On the heels of faking a story about campus rape because they think it's true somewhere, comes the latest attempt to shape reality and think "racial inequality" can be solved over a cup of coffee.
I'm talking about Starbucks decision to engage customers in a conversation about race by scribbling liberal activism on a cup. This new marketing campaign is the brainchild of CEO Howard Schultz, who is urging Starbucks' employees to "perform a small gesture of writing 'Race Together' on a cup. And if a customer asks you what this is, try and engage in a discussion, that we have problems in this country with regard to race and racial inequality, and we believe we're better than this, and we believe the country's better than this. And if this makes you have a conversation with a customer about the need for compassion, the need for empathy, the need for love towards others, if you can do that with one customer (each) day, then you're making a significant difference as we go forward."
According to Schultz, "RACE TOGETHER is not a solution, but it is an opportunity to begin to re-examine how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society — one conversation at a time. Rules of engagement, in regards to this issue, must change."
I couldn't agree more.
Race relations have taken a big step back since Obama became president. You have the "beer summit" following the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, the Trayvon Martin shooting trial in Florida, and the Michael Brown shooting resulting in the Ferguson riots. It is my opinion that most blacks feel Gates, Martin and Brown were innocent in each instance, and the offending officers should have been held accountable. Conversely, whites agree with the verdicts handed down, and feel the riots that followed are an excuse to cause more trouble.
And thanks to President Obama -- inflaming tensions and fostering divisions among whites and blacks -- this country is in worse shape now than in the past 50 years. I understand that's what a community organizer does. It's not to make things better -- it's to keep things stirred up. So slogans like "Hands Up! Don't shoot!" and the conscious efforts made by NFL and NBA teams to side with other blacks is not a surprise.
And yet here is the CEO of a well-known business, thinking words can make a difference. This self described conscious capitalism has nothing to do with solving the problem. And it is nothing more than what the left has been doing for decades. Describing good intentions and hoping they trump common sense.
But here is the reality: talking about a problem doesn't solve the problem.
It's the same concept used to describe Secretary of State, John Kerry, sitting down with known-terrorist supporter, Iran, to talk about nuclear negotiations and reduce sanctions while tens of thousands of protestors shout DEATH TO AMERICA outside the U.S. embassy. If I was a political cartoonist, I'd draw a picture of Kerry signing the nuclear agreement, then handing over the pen to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani -- who promptly stabs him in the back.
There are other reasons why this "RACE TOGETHER" idea is bad:
. Some people are not morning people. I wouldn't discuss anything political until after two cups of coffee.
. If you're rushed getting to work, do you want to wait in line while the person ahead of you carries on a conversation on race?
. What makes Starbucks think the people preparing your coffee know anything about race?
I'm betting most of them spend more time searching through Yahoo Entertainment (what is Kim Kardashian up to?) than reading Thomas Sowell's view on racial disparities. I also don't think they get a very balanced discussion of race problems by absorbing what's being taught in our state's universities. Three quick examples:
A Seattle university physics teacher has asked his class to study why there are so few black physicists. Is it because blacks are not smart enough, not being exposed to science, or not getting opportunities? Having made the assumption that whites have an advantage over blacks, the assignment continues by asking students to write about how they feel about this "white privilege"? The professor readily admits to feeling jealous about his colleagues in English and History who get to talk about society and morality every day.
Another example is having to write a history paper on early exploration and discovery in America. Students are asked to take the side of native Indians in debates -- focusing on the death and destruction that Columbus and the pilgrims brought to the Indians when they arrived in America (my sons were given that assignment in 9th grade).
A third example involves a recent episode of "The Walking Dead," where students led a discussion about why only black characters on the show were being killed off. Surely there was someone at the network making a conscious effort to discriminate against black characters in favor of keeping white ones alive.
So with this educational background -- white privilege gives some of us an unfair advantage -- what chance is there that I could have a balanced discussion about race?
. If the left wants a conversation about race, shouldn't they be following their own advice?
Starbucks' initiative also includes partnering with USA Today. Larry Kramer, USA Today's editor and publisher said of their partnership, "Our nation is only becoming more diverse. To ignore, dismiss or fail to productively engage our differences is to stifle our collective potential. Diversity of thought and skills lead to more creative ideas and higher performance. Bias, even unintentional slights, sap our potential for shared prosperity while denying our shared humanity."
Like most talk coming from the left, that sounds pretty good. How can you argue against diversity, collective potential and shared prosperity? But if you do a little research to see if USA Today or Starbucks practice what they preach, you'll find something surprising.
According to a review of Starbuck's executive management team, which consists of 19 people, 95% are white. USA Today has one woman and 7 men on its editorial board. All white. Other media that eagerly support race discussions are no different. Time Warner (CNN's parent company) has an executive management team that is 100% white. The New York Times' management team has one black on a staff of 14. The Washington Post's leadership team has one woman, one Native American and 11 white men. Not one black.
If "racing together" is so important to CEO Howard Schultz, why doesn't Starbucks have any coffee shops in Ferguson, MO? Why is he so quick to put demands on us, when he refuses to do the same himself? The answer is typical of so many liberal companies that have skin in this race game. Words trump reality. It looks good and makes them feel better than others.
How else would you explain the USA Today saying, "elevating diversity is not only the right thing to do, but ... also a necessity." Apparently the necessity is in creative ideas and diversity of thought, not black butts sitting in their board rooms. Preaching tolerance, diversity and racial acceptance sounds good, but it seems like it has a hard time making to the top floor of all of these important organizations.
In the time it has taken to research and write this blog (about a week), the "Race Together" initiative has run its course. Beginning today, Starbucks has put their much publicized initiative on hiatus. Claiming "Race Together" was always meant to be a week long discussion (although I can't find any reference to it), Schultz and Kramer feel like it has been a success.
And Starbucks is still planning to foster conversations about race -- just not by having their baristas on the forefront of that conversation. Therefore the following comments have been released:
"The phase-out is not a reaction to any pushback. Nothing is changing."
"It's all part of the cadence of the timeline we originally planned."
"We're leaning into it hard."
"While there has been criticism of the initiative -- and I know this hasn't been easy for any of you -- let me assure you that we didn't expect universal praise."
"This campaign... will make sure that the promise of the American Dream should be available to every person in this country, not just a select few."
I know that we have a problem in this country when it comes to politics, race and jobs. And I don't mean to be critical of anyone attempting to find solutions to those problems. But I will be critical of businesses like Starbucks and USA Today that think they have the answers when they are the ones perpetuating the problem. By throwing words on paper, money at poverty, forcing equality where none exists and blaming white priviledge they have made finding an equitable solution much harder than it needs to be.
Blacks and whites need to find common ground that can withstand the attacks of community organizers, and the prejudices of those who give credence to actual discrimination and violence.
Writing "Race Together" on a coffee cup does neither.
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