago, and really got committed to cutting out added sugars last year my daily (sometimes multiple in one day) visits to Starbucks have gone down to monthly. Maybe. Sometimes every couple of months. We just don't care for their regular coffee as much as we do other places and without the flavoring it's nothing special. I like a couple of their tea mixes and that's what I generally go for now. And even then it's maybe once a month. So boycotting them would be really easy.

Like not even a challenge to me to do so. I could make an irate post about them and declare I was never stepping foot in there again and only be out the $25 or $30 loaded on my Starbucks card. I would have to make the decision if not shopping there meant never drinking Teavana tea bought at the grocery store again, but still, not a tough call at all. Boom! Social conscience served!

Except I'm not going to. Because I think calling for a boycott of Starbucks is the wrong thing to do. I think it's a prime example of the left eating itself again.

Yes, I think what happened in Philadelphia was wrong. I think it was due to race. I think the manager and the employees would not have made that call if the men were white. I think this was pretty solidly a case of systemic racism. But I don't think that Starbucks is the system. In fact I think Starbucks has erred more on the side of trying to be socially conscience and making things awkward in their attempts more often than they have stepped into a racism problem.

If you want to boycott every institution that has a systemic racism problem you are going to be hard pressed to find a major American company to shop in. That's what systemic means. We are in a racist system. Don't believe me? Ask a black friend what it's like to go shopping. Ask them if they have ever been followed in a store, or had their credit card REALLY examined, or tried to pay with a $100 bill. Then ask them what store it was so you can boycott it. But be prepared to make a list because I will pretty much guarantee you that it wasn't A store, it was multiple stores. And it's generally not because of the company, or company policies or some sort of POC are bad and you need to watch them line in a company handbook. It's because people who work there have beliefs that they might not even realize they have.

Systemic racism.

So I look at the backlash against Starbucks and I ask, what are you trying to change? What good will a boycott do for you and for the problem? Now if you just cannot bear to shop someplace where a recorded encounter showing the racism took place, okay. That is your call. But I will ask again, what are you trying to change?

You all know I do not subscribe to the "it's not my place to teach you" philosophy that I see so often now. It is your place to teach if you have knowledge that others don't. And it is especially your place to teach if the person lacking in knowledge is asking for help. Starbucks will examine policy, add training, fret over this and do their best to make it right. Because that is the company that they are. Everything they've done shows this to be the case. One store, one set of employees, one clear cut example of systemic racism does not change that. So what are you trying to change by boycotting them?

Do you think that a zero tolerance policy is the only way to go? Then again, I say you are going to have a hard time finding someplace to shop. I don't believe in zero tolerance policies. I don't believe in mandatory sentencing. I don't believe in the clear cut lines of differences. Life is fucking complicated. Situations are rarely cut and dried. I believe that you need to look at each situation and judge it on its own merits. It's harder to do. I will grant you that, but it's what I believe.

It might make you feel better to get some of the anger out of your system by boycotting Starbucks, but what good is it going to do? What change are you trying to make? What progress? Do you really believe that Starbucks is the evil heart of racism? That they are the company you can boycott to make a difference? If you really do and then you follow through, I get it. I don't shop at Chik-fil-a, I don't buy Barilla pasta; I still don't support the Boy Scouts or the Salvation Army. No matter how many other good things each of these companies do, their long standing and repeated acts against the LBGTQ+ community makes them a no go for me. But it's companywide acts. It's donations of company profits to organizations I don't believe in. It's organizational policy. It's companywide, not a few individuals that happen to work for that company. But if this is the place where you make your stand against racism and you really believe that Starbucks deserves your ire, then, of course you should take that stand. But on this one I'm not standing with you.

I think we have deep issues. I think we have big problems. And I think that a company like Starbucks having their own bias pointed out to them, as it has been, and responding by saying we want to fix this, as they will, is a better solution than boycotting. I think the purpose of a boycott, or a protest is to enact change and when the change, or willingness to change, or the recognition that change is needed comes and comes quickly it's a bad idea to say "I don't accept your offer and I will still boycott."

Why? What are you trying to change here?

Are you trying to change a culture or are you trying to drive a company out of business? Are you interested in rehabilitation or revenge? What change are you making? What is the reason for the boycott or protest if it's not to enact change? Why do it?

The left needs to stop with the purity and zero tolerance and no forgiveness routes. Education. Compassion. Understanding. Willingness to change. These are progressive ideals. Moving forward not cementing a position and refusing to budge. Nobody changes if we all refuse to accept an apology and a desire to do better.

Yes, it is our duty to point out when something is wrong. And what happened in that Philadelphia Starbucks was wrong. But it is to our great good to learn from those situations and move forward. To make things better. Isn't that the point?

What change are you trying to make?

What outcome do you think you will bring about?

Don't just shout in the to void; make sure you are listening for the response.