# "Yeah , yeah, I'll get you your frappuciono... AFTER I lecture you on Ferguson, MO" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 17, 2015, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189 "2015-03-17T11:45:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/61 "2015-03-20T07:40:20Z")
Customer of a colored persuasion: Slavery was bad mkay? Overworked and underpaid Barista: WAS?! And that’s when the fighting started… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/62 "2015-03-20T09:17:51Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I agree that the notion that Americans would have productive conversations about race in this context is silly. But I think the error here was the CEO’s ignorance about the nature of racism rather than ignorance about the business economics. > > Starbucks sells a luxury good: overly expensive coffee that you have to wait in line too long to get. The business of selling luxury goods is very different from selling other things. You aren’t competing on price and efficiency. You are selling an idea, an experience. That’s why Starbucks pays so much attention (and spends so much money) on ambiance and carefully controlled experiences. That’s why they make their coffee distinctive by over-roasting it. > > For well over a decade, Starbucks has branded itself as a business with a social mission. They pay their employees well. They buy fair trade coffee. They are Seattle. So it seems entirely consistent with their luxury brand image to try to market themselves as being productive on racism. If there’s a trade-off with efficiency, or annoying some customers, that stuff doesn’t really matter if it perpetuates whatever ideas underly Starbucks as a luxury good. The “luxury goods” part is the problem. It means the customers are supposed to be there for a pleasant experience. But a racial conversation isn’t going to be pleasant under the best of circumstances. What you describe about the social activism is true, but the appeal is that the people going don’t actually participate in it. At most, they do something fun like passing a free drink to someone behind them. The customer is never made to be uncomfortable. The underlying message is “Come here, have a great experience, and support something worthwhile.” But forcing a talk about race communicates “Come here and have a poor experience, because we need to educate you.” It communicates the customer is part of the problem that needs to be fixed, rather than part of the solution. I mean, what do they expect you to do? Bring all your racist friends? The problem is supposed to be out there, not in here. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/63 "2015-03-20T13:12:48Z")
So has anyone been to Starbucks lately? Did it go something [like this?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbj8-3vef1k&feature=player_embedded) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/64 "2015-03-20T13:30:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Honest to God, if you start to engage me in a race conversation before I’ve had my morning coffee, it will not end well. “PBS NewsHour” anchor Gwen Ifill on Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/65 "2015-03-20T14:00:08Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > It was in the context of his comments on the relationship between Jews and African-Americans, therefore fair game in a discussion about race - point being (I think) that the issue of race in America is complex and therefore relatively little progress can be made before the people in line behind you start yelling at you to get the fuck out of the way so they can get their coffee. As long as they have a separate express line marked NO RACE DISCUSSIONS, I think it’ll work out fine. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/66 "2015-03-20T14:26:06Z")
… separate BUT EQUAL express lines, please. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/67 "2015-03-20T21:44:33Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > … separate BUT EQUAL express lines, please. Separate but NUTRASWEET for me please. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/68 "2015-03-20T22:46:50Z")
I don’t want my barista to engage me about anything. I ain’t here for a conversation. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/69 "2015-03-21T02:26:13Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I don’t want my barista to engage me about anything. I ain’t here for a conversation. Any prolonged eye contact and I cut the bitch. But I’m like that. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/70 "2015-03-21T14:12:35Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > … separate BUT EQUAL express lines, please. I think that issue was settled with the Supreme Court case of Sucrose vs Aspartame. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/71 "2015-03-22T18:51:18Z")
[…and Starbucks has abandoned the program](http://www.theolympian.com/2015/03/22/3640339_starbucks-baristas-stop-writing.html?rh=1), while insisting they _totally_ intended to do so all along and they are in no way reacting to it having been a really bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/72 "2015-03-22T19:07:28Z")
Wow, this was a spectacularly bad idea. I happen to think that American society could benefit from a lot more open and honest conversations about race, but this is not how it needs to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/73 "2015-03-22T19:46:57Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > You know who else was extra-shot? Franz Ferdinand! ---
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/74 "2015-03-23T00:40:27Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > In short, I might discuss your racist problems online, on a bus, on a train, or on a plain, but I expect to eat and drink in peace. In a boat? With a goat? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/75 "2015-03-23T03:21:49Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I think that issue was settled with the Supreme Court case of Sucrose vs Aspartame. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/76 "2015-03-23T14:54:22Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > In a boat? With a goat? I would promote, and not misquote, anyone who underwrote, the financial note, to drain the moat, that currently separates the races. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/77 "2015-03-23T15:02:50Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > So has anyone been to Starbucks lately? Did it go something [like this?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbj8-3vef1k&feature=player_embedded) Oh how those right-wing humorist so deftly skewer the empty pretensions of the left. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/78 "2015-03-23T15:27:40Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Oh how those right-wing humorist so deftly skewer the empty pretensions of the left. HAHAHAHA. Yes, that was funny. I like your “empty pretensions of the left” comment, also. That is so spot on. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/79 "2015-03-23T15:28:38Z")
the message continues, they will only served mixed drinks from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189/80 "2015-03-23T22:31:02Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > … separate BUT EQUAL \*\*express \*\*lines, please. \*bolding/underline mine That’s “espress line”! Geez! :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-ill-get-you-your-frappuciono-after-i-lecture-you-on-ferguson-mo/715189.md?page=5)