It must have been a really slow news day Springboro, Ohio cause I can’t think of any other reason why they’d waste time on a story about a Starbucks addicted Catholic woman named Michelle Incanno who’s panties are all in a twist over an atheist quotation on a cup she got with her coffee. So what was the horrible affront to her God that she was unfairly confronted with?
Printed on the cup was: “Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.”
It is attributed to Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, and was included on the cup as part of an effort by the company to collect different viewpoints and spur discussion.
Holy shit! He’s advocating for a semblance of personal responsibility over simply praying to a God that may or may not exist! Self reliance is UNAMERICAN!
“As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that. I don’t think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee,” said Incanno, a married mother of three who is Catholic.
Welcome to my world Mrs. Michelle Incanno. It’d be really nice if I could make it through the day without having umpteen million Christian messages shoved in my face whether it’s those stupid billboards that pretend to be messages from God or the various True Believers who show up at my door to ask if I know where I’m going once I die or the various businesses that feel the need to promote Christianity with their services. If I ran off and bitched at a journalist every time I was confronted by something like that they’d have to print a special newspaper just for my complaints.
Rather than spend my time sitting around being offended, though, I just developed a thick enough skin that I can brush it off for the most part and I’d suggest you do the same.
She wasn’t satisfied with a company disclaimer saying the quote is the author’s opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks. It invites customers to respond at http://www.starbucks.com/wayiseeit.
Starbucks spokeswoman Sanja Gould said the collection of thoughts and opinions is a “way to promote open, respectful conversation among a wide variety of individuals. “
But Incanno said her Starbucks days are over.
“I wouldn’t feel right going back,” she said.
Or you can swear off your favorite coffee shop if you prefer, but I don’t have that luxury considering how prevalent Christian nonsense is in America. I’m sure Starbucks won’t be hurting over the loss of one overly uptight Catholic.
Don’t forget that those are the views of a patron not the company.