Feeling burnt out by today’s political climate? Ben & Jerry are here to help.
The Vermont-based company launched a new flavor today to offer a little encouragement to the world, and it has a catchy name: Pecan Resist.
In a statement, the good folks at B & G’s said:
The company cannot be silent in the face of President Trump’s policies that attack and attempt to roll back decades of progress on racial and gender equity, climate change, LGBTQ rights and refugee and immigrant rights – all issues that have been at the core of the company’s social mission for 40 years.
It comes at a good time.
Between Kavanaugh and mid-term elections and Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, many of us have found ourselves exhausted.
Just this morning as I was scrolling through Facebook, one of my most politically active friends responded to the executive order with the helpless whimper, “I simply don’t have any more rage left in my body.”
Guess what? Resistance fatigue is an actual thing.
On Word Spy, Paul McFedries defines Resistance Fatigue as “mental exhaustion brought on by the constant protesting of unpopular government policies.”
The term was first used in 1997 in an “International Institute of Social Studies” article by Ranjit Dwivedi, which found that resistance fatigue is not only a result of protest, but a legitimate tactic used by the opposition to wear us down.
So what should you do if you have resistance fatigue? How about grab a delicious pint of Pecan Resist? I mean, you’re probably going to cry into a bowl of ice cream anyway tonight, right?
Ben & Jerry’s know that we’re going to eat our feelings, so they’re here to give us a nudge of hope. And this isn’t the first time they’ve used a cute moniker to promote social justice.
In 2009, the flavor “Chubby Hubby” changed to “Hubby Hubby” to celebrate same sex marriage in Vermont. “Chocolate Fudge Brownie” was renamed “Food Fight Fudge Brownie” to support GMO labeling. In 2016, “EmpowerMint” promoted voting rights.
Let’s take a note from old Ben and Jerry, and not allow resistance fatigue to stop us.
Carbo load.
Soldier on, folks. (With spoon in hand, of course.)