By now, you may have heard of the call by the gun prohibitionists to "Skip Starbucks Saturday" in response to the coffee chain's determination to remain neutral in the gun debate and to allow carry in accordance with each state's law. To those of the gun prohibitionists' ilk, neutrality - while smart business - is an affront to their crusade to make everyone unsafe. While they would not consider a gun-free zone unsafe, those zones have become one of the favorite places for the mentally deranged to commit their heinous acts.
So, of course, I do plan to go to one of the local Starbucks on Saturday to have some nice frou-frou coffee drink that I might not otherwise buy. The Complementary Spouse has a couple of gift cards for Starbucks that we need to use and this seems like a good time to do it.
The good folks at Grass Roots North Carolina note that this is also an opportunity to reinforce the message that it is in all restaurants' best interest to support the expanded carry provisions of HB 937.
No support is more clear than doing business with those who cooperate with us. We need to demonstrate, in a practical way, that standing behind North Carolina's gun owners is a winning proposition for restaurants. Inducing failure of this anti-Second Amendment boycott will provide initial momentum for when HB 937 becomes effective in October.The alert isn't up on their website yet so I'm posting their card below. I don't know if other state-based gun rights groups are doing this but I'd suggest checking their websites for details.
Support Starbucks Saturday…
As you make weekend plans be sure to include a Saturday stop at your local Starbucks for a beverage and snack. Make sure to let your barrista know that you appreciate their respect for carry laws. Drive this message home by printing-out and handing your server the message below.
This is certainly an easier way of the getting the message across than try to find a bank that has any $2 bills.
Jim Shepherd in The Shooting Wire also has some wise words about this counter campaign with which I tend to agree. I like his statement about it being a personal choice and not a political one.
I think a gun-neutral position is smart for the company, but it seems that some groups are determined to make guns a polarizing issue. That, I don't like- no matter which side of an issue you fall on.
So....we may find it advantageous to show up at a Starbucks (or two) this weekend, order one of their innumerable combinations of coffee and simply say "I wanted to thank Starbucks for not taking a side in the gun debate. I think it is a personal choice, not a political one."
Feel free to put that into your own words- but speak them if you have the opportunity.
Funny. Since Starbucks tends to make most of their money in the Morning during the Workweek, their Total Effect on the Corporate Bottom Line is they ALL skip Starbucks will be what, a Buck Three Eighty?
ReplyDeleteIt's not as if they want to lose the Opportunity to buy their Half-Cafe Lattes as they go to their Cubes on Monday. Lord knows, they might actually have to MAKE a Pot of Coffee for themselves! Think of the Horror!
With respect, if you have the extra cash, hold off on the gift cards. Spend real money if you can spare it.
ReplyDeleteWhile the company will certainly appreciate reducing the unfulfilled obligations that gift cards represent, if we want to make the statement that gun owners appreciate their neutral political position, we should be spending actual money to increase their bottom line. Gift cards were purchased at some past date, and I believe it's more important to make Saturday's income worthwhile to them.
Just my $0.0263 (adjusted for inflation). YMMV.
When I heard about the planned boycott this coming Saturday, I also made plans to stop at my local store. I also made a point of doing to their website and conveying my appreciation for them refusing to discriminate against law abiding citizens.
ReplyDeleteI think a gun-neutral position is smart for the company, but it seems that some groups are determined to make guns a polarizing issue. That, I don't like- no matter which side of an issue you fall on.Cheap LOL Account
ReplyDeleteelo boost