Isms: Original views on life from rural America

Were you part of the mad rush at Target stores, trampling others or being pushed out of the way, to snag one of the hottest items in the retail world?

Were you part of the Stanley stampede, where the lucky prize, if you were able to snag it, was a limited Target and Starbucks collaborative cosmo pink tumbler? Don’t confuse this particular tumbler with the winter pink shade also sold at Target. Seems that one is difficult to find, too.

Don’t worry, I wasn’t standing in line on New Year’s Eve to get a Galentine’s cup either. A cup most usually used for water, perhaps an adult beverage or two, too.

A Stanley cup is the latest in status symbols. Before it, in the world of cups, came the Yeti and Hydro Flask. People (not any I know) are accumulating Stanley cups the way I collect shoes, color coding them to match outfits and lining them up in the cupboard in Roy G. Biv - and every shade in between - fashion.

I had a Stanley before Stanley was cool. So did my parents and their parents. I inherited a red Stanley thermos, nestled in a matching plaid carrying bag, from the ‘rents. They toted it to Husker football games, sipping coffee or hot chocolate from it while tailgating in the parking garage on 14th and N Streets.

Party animals, right?

I remember a green Stanley thermos Grandpa Larson carried to work at the Ford garage in Wausa. Grandpa would “cook coffee” on the wood stove and pour the hot contents in the thermos for Grandpa to enjoy mid-morning. He’d bring it home at lunch time. No refills necessary.

Now, people are reselling the cups on platforms like eBay, Mercari or Facebook Marketplace for more than 200% of the cup’s retail value, according to a search I conducted on the sites.

Capitalism, right?

According to CNBC, the brand has seen a $676 million uptick in revenue from 2019 to 2023.

What about those Stanley lookalikes that can be purchased at other big box stores? You’re safe if you own one of those, right?

Wrong, according to one parent who posted a rant on TikTok. Seems she and her daughter were shopping and the young one liked the knockoff, so Mom bought it. But when school started after holiday break, nine or 10 girls in the daughter’s class made fun of the girl for not having a Stanley, letting her know she didn’t fit in.

Mean Girls, right?

Mom’s mad because a cup doesn’t define one’s worth and why aren’t parents scolding their kiddos for ridiculing her child for not owning a $50 metal cup with a handle.

She’s got a valid point. What in the world does this craziness say about society? We live in a world that worships consumerism, as long as it conforms with everyone else’s view of what cup from which we should be sipping the Kool-Aid.

As I write this, I’m sipping water, not from a Stanley or Yeti or Hydro Flask, but from a Hard Rock Cafe 50th anniversary frosted glass I purchased for $10 in 2004 at a San Diego location. That price included a mixed drink, more than likely a Cosmopolitan. Looks like I can buy a new glass on eBay for $24.95 when this one breaks.

Everybody’s out to make a buck, right?

I appreciate that the Stanley cup keeps ice icy for days. I get the same results with the knockoff Yeti, from Walmart, I’ve owned for 10 years, a purchase that did not result in someone being trampled while grabbing a cup off an end cap.

I’ll hand it to the folks at Stanley. Years ago, Stanley was considered a rugged, dependable brand, targeted toward manly men. Now, they’ve expanded their reach all ages and are making bank.

Marketing genius, right?