Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Click for larger, printable version. Adhere print-out to cutable magnetic (available at your favorite local hardware store) or glue directly to your car. Coating with weather-proof acrylic spray recommended. Thanks in advance for showing your support. -homies
Let people know how scared you are with the new lawrence.com 'FEAR' memorial ribbon. Do you fear our nation's impending destruction at the hands of our own government? That's a good one. How about a fear of people who believe a war on terror will be solved with car ribbons? Sure, that's good, too.
But how about fears closer to home: Do you fear the encroaching tidal virus from the west? Do you fear that you'll never own property? Do you fear a city council that would govern your bowel movements given the slightest opportunity?
Or how about the fear of a future without the churlish barbs provided to you weekly by a ragtag band of homies who exist only to please you? (shudder to think)
Supporting lawrence.com's advertisers ensures a future that includes plenty of homestyle goofery. (2008 UPDATE: Especially in these turbulent economic times, what with the impending economic apocalypse and all-ed.) And anyway, without lawrence.com, there would be a lot more to be afraid of. You can believe us. We'd be unemployed, brimming with ennui, and up to no good. No good at all.
Think locally.
Consume thoughtfully.
Floss regularly.
Comments
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meowllory (anonymous) says...
awesome, support local businesses and shop STARBUCKS?
what the hell...advertisement to my left...bullshit dude!
i work locally and support locally...fuck starbucks i wouldn't let them advertise on my ass for the amount they pay you.
December 15, 2004 at 2:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
davidryan (David Ryan) says...
I wonder what the above commenter thinks about the local Lawrence citizens who -- god forbid -- work at Starbuck's?
Are they worthy of your scorn? Are they a fifth column secretly designing to undermine your precious Lawrence way of life -- whatever that might be?
I work locally, too. And I shop locally. And my favorite coffee shop is the Bourgeois Pig.
And I know many of the fine local Lawrence folk who work at Starbuck's.
They pay rent or mortgages in town. They have kids who depend on them. They shop locally, putting the money they earn at Starbuck's back into the local economy.
What if, god forbid, a Starbuck's employee were to shop wherever it is the anonymous poster above works? Would you, anonymous poster, decline to take their dollars? How far does your ideological intolerance (is Lenin still in?) go?
Interestingly, Starbuck's is, currently, the only coffee shop in Lawrence that advertises in Lawrence.com. Meaning, they themselves, as a coffee shop, are "shopping locally" -- helping support a publication we believe in and love and think deserving of support. (Question, anonymous poster: does your business help support Lawrence.com?)
I'm sure each business in town has good reasons for putting their advertising dollars to work where they see fit.
But when it comes to voting with dollars, spending locally, there's one coffee shop that consistently votes to support Lawrence.com, both in print and online -- and that's Starbuck's.
Like it or not, anonymous poster, that's just as significant as your shopping locally -- at least to those of us who want very much to see Lawrence.com's print edition continue to flourish.
December 15, 2004 at 9:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
editer (Phil Cauthon) says...
we didn't choose to support starbucks, they chose to support us. and, truth is, it's not really that hard to reciprocate when there are great, local people who work there and attest that the company takes care of them quite well,
it would be easy, if simplistic, to prefer all our advertisers were locally owned. we ourselves are locally owned and we love and patronize the crap out of the pig, henry's, la prima, and z's... we would hope they never go away. but likewise, we hope that our job never goes away. and to that end we need advertisers to justify our existence. sad, maybe, but true in a very real way. it's a two-way, reciprocating street.
anyone can advertise with us, except quacks, 900-number naked women, and the like. (for an example of how a reciprocating relationship btwn a non-local chain newspaper and non-local porn/etc purveyors, please refer to the back half of the pitch). if you appreciate what we, lawrence.com, are doing -- that is, supporting our community at every opportunity -- please encourage your preferred businesses to send some support our way. we could use it. in fact, meowllory, though it's a little unconventional, we would let you advertise on our ass for the amount starbucks pays us.
December 15, 2004 at 9:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
godjilla (Jill Ensley) says...
I'm not going to get all pissy about Starbucks advertising on here. That's business, and though I wouldn't take their money, I can't blame people who would.
Seriously though, aside from all the corporate shenannigans and goings-on, their coffee is just BAD. I think people forget that because they're so caught up in the anti-corporate thing, which is still a damn fine reason to hate Starbucks. When the head honcho says that there needs to be a Starbucks on every corner because Americans don't walk, well...personally, I take my money elsewhere, even if Starbucks is more "convenient". It's not just about supporting local businesses.
And yeah, my ex worked at one (he quit due to their "policies" and the customer attitude their "policies" foster). And sure, they treat their employees well, if you give in to the brainwashing and agree to have the chip implanted in the base of your skull. AHAHAHA. I kid. You can say "well, it creates jobs" all you want, but PERSONALLY, as that's all I can speak for, I'd rather eat rat poop and live under the bridge than take a job there.
Sorry, I see "Starbucks" and something in my brain crackles.
December 15, 2004 at 12:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jacob (Jacob Kaplan-Moss) says...
David -- very, very well said.
Meowllory -- my challenge to you: you don't like seeing MegaCorps advertising in Lawrence.com? Call your favorite local business, and ask *them* to support us. Then you'll get the warn fuzzies from our ads, and we'll get our bi-weekly always-smaller-than-you-think-its-going-to-be-but-nevertheless-well-loved paychecks.
December 16, 2004 at 11:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
barr (Jason Barr) says...
I love Starbucks and I'm not afraid of anything! You guys are wimps! LOL LOL LOL LOL!
December 21, 2004 at 10:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Have_you_tried_Wushu (anonymous) says...
I've heard that in some instances these corporate businesses can be owned by some very local people. Bummer.
December 21, 2004 at 2:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
milesbonny (Miles Bonny) says...
fear.
December 23, 2004 at 3:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
futuretheory (anonymous) says...
http://www.bobfromaccounting.com/shiz...
December 24, 2004 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
samsamsamsam (anonymous) says...
At least starbucks gives back to the community that provides its business. Until the day that lawrence.com starts putting up ads for wal-mart, i'll still be a fan of the site
December 30, 2004 at 3:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mochina (anonymous) says...
I hate to defend meowllory because of the way he uses language which sounds like an angry teenager who cannot be reasoned with.
However, I wish to point out that my personal objection to Starbucks is not its status as a major corporation. Does anyone remember the idea of "think globally, act locally?" Starbucks has ONE line of coffee that is free-trade, meaning, they pay INTERNATIONAL MINIMUM WAGES for that line of coffee only. The rest, including the espresso bean used when ordering a latte, is raised and farmed by those making LESS THAN that standard in a third world country.
I was born and raised in Seattle and all too clearly remember the WTO convention that brought Starbuck's inhumane practice to my attention.
Some coffee for thought.
January 17, 2005 at 5:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alerixon1 (anonymous) says...
Not to be picky, but Starbucks carries one line of fair trade coffee, not free trade. Fair trade ensures producers are paid a living wage, work in safe conditions, have long term contracts, use environmentally sustainable practices. Free trade does none of these.
October 13, 2006 at 11:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )