Starbucks Dodges The Question

I have been trying to get a response from Starbucks to a very basic question:

What is Starbucks’ position on putting material with sexual content on cups that could, quite literally, be in the hands of minors?

I raised the question because of this quote on the side of one of their cups, from the gay author Armistead Maupin:

"My only regret about being gay
is that I repressed it for so long.
I surrendered my youth to the
people I feared when I could have
been out there loving someone.
Don't make that mistake yourself.
Life's too damn short."

I asked Starbucks where I could see all the quotes, and also for the answer to the basic question above. Here's the reponse I received today:

Thanks for your interest in "The Way I See It." To answer your question, the best place you can find the other quotes is in the stores.

At this time, we can't post all of the quotes on our website. The reason is that, as we negotiated usage rights with the various authors, not everybody has given us permission to use their quote online.

Some of the other quotes do appear on our website in the "letters to the editor" and "featured author" sections. But for the most part, we have to keep this as an in-store experience. I hope that answers your question. If not, feel free to call us at (800) 23-LATTE. Thanks again!

All regards,
Jessica
Starbucks Customer Relations

I responded:

Thank you for answering the first half of my question. I certainly understand the complexities of licensing … plus its fun to see what quote you get on your cup.

You did not, however, answer my second question: What is Starbucks’ position on putting material with sexual content on cups that could, quite literally, be in the hands of minors? I raise this because of the Maupin quote about homosexuality, but would be just as concerned about a heterosexual message going out to little hot chocolate drinkers.

Thank you.
Laer

We shall see.