Now, it’s very easy for me to comment on how stupid some people are. How easily they get offended about things that shouldn’t even be an issue in the first place - because they misunderstand the message, because they think it’s addressed to them, because they see it as such a huge deal when it’s not.

I have read many pro-God things on Starbucks cups. I didn’t go back and make a big fuss about it. You see, if you seem to be anti-religious [and most people do not make a distinction between religion and faith] it is very easy to be accused of offending somebody. The reverse doesn’t count. I used to joke in high-school and pick on people that would wear their crucifix-chains in plain sight, and ask them kindly to put it away because I find it offensive. I would love the weirded looks and frowns most would give me. But my point was a bit better hidden than just that. If one displays allegiance to a group, one must expect dissenting views to be expressed. If you hide your crucifix people might let you to your own devices and not make a deal out of it; but when you do, why should others be quiet?

The snapshot of the ‘heroine’ in the above-linked story does prominently display a crucifix while she’s holding the anti-God¹ cup. If I were besides her in the coffee shop I would try - in all futility, I gather - to explain why I think she’s misunderstood the quotation. To point her at the subtle difference in how the phrase is worded - in that it does not refute the existence of God, but merely aims at making people aware that their problems are their to solve. Whatever reason your gods may have had for putting us here - we’ve been tasked with pulling our own weight around. I would explain to her there is no reason to be offended by somebody else’s opinion - hers and the author’s are equal in weight². Ultimately, I would point her at J. S. Mill’s Harm Principle - and ask her to acknowledge that an offense is not hurtful and thus it does not warrant intervention.

I enjoy those little scribbles on the sides of Starbucks’ cups. Some are simple in wording, others simple in message. But they don’t harm anybody. Whether they spur discussion or make one say “Ah!” is an added bonus. To have them pulled off because the Doe family in Middle America can’t hold together their thin thread of belief systems is ridiculous at best. We’re heading towards a porcelain world where everything and anything can be broken at the merest shake.

“We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.”

– Crash

1. Please read the quotation written on the cup and then try to mail her a possible “Coles’ Notes” version of it [↩]
2. Am I not generous? [↩]