Blue Lives Matter asked for a Ben and Jerry’s boycott over their support of Black Lives Matter (BLM). A few weeks ago, Ben and Jerry’s announced that they are backing the Black Lives Matter movement.
The movement began after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter has been taking part in protests all over America after lives of black men and women are taken by police officers.
A majority of Americans support Black Lives Matter, and many companies have donated millions of dollars to the organization. However, countless critics see BLM as a controversial group that allegedly pushes violence against police and looting during protests.
Ben and Jerry’s has not only endorsed Black Lives Matter, but via the company’s website, it shared a post that focuses on how systemic racism is real in America and presented concrete ideas on how to improve the situation. According to the article, just because Marvel is releasing the Black Panther, and black athletes are thriving, these advances do not mean racism is over.
At the time, the ice cream maker explained their decision to back the movement in a lengthy statement, which read:
“It’s been hard to watch the list of unarmed Black Americans killed by law enforcement officers grow longer and longer. We understand that numerous Black Americans and white Americans have profoundly different experiences and outcomes with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. That’s why it’s become clear to us at Ben & Jerry’s that we have a moral obligation to take a stand now for justice and for Black lives…”
The statement went on to say:
“Black lives matter. They matter because they are children, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers. We’ve come to understand that to be silent about the violence and threats to the lives and well-being of Black people is to be complicit in that violence and those threats.”
Blue Lives Matter, which is composed of former and current law enforcers, are asking Americans to boycott Ben & Jerry’s for supporting Black Lives Matter. In their statement, Blue Lives Matter said that companies should not be showing support for an organization that has openly called for the assassination of police officers. The statement read in part:
“Ben & Jerry’s went beyond making a statement in support of civil rights when they actively accused law enforcement of widespread racism. By spreading these false and misleading statements, Ben & Jerry’s lends an appearance of legitimacy to the baseless claims that police officers are killing men based on the color of their skin. This message has inspired the assassination and attempted assassination of police officers, and it costs officers their lives.”
Blue Lives Matter went on to say that Ben and Jerry’s should be made are aware of the fact that Black Lives Matter works with other radical organizations that are racist and are pushing controversial political views. The statement also added:
“Black Lives Matter is made up of political organizations with political goals that most of Ben & Jerry’s customers would disagree with, including disrupting the “nuclear family” structure (see Black Villages), taxpayer-funded reparations for black people (see Reparations), and the elimination of charter schools (see Invest-Divest.) If you are unfamiliar with the Movement 4 Black Lives website we linked to, that’s the coalition of over 50 Black Lives Matter organizations which is receiving $100 million in donations to push their political goals.”
According to Blue Lives Matter, an American, who supports the police, should not be buying and eating Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
