Because I need another reason to frequent Starbucks

July 17, 2007

I have an addiction. It's true. It isn't even the caffeine. It is a habit thing. Something about the pretentious language… or the red cups at Christmas… or just the lingering memories of my London routines. Whatever it is, I have Starbucks radar. I see that logo and feel good knowing I can get my liquid crack fix if need be.

As I walked into the big Victorian on Saturday, we were greeted by the host wearing a T-shirt with that logo. I was about to remark about my latte fascination when I realized it was, in fact, NOT a true Starbucks t-shirt. Indeed. They had removed the mermaid and replaced it with Jesus, holding out his palms while bleeding from his thorny crown. The Starbucks and Coffee words were interchanged with Sacrificed for Me.

Ew.

It took me a while to get over the fact they removed the Starbucks word… but an hour later, I realized they removed the female. A mystical female was supplanted by a gory Jesus.

I wore a necklace that day – that my sister had given me years ago. It's a silver treiskele – three spirals that are interconnected. I wore it because she gave it to me… but, okay, mostly because I thought there had to be some representation of metal that wasn't in the form of a cross. I always like that symbol because it has a number of meanings and is Irish in its roots. Yes, Irish… Celtic… when it was a representation of the sun, afterlife, and reincarnation. Another interpretation is for the elements – earth, water, and air. And… finally, the goddess in her three forms – maiden, mother, and crone. Until, of course, Christians determined it was actually the father, the son, and that holy spirit. Commenting on my necklace in connection with that last interpretation, my sister explained a friend of hers actually got the image tattooed on her body to celebrate her sixth year of being born again.

Yes, I am the girl who likes to re-interpret Shakespeare to fit today's world a little better. I'm not a purist when it comes to history, understanding that the many mouths of relaying information distorts the original. But, when that distortion is a deliberate attempt to propagate a belief system and erase another (especially the female)… well, that's just… it's silly.

So, on my way to hell, I will collect several more mermaid cups and wear my treisekele. If the originals are wrong… well, at least I'll be awake enough to appreciate it.