Indiana cafe has no taste for liberals or coffeehouse layabouts

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Didn't Starbucks stop being trendy over 10 years ago?

Seriously. I'm really missing something. People go there because they like the coffee.

I don't see how calling the coffee sizes small, medium and large and having Ann Coulter piped in as opposed to folk music will make it any less "pretentious".

I agree.

I have also never heard folk music in Starbucks. The last time I was there they played the new Coldplay album.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I have also never heard folk music in Starbucks. The last time I was there they played the new Coldplay album.

maybe the author thought that was folk music............................

[Peikko 1,575]

I don't think I have seen an argument proposed where this establishment should not be allowed to do whatever they think fit (correct me if I am wrong of course). All that has been suggested is that the idea that a 'conservative' coffee house is required is an artificial construct.

Sure, the owner can pick whatever theme he wants, and if he gets milage out of it, fine. It is true to say though that most people who buy coffee don't go to the place that appeals most to their political ideology but rather whatever appeals to their taste/pockets.

I don't think any political grouping have a monopoly on 'being trendy' either.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Didn't Starbucks stop being trendy over 10 years ago?

Seriously. I'm really missing something. People go there because they like the coffee.

I don't see how calling the coffee sizes small, medium and large and having Ann Coulter piped in as opposed to folk music will make it any less "pretentious".

I agree.

I have also never heard folk music in Starbucks. The last time I was there they played the new Coldplay album.

I would guess that says something about the age of the people who think that "conservative coffee shops" are a good idea.

[HAL 9000 96]

So if one of the biggest corporations in the world is "catering to liberals" does that must mean there are a helluva lot of liberals?

The last time I actually sat down in Starbucks someone tried to convince me to join a pyramid selling scheme.

That would make it a LIBERAL pyramid selling scheme. Probably Obama campaign, right? J/K

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't think I have seen an argument proposed where this establishment should not be allowed to do whatever they think fit (correct me if I am wrong of course). All that has been suggested is that the idea that a 'conservative' coffee house is required is an artificial construct.

Sure, the owner can pick whatever theme he wants, and if he gets milage out of it, fine. It is true to say though that most people who buy coffee don't go to the place that appeals most to their political ideology but rather whatever appeals to their taste/pockets.

I don't think any political grouping have a monopoly on 'being trendy' either.

Pretty much.

I just think its weird that the political affiliation of Starbucks (as an entity) can be assumed from the people who go there. And lets face it - who goes about making assumptions about people working on laptops or reading newspapers in a coffee shop...?

Whatever happened to people minding their own business...?

[Peikko 1,575]

I don't know but it is incredibly nutty to keep attaching these labels all the time as if they have some real meaning. I have to wonder what people are doing in real life too. Are they talking to me and all the time attaching little labels dependant on my responses? That's just ridiculous and yet this is what happens on this message board all the freakin time.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I don't know but it is incredibly nutty to keep attaching these labels all the time as if they have some real meaning. I have to wonder what people are doing in real life too. Are they talking to me and all the time attaching little labels dependant on my responses? That's just ridiculous and yet this is what happens on this message board all the freakin time.

In my experience most people don't do that. But some do.

I have this colleague who has Ronald Reagan sayings posted outside his cube. No one else has anything even remotely political but he has saying bashing government workers, liberals, and the sort. You can't talk to the guy about anything political without him throwing out the labels. This same guy eight or so years ago, was a manager and had an office.. and in the office was a big poster saying 'Proud Member of the VRWC'. Does anyone remember what that means anymore?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I don't think I have seen an argument proposed where this establishment should not be allowed to do whatever they think fit (correct me if I am wrong of course). All that has been suggested is that the idea that a 'conservative' coffee house is required is an artificial construct.

Sure, the owner can pick whatever theme he wants, and if he gets milage out of it, fine. It is true to say though that most people who buy coffee don't go to the place that appeals most to their political ideology but rather whatever appeals to their taste/pockets.

I don't think any political grouping have a monopoly on 'being trendy' either.

Well said, PH.

[IAMX 3,055]

Quite a retarded cafe. For better or worse (in this case, 'worse') people just have their own tastes.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Its pretty common - but especially bad when people take it seriously enough that they can make a viable business out of it. Presumably the guy has some sort of concrete market research to support a need for this, rather than just his gut reaction.

Incidentally one of my first jobs here was at an independent bookstore in LA. I got to see a lot of the customer complaints that were sent in by email. We didn't get that many and the vast majority of the customers (primarily to fairly well to do, affluent people from places like San Marino or Sierra Madre who don't mind paying full retail price for books to support independent business) never had a problem with how the store was run and operated. But the ones who did write in were their own brand of nuttiness...

One guy had written a rant about how he was offended (and would never be shopping there again) because when he was checking out at the register he saw that the store was selling a series of mint candies called "Embarrass-Mints" which had a big picture of GWB on the tin. Now this isn't the fault of the store so much as the Store Buyer who bought that product - though obviously it has a knock-on effect on the store's reputation. But none of that justified the guy's extended rant about the evil's of liberals, or that the sky is falling because the store sold some ill-advised novelty candies.

Then there was the furore over the Jane Fonda book signing (this was around the time that the Vet spat in her face), cue lots of angry letters that "if you have her here I'll never shop there again". I mean... how ridiculous can you get...

I think some people are simply oversensitive and see political bias where there isn't one. Can bias be inferred purely by the fact that Jane Fonda was invited to do a signing at the bookstore - or does it have perhaps more to do with the fact that the store simply thought it would make a lot of money by having her there during a tour for a book that ended up at the top of the NYT bestseller list.

Should a bookstore be expected to take ideological stands - or is their business simply selling as many books as they can to protect what are (in that market) precarious bottom lines...?

Edited August 12, 2008 by Number 6

[Amby 490]

this thread reminded me of the episode of Family Guy where Peter opens the restaurant and doesn't allow handicapped people to eat there