Christians boycott Starbucks right now.

[pirouette]

I hate this "destruction of traditional* marriage" language. Nobody is destroying anything. They're expanding it. Nobody's straight marriage between two consenting adults is going anywhere. And I, for one, will continue to drink my Christmas Gingerbread Lattes contentedly.

*Not to mention, as has been said a thousand times, "traditional" marriage includes things like paying X number of sheep for a bride, polygamy, and even same-sex marriages, all of which probably don't fit into these boycotters' definition.

[YPestis]

I love Starbucks! I love their coffee and I love their stores. Ok, I don't love their prices but it's a small price to pay for the enjoyment I get from such establishments. The company has always had a reputation of being kind of left leaning in their policies. I'm surprised it's taken this long for fundies to realize that.

[yetanothermeg]

Please "Christians" please boycott Starbucks. Maybe the drive through line will be a little shorter.

[snarkyjan]

Please "Christians" please boycott Starbucks. Maybe the drive through line will be a little shorter.

And for anyone that owns stock in Starbucks, the boycott should drive the value up.

[Rachel333]

A year or two ago there was a Christian pastor protesting Starbucks for their marriage equality support. It made quite a bit of news, probably because the way he and his congregation protested was by buying a bunch of Starbucks coffee and then pouring it out in the street. Really sticking it to them there...

[Arete]

I'm a Christian, but I don't like Starbucks drinks (coffee, teas, cocoa), so it's not like I support them. However, in the interest of sticking it to the evangelical anti gay marriage boycotters, maybe I'll stop in and get a pastry for solidarity. :nenner:

[OkToBeTakei]

Currently boycotting Starbucks because of their tax avoidance in the UK, but I would love to support companies that support marriage equality. SIGH.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20560359

Add Google. Amazon.

Everything these companies are doing is legal. It's avoidance and not evasion.

"We are in an age of deep public spending cuts and real austerity. And this [tax avoidance] is not a victimless crime, if you like. If this was six or seven years ago, pre-financial crisis, I don't think it would have had the same impact it's had now," he says.

War on Want's tax justice campaigner Murray Worthy says there has also been a change in public perception.

But just how effective is tax shaming anyway?

The idea that Starbucks would voluntarily pay more tax than it legally needs to seems extraordinary on the surface, and an argument for the effectiveness of tax shaming.

"Up until yesterday, I wouldn't have thought these stories had much effect. I thought companies would carry on doing what they were doing, but look over their shoulder, in terms of their reputation," says Michael Devereux, a tax expert at Said Business School, University of Oxford.

"Starbucks appears to be saying they don't think they owe any more money, but will pay anyway. If that's true, it's having a reputational effect - but it's a bit odd in terms of the tax system, we wouldn't want the tax system to be voluntary," he says.

:dance:

[yewchapel]

I'm well aware of Amazon, Google, Boots etc's tax avoidance, thanks all the same. It may be legal but it's still immoral and I can still choose to not give my money to companies that act in an immoral way. Tax justice is important to me as a Christian.

[OkToBeTakei]

I'm well aware of Amazon, Google, Boots etc's tax avoidance, thanks all the same. It may be legal but it's still immoral and I can still choose to not give my money to companies that act in an immoral way. Tax justice is important to me as a Christian.

Ehh?

I was agreeing with you. The dance emoticon? To show that putting pressure as per the quote is having an impact.

Try reading the whole comment and the link before getting one's knickers in a self important twist :P

[greentree31]

Is this the same David Barton in this article?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/08 ... troversy/#

[Sobeknofret]

I'm not a fan of 'Bux either-- tastes bitter and burnt to me, but I do love their mochas and my son would live on their pumpkin bread if he could. We may have to go and get some today or tomorrow.

[yewchapel]

Ehh?

I was agreeing with you. The dance emoticon? To show that putting pressure as per the quote is having an impact.

Try reading the whole comment and the link before getting one's knickers in a self important twist :P

I did read the whole comment and the link, sorry, I took the dancing emoticon as you laughing at me. Sorry for the confusion.

[OkToBeTakei]

I did read the whole comment and the link, sorry, I took the dancing emoticon as you laughing at me. Sorry for the confusion.

Ah right, nae drama. I tend to be more verbiose if disagreeing. I actually was told once to use more emoticons as it's easier in translation. Fuck that in the future :lol:

Out of all of them Boots annoys me most. Granted overseas companies are irking to say the least. Starbucks no UK profits..uh uh. But Boots actually provides pharmaceutical services to most Care and Homecare providers at huge cost to the public purse. Granted they tender at a lower price than competitors, but still the fact they avoid tax is beyond wrong.

[yewchapel]

Boots annoys me the most too for the same reasons, also because it's a British brand and one that so many people *rely* on (Starbucks, Amazon etc not really being the same kind of necessary things).

[moodygirl86]

What's incompatible about Christianity/gay marriage, anyway? They both love their fellow man... :D

[Val78]

It's going to get harder and harder to find later companies that publicly oppose gay marriage. At least in majority of the country. Large chains have to appeal to masses and the masses are largely in favor of equality

[wtylcf]

I love how gay marriage is an intolerable social wrong to support, but they could probably care less about whether the coffee farmer who grew those beans for them was earning a living wage. I'm sure some fundies DO care about fair trade (in fact, I know for certain that many do), but it's not the issue of whether the farmer is living in poverty, but equal rights for marriage in America, that causes fundie pastors to thump the bully pulpit in outrage.

[FJismyheadship]

You know... I don't think God needs any help when he is being attacked... actually I would pretty much guarentee God can handle being attacked all on his own. I think he can fight his own battles and doesn't need pesky humans coming in and messing it all up.