double standards anyone?
gnome | 19.02.2003 13:48
February 14, 2003
Gosh, Ben & Jerry seem to have really hit a nerve with some of the stuff they've been saying recently about the looming war with Iraq! We've been getting mail and calls from folks on this issue - We like the debate!
There are a couple things we'd like to explain:
1. While Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield co-founded Ben & Jerry's, they are no longer owners of the company. When they speak they do so as private citizens or as representatives of one of the organizations they are involved with like True Majority, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, or the Peace and Justice Center here in Burlington, VT. These organizations are working to redirect national priorities toward creative, nonviolent solutions to social problems. From time to time Ben and Jerry do participate in activities relating to Ben & Jerry's' Social Mission such as a PartnerShop opening or the launch of our One Sweet Whirled campaign against global warming. We strongly support both Ben's and Jerry's right to speak on any subject of their choosing. However, as a matter of record, when they express their opinions on the war in Iraq, regardless of what those opinions are, they do so as private individuals or on behalf of these organizations, not as representatives of Ben & Jerry's.
2. That being said, Ben & Jerry's continues to support the progressive principles on which the company was founded. Ben & Jerry's has a progressive, nonpartisan Social Mission that seeks to meet human needs and eliminate injustices in our local, national and international communities. We have long supported nonviolent initiatives that seek to achieve peace. In all of our dealings, we are guided by a mission statement which makes the community's quality of life integral to and inseparable from our product and financial goals. Regarding the war with Iraq, it is our intent to support our troops by knowing that all efforts to peacefully resolve this conflict without the loss of life, American, Iraqi or any other, have been exhausted. Should war with Iraq become inevitable, we will wholeheartedly continue to lend support to our troops.
As a final note, we believe strongly that freedom of speech is a right and a duty guaranteed to all citizens - and we thank you for exercising yours! To learn more about us, including our three-part mission, please visit www.benjerry.com
Ben & Jerry's
Also check out this short note from Jerry.
Gosh, Ben & Jerry seem to have really hit a nerve with some of the stuff they've been saying recently about the looming war with Iraq! We've been getting mail and calls from folks on this issue - We like the debate!
There are a couple things we'd like to explain:
1. While Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield co-founded Ben & Jerry's, they are no longer owners of the company. When they speak they do so as private citizens or as representatives of one of the organizations they are involved with like True Majority, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, or the Peace and Justice Center here in Burlington, VT. These organizations are working to redirect national priorities toward creative, nonviolent solutions to social problems. From time to time Ben and Jerry do participate in activities relating to Ben & Jerry's' Social Mission such as a PartnerShop opening or the launch of our One Sweet Whirled campaign against global warming. We strongly support both Ben's and Jerry's right to speak on any subject of their choosing. However, as a matter of record, when they express their opinions on the war in Iraq, regardless of what those opinions are, they do so as private individuals or on behalf of these organizations, not as representatives of Ben & Jerry's.
2. That being said, Ben & Jerry's continues to support the progressive principles on which the company was founded. Ben & Jerry's has a progressive, nonpartisan Social Mission that seeks to meet human needs and eliminate injustices in our local, national and international communities. We have long supported nonviolent initiatives that seek to achieve peace. In all of our dealings, we are guided by a mission statement which makes the community's quality of life integral to and inseparable from our product and financial goals. Regarding the war with Iraq, it is our intent to support our troops by knowing that all efforts to peacefully resolve this conflict without the loss of life, American, Iraqi or any other, have been exhausted. Should war with Iraq become inevitable, we will wholeheartedly continue to lend support to our troops.
As a final note, we believe strongly that freedom of speech is a right and a duty guaranteed to all citizens - and we thank you for exercising yours! To learn more about us, including our three-part mission, please visit www.benjerry.com
Ben & Jerry's
Also check out this short note from Jerry.
gnome
Homepage:
http://www.benandjerrys.com/pressrelease/iraq.html
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