I of all people know how frustrating it can be to order a bagel. So when a Columbia English PHDer got arrested for ordering a bagel at Starbucks, I don’t blame her. Although I do question her pretentiousness.
I’ve been there. I swear I once went to Starbucks. It wasn’t fun. I ordered a medium black coffee and the ‘barista’ looked at me like I was a low-middle class inbred peasant. Which is fine with me, I didn’t want to be there either.
They overcharge for shitty coffee and an unpleasant atmosphere. Yet two things about this English PHD person bothers me.
1) If she hates Starbucks so much, why does she mindlessly support it?
2) I get that with her PHD, when she specifically asks for a plain bagel she doesn’t want anyone to ask “do you want butter or cheese on that?” But did her defense really have to be: “Linguistically, it’s stupid, and I’m a stickler for correct English.”
Because don’t get me wrong, I’m sure your ‘barista’ loves the Starbucks CDs of the month. And I’m sure you were correct in calling him an asshole. But when you make a pretentiously asshole comment like that, and then can’t even back it up with a 6-syllable word, I’m not impressed.
