Boycotts never worked until Bud Light came up with an ad campaign with a transgender woman that rejected the beliefs of its target audience and appealed to the woke culture. The boycott has lasted an unbelievable six months and shows no sign of easing. Sales are down 28%, and the brand did not recover for the crucial Independence Day sales period. Another brand may join Bud Light in the Boycott world, Ben & Jerry’s.
The brand’s July 4th message demanded the U.S. return ‘stolen indigenous land,’ and the U.S. govt should start by returning Mount Rushmore to the Lakota Tribe. This is a very unpatriotic message for Independence Day.
“What is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence onto reservations, those who were pushed from their holy places and denied their freedom.”
This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it. Learn more and take action now: https://t.co/45smaBmORH pic.twitter.com/a6qp7LXUAE
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) July 4, 2023
The message of oppression is truthful; that’s why the U.S. government is looking for ways to recognize the treatment of Native Americans. None of those ways call for the displacement of the millions of people living on those lands. That would necessitate the same treatment of American citizens as Native Americans in the 19th century and probably cause a civil war. Ben & Jerry’s does not present any ideas about where to place the millions of Americans living in what they call stolen land.
If the Ben & Jerry’s.tweet sounds familiar, it’s because, in February of 2023, the brand decided to boycott Israel. After all, the Israeli franchisee sold products in Judea, Samaria, and East Jerusalem. Despite those areas being part of the eternal land of the Jews (read Chronicles and the Book of Kings), they claimed it was stolen land.
According to the ice cream company, Mount Rushmore should be returned to its original owners. It detailed the history of the iconic memorial and its significance to Native Americans. Per the British paper the Daily Mail, they hope to support a movement that would dismantle ‘white supremacy and systems of oppression.
The reaction to Ben and Jerry’s unpatriotic suggestion was quick and generated a call for a boycott:
Country singer John Rich tweeted:
Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again.
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) July 4, 2023
Other Americans jumped on the boycott train:
‘Long overdue for the Bud Light treatment. If you hate the country, fine. We won’t buy your product. All good.’
Another commenter called for ‘#boycottbenandjerrys for being hateful and divisive to Americans on the 4th of July.’
Joseph Massey called them hypocrites for all the cows that had to suffer to make the company’s ice cream.
‘First you need to apologize to the millions of cows you milked without consent,’ he wrote. ‘Your product is colonialist misogyny in the form of an overpriced desert. Stop feeding the people cow trauma.’
Kevin Dalton continued on the hypocrisy, noting that technically, Ben & Jerry’s own factories were on stolen land.
‘I look forward to the virtue signaling Ben & Jerry’s returning their factory’s land to the Abenaki and Mohican Native Americans that have lived in Vermont for 10,000 years.’
Eli Klein chimed in: ‘A commitment to give America away sounds a bit much.’
‘This is absolutely stupid and pandering nonsense,’ added Libby Emmons.
People shouldn’t be surprised; Ben & Jerry’s supported woke policies since before they were called woke policies. On its website, Ben & Jerry’s says its social mission is to “eliminate injustices in our communities by integrating these concerns into our day-to-day business activities.”
But in the end, they don’t control the “day-to-day business activities” They sold the company to Unilever, which controls Ben and Jerry’s message and gives the corporate owner heartburn. As this post is being written, Unilever is probably searching for a way to apologize.
If a large-scale boycott is generated, an apology might not work. Anheuser-Busch, the owner of Bud Light, apologized for the Bud Light commercial, and the brand’s sales continue to plummet.
