星巴克倡導種族團結言論招致非議

Scrawled on Starbucks cups, the words “Race Together” were intended to stimulate conversations about race relations in America. But the coffee company’s campaign has instead unleashed widespread vitriol.

隨意寫在星巴克(Starbucks)杯子上的“種族團結”(Race Together)字樣，意在激起有關美國種族關係的對話。這是該咖啡公司開展的一項活動，卻招致了廣泛的嚴厲批評。

The company effort, which began this week, lit up social media, drawing criticism and skepticism. The attacks grew so hostile that Corey duBrowa, the senior vice president of global communications at Starbucks, temporarily deleted his Twitter account on Monday. “Last night I felt personally attacked in a cascade of negativity,” Mr. duBrowa wrote in a post on Medium on Tuesday.

始於本週的這項活動在社交媒體上引發了激烈討論，備受指責和質疑。連番攻擊升級到充滿敵意的地步，以致於星巴克負責全球通訊聯絡事務的高級副總裁科裏·杜布羅瓦(Corey duBrowa)在週一臨時刪除了自己的Twitter賬戶。“昨天夜裏，我感到自己遭到了鋪天蓋地的負面言論的抨擊，”杜布羅瓦週二在Medium上發表了一篇帖子這樣解釋。

The fury and confusion boiled down to a simple question: What was Starbucks thinking?

人們的憤怒和困惑歸結爲一個簡單的問題：星巴克究竟在想些什麼啊？

On Wednesday, the company is expected to promote the “Race Together” initiative at its annual shareholders meeting in Seattle.

週三，星巴克計劃在西雅圖的年度股東大會上宣傳“種族團結”活動。

The negative feedback has been brutal. The brand has been called tone-deaf and obnoxious. Many have pointed out that the company’s leadership is predominantly white, while many of its baristas are minorities.

然而，來自各方的負面反饋毫不留情。星巴克被譴責爲冷漠、可惡。很多人指出，這家公司的領導層以白人爲主，而許多店員卻是少數族裔。

Gwen Ifill, the co-anchor of PBS NewsHour, wrote in a tweet on Tuesday: “Honest to God, if you start to engage me in a race conversation before I’ve had my morning coffee, it will not end well.”

PBS《新聞一小時》(NewsHour)節目的聯合主持人格溫·艾菲爾(Gwen Ifill)週二發了一條Twitter帖子：“向上帝發誓，如果有人在我大清早喝上咖啡之前，就開始拉我參與有關種族問題的討論，那是不會有好結果的。”

The company has said in statements that the “Race Together” initiative stems from a meeting that Howard Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks, called in December at the company’s headquarters in Seattle to discuss racial tension. Events during the last year in Ferguson, Mo., Staten Island and Oakland, Calif., had turned race into a national conversation, and the gathering was meant to provide an outlet for discussion. After that meeting, Mr. Schultz decided to hold similar forums in Oakland, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago and New York.

星巴克發表了多份聲明，並在文中表示，“種族團結”活動源於公司首席執行官霍華德·舒爾茨(Howard Schultz)去年12月爲討論種族矛盾問題，而在公司位於西雅圖的總部召集的一次會議。去年發生在密蘇里州弗格森、紐約斯塔頓島和加利福尼亞州奧克蘭的事件，讓種族關係成了一個全民話題。那次會議旨在爲相關討論提供一個渠道。會後，舒爾茨決定在奧克蘭、洛杉磯、聖路易斯、芝加哥和紐約舉行類似的論壇。

On Monday, the company brought the effort to brick-and-mortar stores, encouraging its baristas to write “Race Together” on customers’ coffee cups. The company is also pushing baristas to hand out “Race Together” stickers to customers. USA Today has produced a special section on the initiative that will be available in Starbucks stores starting on Friday.

本週一，星巴克在實體店推出了這項活動，鼓勵店員把“種族團結”寫在顧客的咖啡杯子上。公司還要求店員向顧客發放寫着“種族團結”字樣的貼紙。《今日美國》(USA Today)推出了一個特別版，介紹這項活動。從週五開始，就能在星巴克門店裏看到。

“We at Starbucks should be willing to talk about these issues in America,” Mr. Schultz said in a statement on the campaign. “Not to point fingers or to place blame, and not because we have answers, but because staying silent is not who we are.”

“在星巴克，我們應該樂於討論美國的這些議題，”舒爾茨在有關該活動的一份聲明中說。“不是爲了推卸或追究責任，也不是因爲我們知道答案，而是因爲保持沉默不是我們的風格。”

The “Race Together” effort illustrates how Mr. Schultz is increasingly injecting the company and himself into national issues. In October 2013 during the government shutdown, he introduced a petition asking Congress to pass a budget deal by the end of the year. He also recently published a book, “For Love of Country,” about veterans and military service. The company has also taken on global issues, including clean water and fair trade.

“種族團結”活動，顯示出了舒爾茨在讓星巴克和他自己更多地投身到全國性議題中。在2013年10月政府停擺期間，他曾發起請願，請求國會在當年年底之前通過一項預算協議。前不久，他還出版了一本以退伍軍人和兵役爲主題的書，名爲《爲了對國家的愛》(For Love of Country)。此外，星巴克還參與了清潔水源和公平貿易等全球性事務。

Starbucks is far from the only corporation to address social issues in widespread campaigns. Coca-Cola, for instance, has tried to promote peace and harmony dating from the 1970s with commercials featuring the song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony).”

星巴克決不是唯一一家通過開展廣泛的活動來回應社會問題的企業。比如，早在世紀70年代，可口可樂(Coca-Cola)就嘗試用主題曲爲《我想教這個世界歌唱（完美和諧地歌唱）》(I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing [In Perfect Harmony])的商業廣告，來促進和平與和諧。

By other measures, Starbucks appears to be doing well. For the quarter that ended Dec. 28, the company reported a profit of $983.1 million, up from $540.7 million in the period a year earlier. Revenue increased 13 percent, to $4.8 billion. Still, the company is searching for new revenue streams, pushing into the higher-end market by offering rare coffees from around the world. There are even plans for new a chain of stores that sell fancier, more expensive brews.

從其他標準來看，星巴克表現得不錯。在截至去年12月28日的那個季度，公司通報獲利9.831億美元（約合61億元人民幣），而前一年同期的利潤爲5.407億美元。營業收入也提升了13%，增至48億美元。儘管如此，公司還在尋找新的收入來源，通過提供來自全球各地的稀有咖啡來進軍高端市場。公司甚至還制定了多項計劃，打算開設新的連鎖店鋪，銷售更高檔、更昂貴的沖泡飲品。