On the
news this morn (see date in upper corner) I saw a
fluff story about
Starbucks. They have opened a
coffee shop inside the
Forbidden City in
China. I was aghast! All I could think of was the episode of
the Simpsons where all the stores in the mall are turned into Starbucks shops.
I was also reminded of the movie
the Seventh Seal, and many
bible stories. Surely this is the begining of the end. The
Chinese, as I understand it, are fiercly
national. The Forbidden City is arguably one of their greatest national
landmarks. The one bright spot in this
travesity is that Starbucks is not allowed to display signage outside the shop, so at least a small amount of
dignity has been retained.
For the Chinese government to stoop to such
corporate pandering seems odd to me. Are they that desperate for
foreign trade? China has a history of
self reliance and independence from foriegn influence. Will they culturally absorb Starbucks like they did the
Mongols?
Starbucks truly has their mitts in everything. I won't be surprised when I see their
banner ad over the pale
olive drab banner of E2.