• Pro-homo leftists Ben & Jerry's is supporting Black Lies Matter - but w

    From White Lives Matter...Is Racist?@21:1/5 to All on Thu Mar 2 05:13:16 2017
    XPost: alt.politics.nationalism.white, sac.politics, soc.culture.usa
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    No — you won't find "Fudge the Police" or "Hands Up, Don't
    Scoop" Ben & Jerry's flavors in your local supermarket freezer
    aisle.

    But the iconic ice cream brand this week joined activists around
    the country in proclaiming that "black lives matter."

    Ben & Jerry released a pro-BLM statement online Thursday, and
    the company's tweet announcing its support was retweeted by the
    Black Lives Matter Global Network's Twitter account on Friday.

    Ben & Jerry's ? @benandjerrys
    Black Lives Matter. Choosing to be silent in the face of such
    injustice is not an option. http://benjerrys.co/blm
    #BlackLivesMatter
    9:06 AM - 6 Oct 2016
    65,156 65,156 Retweets 91,105 91,105 likes

    Ben & Jerry's ? @benandjerrys
    Black Lives Matter. Choosing to be silent in the face of such
    injustice is not an option. http://benjerrys.co/blm
    #BlackLivesMatter
    9:06 AM - 6 Oct 2016
    65,156 65,156 Retweets 91,105 91,105 likes

    Stephon Curré @ChillinOnTop
    Boycottin' Candy#BenAndJerrysNewFlavor
    9:48 AM - 7 Oct 2016 · Washington, DC, United States
    329 329 Retweets 411 411 likes

    Follow
    T. Burg. @toureism
    "We Shall Overcrumb" #BenandJerrysNewFlavor
    8:50 AM - 7 Oct 2016
    340 340 Retweets 463 463 likes

    Follow
    Kevin Of House Stark @Self_Made_Allen
    Thurgood Marshmellow #BenAndJerrysNewFlavor
    8:07 AM - 7 Oct 2016
    1,538 1,538 Retweets 2,029 2,029 likes

    Ben & Jerry's gesture is certainly powerful.

    "Black lives matter," their statement begins. "They matter
    because they are children, brothers, sisters, mothers, and
    fathers ... [and] because the injustices they face steal from
    all of us — white people and people of color alike ... It's been
    hard to watch the list of unarmed black Americans killed by law
    enforcement officers grow longer and longer."

    By supporting BLM, Ben & Jerry's sets itself apart as one of the
    first major corporations to officially back the pro-black social
    justice movement that grew to national prominence three years
    ago. And it's a bold move for a public brand, given that even
    the Democratic party has kept BLM at an arm's length.

    But, at least right now, the statement is just that — a
    statement.

    "In order for us to begin to create a society that is not built
    on a foundation of institutionalized racism, it requires us to
    admit that it exists," Chris Miller, Ben & Jerry's social
    mission activism manager, said in a phone interview Friday. "It
    is our hope that other companies will join us in acknowledging
    the issues that have been surfaced by the Black Lives Matter
    movement."

    Now, this is not Ben & Jerry's first foray into racial social
    justice: In May the company announced it would donate proceeds
    from the sale of a voting rights-themed flavor, "Empower Mint,"
    to the North Carolina NAACP's efforts in challenging voter ID
    laws that make ballot casting disproportionately more difficult
    for blacks.

    The brand has also been praised for taking other progressive
    stances, including on issues of climate change and marriage
    equality.

    But neither Ben & Jerry's nor its parent company Unilever is
    entirely without criticism on social issues. Ben & Jerry's
    courted controversy in February for its ties to an ice cream
    company in Israel.

    And in 2010, Unilever's Vaseline caught heat after launching a
    Facebook app in India that encouraged users to whiten their skin
    in profile pictures.

    Indeed, Unilever owns "Fair and Lovely" — a deeply problematic
    line of skin lightening products sold around the world.

    Miller argues that Ben & Jerry's is able to deflect criticism
    because of its credibility on social issues: "When we speak, we
    speak on behalf of Ben & Jerry's, not Unilever," he said. "What
    has over the years given us the credibility is that we [take
    stances] in a way that shows integrity and sincerity."

    But the less-savory products sold by Ben & Jerry's corporate
    parent are a good reminder: For the ice cream maker's latest
    move to be more than just PR, its pronouncement must be followed
    with real action — legislative advocacy or direct reparative
    work in black communities.

    Cynical as it may sound, there might be an economic or financial
    argument for this kind of action, too: Founded in 1978, Ben &
    Jerry's was a pioneer among companies using social justice
    causes to define their brand, said Jason Saul, a professor in
    the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

    "It used to be that, in the 1960s and '70s, companies gave back
    because it was the right thing to do," Saul said. "What Ben &
    Jerry's pioneered ... cultivated customer loyalty and
    differentiated the brand."

    Today, corporations can actually measure how much support of a
    cause — like BLM — will influence consumer behavior, he said.
    Given stiff competition over price, quality and convenience
    across many brands, companies are jockeying for increased social
    value.

    https://mic.com/articles/156163/ben-jerry-s-is-supporting-black- lives-matter-but-will-it-make-a-difference#.U5gkja3KB
     

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