Ben & Jerry’s ice cream posted an anti-American message on social media as the nation celebrated its 247th birthday Tuesday.
“Ah, the Fourth of July,” the company claimed in a statement. “Who doesn’t love a good parade, some tasty barbecue, and a stirring fireworks display? The only problem with all that, though, is that it can distract from an essential truth about this nation’s birth: The US was founded on stolen Indigenous land.”
“The U.S. exists on stolen land,” the statement later added. “We have to acknowledge that—today and every day.”
“Just announce the ESG flavor already lmao,” one popular Twitter account responded.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) tweeted: “Ben & Jerry’s, your once-good ice cream now sucks. You just guaranteed that I (a once-loyal customer) will never again consume a single pint of it.”
“When you suggest ‘returning’ the land on which our country has been built for centuries, what exactly do you imagine?” he continued. “Expungement of property rights? Repatriation of most Americans to Europe?”
Political commentator Joel M. Petlin pointed out apparent hypocrisy from the company when he shared a screenshot of a news article that said: “Jewish students call for Ben & Jerry’s to evacuate ‘illegally occupied’ Vermont land.”
“Speaking of stolen land, the Abenaki Nation would like to have a word with @benandjerrys about the land under their headquarters that they are occupying in Vermont,” he said. “They really should commit to returning this stolen land, and naming their next flavor *Shameful Hypocrisy Crunch*”
Attorney and columnist Kurt Schlichter tweeted: “Good. The conqueror should get the spoils. If that makes you sad, that’s even better. My land acknowledgement is this: ‘We won. Too bad.’”