I agree. No idea why Starbucks, McDonalds, Zara etc. came out shouting support for Israel out of nowhere. Requiring a boycott from sane people.

Because all businesses are run by people and everything is inherently political

Coffee production by itself is already mired in geopolitics.

And as a customer, where we spend our money matters. It’s often the only voice we have.

Take a look at Black Rifle Coffee Company. Their brand attracts a certain type of customer. It’s a market differentiator.

everyone takes a side on everything. explicitly or implicitly. intentionally or unintentionally. due to the interconnected nature of the world, it is impossible to construct a true-neutral position. the appearance of neutrality becomes more difficult the more important an issue is to those you interact with.

so, it's not really well-defined to ask whether or not a coffee shop "should" be taking sides, it will take one in all situations. it is a (slightly) more tractable question to ask "how should a coffee shop take a side?" Given how difficult this question is to answer still, I like to answer it with, "doing good is generally aligned with the long-term profit-motive."

this is also why boycotts are actually useful! though collective action, you can align the profit-motive with "good" clearly. this makes it easier for a coffee shop to move in-line.