“…the bandwagon effect refers to people doing certain things because other people are doing them, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override.” (Wikipedia)
You see it all over Facebook. Somebody posts something — a rumor, speculation, misinterpretation of fact — and it spreads like wildfire across the friends of friends of friends network of social media. Facts do not (ever) matter. It is generally an emotional knee-jerk reaction that feeds our own confirmation bias… “see? I knew it all along!”
The latest one this week was the Starbucks rumor. The Starbucks CEO responded, quite respectfully in fact, to a shareholder’s concerns by pointing out how much return the investor had received on his investment and suggesting that, if he felt that the companies’ position on an issue was detrimental to his investment perhaps he should consider investing elsewhere. That’s what happened.
What spread through social media’s Christian Bandwagon Effect was that Starbucks said they didn’t want the business of those who opposed same-sex marriage. That was never said by the CEO or anyone else at Starbucks… a company that has many locations in the lobby of Conservative Evangelical mega-churches.
Here’s the inconsistency that troubles me: those posts were made on Facebook, by people using either Apple or MicroSoft Windows computers. Some of those posting GOOGLED the Starbucks report. All of those companies hold exactly the same views as Starbucks in regard to same-sex marriage.
If you drink Coke or Pepsi products, ride in a Ford or GM vehicle, fly on Delta, Southwest Airlines or American Airlines, purchase anything on Amazon or eBay, read a PDF (Adobe) or PhotoShop a picture, insure with AllState, State Farm or Nationwide Insurance, eat at Applebee’s, Red Lobster or Olive Garden, shop at Target, Best Buy, American Apparel, Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, use Clorox, Brita Filters, Glad Storage Bags, Hidden Valley Ranch, Pine-Sol, stock up at Costco on General Mills products (Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Wheaties, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Hamburger Helper), watch YouTube videos, stay at Marriott, Hilton Hotels, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Renaissance Hotels, Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard Inn, Fairfield Inn or Waldorf-Astoria, buy stuff at The Home Depot, JCPenney or SEARS, eat at McDonald’s wearing Levi’s, Nike’s or Converse, snack on Kraft Foods (Cadbury, Kraft, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Planters), use any Proctor & Gamble products (Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Duracell, Gillette, Old Spice, Pampers, Tide, Vicks), pick up a prescription at Walgreens or Rite-Aid, ship via UPS, enjoy ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, The Muppets or Bank with Wells Fargo your indignation at Starbucks is self-righteous hypocrisy: every one of those companies hold exactly the same views on same-sex marriage as Starbucks.
My point? We live in the world but are not of the world. It is virtually impossible in 21st Century America to vett every product and business to assure that they agree with your moral, religious and political views. Lighten up. Don’t jump on every reactionary bandwagon that pops onto Facebook. Think. Do your own research.