That there is a furor over this incident at all shows that there is no serious problem of genuine anti-Muslim bigotry (as opposed to honest analysis of the motivating ideology of Islamic jihad, which is routinely and falsely characterized as bigotry) in the United States. There is no real “Islamophobia,” so it has to be invented, and we get the shock horror of the “Islamophobic” coffee cup. This fragile snowflake Niquel Johnson cannot be faulted, however, for considering legal action. Given today’s political climate, Starbucks will likely be anxious to avoid any further appearance of “Islamophobia,” and will be ready with a big payout.
Meanwhile, the Islamic victimhood propagandist Haroon Moghul has missed a big opportunity here. Poor little Haroon so cowers in fear of “Islamophobic” coffee servers that his Starbucks name is not Haroon but “Dwayne.” If he had gone with his real name, he might have been able to tap into a victimhood bonanza if it was ever misspelled. On the other hand, ever since I read about the sad plight of “Dwayne,” my Starbucks name has been “Haroon.” Despite the “Islamophobia” that, we are constantly told, stalks our once-tolerant land, I’ve never had any trouble.
“A man in Islamic dress told a Starbucks employee his name was Aziz. She put ‘ISIS’ on the cup.” By Alex Horton and Abigail Hauslohner, Washington Post, August 30, 2019:
In the same city where a Starbucks employee last year called police on black men for sitting quietly, two men in Islamic dress walked into a different Starbucks store for a drink.
Niquel Johnson paid for three drinks in Philadelphia on Sunday, and in typical Starbucks fashion, an employee asked for his name. Johnson, 40, told them “Aziz,” his Islamic name pronounced ah-zeez. He has used it for 25 years – and “countless” times at that particular store.
But three unusual things happened on this occasion, he said. When his order was ready, a staffer announced them by drink type, not his name.
The second unusual part was the employee wrote his name as “ISIS” – the acronym for the Islamic terror group – in the printout attached to all three drinks.
Johnson didn’t even realize it until later, when a friend pointed it out at a bookstore.
“I was shocked and angry. I felt it was discrimination,” Johnson told The Washington Post on Friday.
The third unusual part: Four days later, after the story hit social media and a reporter tweeted about it, Starbucks called Johnson to claim the company had already rectified the situation in conversation with Johnson’s niece – a person Johnson says doesn’t exist…
The episode has further bewildered Johnson, who said he is considering legal action. He expected Starbucks to be more deliberate and careful after the other Philadelphia incident last year.
“I feel like they’re not taking it seriously as it is,” he said. “You think they would have their facts in order. How could they allow anyone to speak for me?”