Manufactured Outrage and How It Shapes Our Culture
Sometimes, the loudest controversies aren’t real. They’re manufactured.
Think back to the Starbucks “red cup” frenzy. If you’re younger, you may not, so here’s some context. A plain, red cup without any Christmas symbols suddenly became a major culture war event at Christmas. The outrage campaign was kicked off by a single influencer’s viral video in 2015 and quickly picked up by media outlets like Fox News. Within days, it was trending worldwide, even though most everyday people weren’t offended at all.
I can’t remember a single person in my own circles posting about the cups. The people who seemed the most outraged were often the same ones yelling that everyone else was outraged.
What did this accomplish? At best, it gave Starbucks a massive wave of free marketing. At worst, it stoked cultural division over, of all things… a coffee cup.
The Red Cup Rule
If there’s outrage over something that doesn’t hurt anyone in the real world:
- Stop.
- Ask yourself: Is this real, or just red-cup propaganda?
- Don’t fuel it unless you’re sure it matters.
- Don’t let clickable cruelty replace caring.
Why It Matters Now
We are facing real pain: families in crisis, natural disasters, and political hurt. Yet too often, people choose to mock, troll, or politicize it instead of offering empathy. If we let that behavior stand, it chips away at our humanity one viral post at a time.
Compassion isn’t optional anymore. It’s essential. Let’s not treat cruelty as communication or mockery as moral high ground.
What We Can Do Instead
- Pause before sharing outrage. Does it meaningfully impact people’s lives?
- Focus on real harm affecting issues you do care about: lives displaced, families losing income, veterans struggling to get care.
- Respond to tragedy with empathy, not memes. With solidarity, not snark.
- Speak up when others use suffering as a tool for division.
Let the Red Cup whisper in your mind next time you see outrage over something shallow or symbolic. Because if we can’t say, “We aren’t okay with cruelty, even over a cup,” imagine what we’re willing to excuse when real lives are at stake.
Make your voice heard. Share with a friend.
Little Blue Texans 
Leave a comment