Starbucks announced today that it has told employees at its U.S. stores to stop writing #RaceTogether on the cups. The company’s CEO Howard Schultz claims the campaign to discuss race in Starbucks locations will go on but most observers see this as a way to quietly put the ridiculed idea to bed. It drew withering criticism from many corners of society including editorials in newspapers. The Washington Post wrote “Dear Starbucks, can we just have a cup of coffee” while the Portage Daily Register said “Shut up and sell your coffee.” Some have recalled the particular strain of hubris that sometimes infects highly successful business people. It is slightly delusional and somehow persuades its victims that they know the answer to everything. This was briefly true of Henry Ford who having built a workable automobile thought that he could order the Kaiser to halt WWI. Many successful musicians, like the Beatles, have unwisely embarked on giving advice to world leaders about the state of things. Paul McCartney later conceded this foolish behaviour. “We thought we were statesmen,” he said, “when all we were was good rock musicians.” Then, it appears, there is the successful coffee salesman Howard Shultz. Photos from top: Howard Schultz, Paul McCartney, Henry Ford
