Starbucks; Home of coffee and controversy.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/05/06/ddn050607cup.html

Michelle Incanno was admitted Starbucks addcit.

She'd buy the company's coffee beans every week. Whenever she'd get the chance to drop by a Starbucks, she would, placing the same order every time: a large, house brewed coffee with nonfat milk and two Splenda. When the Seattle-based chain opened a drive-through near her Springboro home, she was in java heaven.

That was until she got an unexpected jolt last week from her coffee cup.

Printed on the cup was: "Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."

It is attributed to Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, and was included on the cup as part of an effort by the company to collect different viewpoints and spur discussion.

"As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that. I don't think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee," said Incanno, a married mother of three who is Catholic.

She wasn't satisfied with a company disclaimer saying the quote is the author's opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks. It invites customers to respond at www.starbucks.com/wayiseeit.

Starbucks spokeswoman Sanja Gould said the collection of thoughts and opinions is a "way to promote open, respectful conversation among a wide variety of individuals. "

But Incanno said her Starbucks days are over.

"I wouldn't feel right going back," she said.

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This whole situation can be summed up as simply a collision of rights. Bill Schell has the right to believe that God could be a figment of one's imagination and the right to express that uninformed belief. Starbucks has the right to right to make a bad business decision and pass his quote along by putting it on their coffee cups. Michelle Incanno has the right to be offended by the quote that flies in the face of her personal beliefs and by the fact that when she paid her money for Starbucks coffee, she was not expecting to receive religious indoctrination along with her cup of java. The rights of all the above collided at an intersection that had no traffic lights or four way stops and thus there was an ugly crash.

Ms. Incanno has the right to choose and decide how, when, and where she will spend her money. If on the basis of this collision of rights she chooses to not spend anymore of her money at Starbucks, she has that right and I say good for her! I personally would not have a problem with it with it if each and every Christian individual, group, business, etc. in America stopped doing business with Starbucks. When you hit a place like Starbucks in the pocket book, they tend to sit up and take notice. I would love it if this actually happened because it would be a glorious display of the American free-enterprise market place, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression. It would be a free society functioning the way a free society is supposed to function.

We need more people in this world to personally take a stand for what they believe. The only reason she is getting so much consternation is because she is a Christian, and in our messed up society, Christians aren't supposed to stand up and speak out. We are instead supposed to just silently cower in a corner somewhere and let the godless like Bill Schell and Starbucks run over us.

Sadly and pathetically, now in America in 2007, everyone has complete, total freedom of speech, religion, and expression. Everyone that is except Christians. We are supposed to keep our beliefs silent because they might offend someone of a minority faith or no faith at all. If we express our beliefs and they get offended, they are listened to and taken seriously. If someone expresses a belief that offends Christians and we speak out, we are labeled as hateful, intolerant bigots. Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture??

That is exactly what is going on here. Ms. Incanno spoke out that the quote on the coffee cup offended her. She has the right to be offended by it, and the right to say so. She never once said that Bill Schell didn't have the right to believe the way he believes or to express his belief. She never attacked him. But she is getting attacked. Not so much for speaking out, but for the far worse crime against society of being a Christian and for saying so and sticking up for her Christian beliefs. American needs more people like her!

If Starbucks had, God forbid, (pardon the pun) put a Bible verse, or a Christian quote of some kind on their coffee cups, some of the very same people heaping criticism on Ms. Incanno would have not only complained loud and long about the offense and injustice they feel, but they would have sued Starbucks. And all the rest of us, Christians included, would be expected to just go along with it. And if we spoke out against them suing, then again, we would be called hate-filled, intolerant bigots.

The indisputable, undeniable fact is Starbucks is in the coffee business, not the religion or anti-religion business and thus for their own good should avoid all such quotes and stick with just selling coffee. Ms. Incanno went there to get coffee, not someone's ill-conceived religious opinion. The bottom line is, Starbucks needs to decide if they want to be known as purveyors of coffee, or controversy. They should stick with coffee. That after all is what they're known for.

Jim Chitty