Opinion: Musings On #MerryChristmasStarbucks, And Bogus Internet Outrage
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Josh Feuerstein, to his credit, certainly has the formula for manufacturing fake Internet outrage.
Mix dubious Twitter hashtag activism, a video and Facebook post filled with lies, and you have the makings of a digital tsunami.
In this case, the self-proclaimed American evangelist and social media personality ranted on the outrageous idea that there is a "War On Christmas" and placing the blame on a red coffee cup.
Feuerstein's video "attack" on Starbucks "political correctness" has been viewed, liked or commented upon a zillion times, which is pretty impressive for a guy who insists on shooting his video vertically, rather than horizontally. (#WarOnVerticalVideo)
Feuerstein claims the coffee company has removed references to Christmas, because it "hates Jesus."
He cleverly "tricked" the barista into writing Merry Christmas on the plain red holiday cup, claiming that was his name for the order. He thus saved the world from the espresso fueled Grinch who tried to steal Christmas.
He then urges the masses to start a hashtag campaign, posting selfies with their "Merry Christmas" lattes with the hashtag #MerryChristmasStarbucks.
This has led to a simplistic narrative that conservatives are "seeing red" that Starbucks has declared a "War On Christmas" by removing holiday imagery from its coffee cups.
This, of course, is false.
Based on responses on his Facebook page, reaction on Twitter and informal interviews, most people find the campaign silly.
Conservative superstar Donald Trump doesn't seem to care.
Trump weighed in on the cup during a rally in Springfield on Monday.
"No more 'Merry Christmas' at Starbucks. No more," Trump said. "Maybe we should boycott Starbucks. I don't know. Seriously. I don't care."
Although he also told the crowd: "If I become president, we're all going to be saying 'Merry Christmas' again. That I can tell you. That I can tell you! Unbelievable."
On top of that, just about every word spoken or written by Feuerstein on the subject is a lie.
Consider, these words from his Facebook post:
Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus ... SO I PRANKED THEM ... and they HATE IT!!!! #share
Use #MERRYCHRISTMASSTARBUCKS
Follow --> Joshua Feuerstein
"Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups ..." No, they removed cute puppies, snow people, carolers and snowflakes.
"They Hate Jesus" No, they don't. There isn't a shred of evidence to support that. And even if Starbucks did hate Jesus, He wouldn't care. He had already accepted that there was plenty of hate in the world.
In John 15:18 Jesus declared, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you."
In other words, Jesus had plenty of enemies far, far worse than a coffee conglomerate. Incidentally, Jesus probably didn't even drink coffee.
"They HATE IT" Oh, they LOVE it. The free marketing!
In a statement, Starbucks Jeffrey Fields said: "In the past, we have told stories with our holiday cup designs. This year we wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories."
That sounds very Christian.
Better not turn this Josh fellow onto the company's "Holiday Advent Calendar."
