How do you feel about this Starbucks red cup thing?
Some say it’s just a cup while others say it’s an attack on Christianity. But one Central Coast political expert says the Starbucks red cup controversy says more about the vulnerable feelings some people have about religion.
Most of the people that spoke with News Channel 5 Wednesday the red cup represents the holiday season and doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas.
Despite that, what’s interesting about this big debate all over social media is that some GOP presidential candidates are using this issue to potentially grab more votes.
“I thought it was ridiculous,” said Emily Ochoa, a Sacramento resident visiting Monterey. “It’s a cup, nothing more.”
“A lot of people are making it a bigger deal than it was actually meant to be,” said Donald Bay, who lives in Monterey.
Take away the ornaments, trees and snowflakes and some people are really “seeing red” this holiday season.
“I saw one post that said Starbucks hates Jesus. Well, that’s a big stretch from starting off with a red cup,” said Dr. David Anderson, News Channel 5’s political analyst.
Anderson said the firestorm represents a larger issue.
“American society is becoming more diverse, more secular and some people are very disturbed by the pace of change or that we’re losing some identities, traditional identity,” Anderson said.
The red cup has even become a “grande” political talking point.
“I have the most successful Starbucks in Trump tower. maybe we should boycott Starbucks,” said Donald Trump at a campaign event.
“He is competing for the evangelical vote with (Ben) Carson and (Ted) Cruz and some of the others,” Anderson said, referring to Trump. “So by making a comment about this, it gets him some attention.”
While Ochoa thinks this whole thing is ridiculous, she said she likes that Starbucks hasn’t latched onto a specific holiday.
“I think that it doesn’t matter whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, it’s all about coming together, it’s all about being with your family and a cup should not be the topic of conversation about it,” Ochoa said.
