In the latest ridiculous media controversy, Starbucks’ simple, red holiday cup was met with outrage from many on the grounds that it did not honor Christmas enough.

Joshua Feuerstein, a passionate evangelical, provoked the public with a one minute and 18 second call to arms posted on Facebook on Nov. 5th. He prompted “great Americans and great Christians” to join him in a protest of Starbucks’ Christ-less cups.

He held up a cup and triumphantly announced that he had told the cashier that his name was Merry Christmas– “tricking” Starbucks into putting the words “Merry Christmas” onto one of their cups.
He asked that Americans start a movement, doing the same and then sharing a selfie of them with their cups on social media with the hashtag #MerryChristmasStarbucks.

Feuerstein’s video went viral, with more than 15 million views after five days. He received both support and criticism, but mainly criticism from Christian Americans who find his arguments to be unfounded and inflammatory.

Feuerstein claimed that “in the age of political correctness we have become so open–minded our brains have literally fallen out of our heads,” meaning that in an attempt to be inclusive of various religions, Starbucks overlooked their perceived obligation to honor Christ on their cups.
Starbucks is a secular organization which has never advertised anything overtly Christian on a holiday cup.

“I don’t think [the cups are] a big deal,” AHS senior and Starbucks barista Dianna Agyeman said.

“I’m a Christian myself, and I think that having the red cups is enough because we don’t change our cups all year, it’s always the white and the clear for the plastic cups… Muslim people come to Starbucks and they get drinks and they’re not Christian.”

In the video, Feuerstein also asked “do you realize that Starbucks isn’t allowed to say Merry Christmas to customers?” Actually, Starbucks gives no script or policy about greeting customers. Baristas are encouraged to be welcoming, and often that entails not giving a greeting specific to a certain religion, but there is no anti-Christmas policy.

It seems that Feuerstein’s argument that Starbucks’ new simplistic design is a “war on Christmas” is just another way to gain media attention. In today’s society, people will go out of their way to find the smallest things to make a big deal out of. Even presidential candidate Donald Trump encouraged others to boycott Starbucks as an opportunity to gain more public attention.

People of various other religions, agnostics, atheists and Christians alike disagreed with Feuerstein.
Starbucks has to be mindful of their customer base, like any good organization.
Whether or not the words “Merry Christmas” are printed on a cup is something most people don’t even think about.

Why seek religious affirmation from a coffee chain? Pretty much anything they do could be offensive to someone. It is not even like Starbucks is devoid of Christmas paraphernalia.

“We have a whole wall of Christmas stuff, I think we honor Christmas pretty well,” Agyeman said. Starbucks is currently selling Christmas blend coffee and gift cards that say “”Merry Christmas” on them, as well as various Christmas themed gifts and ornaments.

Typically their cup designs celebrate winter and holidays in general. In the past their cups have had snowmen, snowflakes, at most a design that looks vaguely like a tree ornament.

Last Tuesday, Feuerstein posted a second video, furthering his attack on Starbucks. In his video, he called Starbucks coffee “abortion coffee,” claiming that since Starbucks is one of the many major corporations who donate to Planned Parenthood, it supports the “genocide of millions of little babies.”
Now that Feuerstein has gotten the attention of the public over an arbitrary issue, he is choosing to use that momentum to cause even more of an uproar.

Evidently, even a simple red cup is enough to start a controversy. There is no winning in Feuerstein’s “age of political correctness.”