May Contain Peanuts

Offensive Food?

First off, your editor apologizes for the recent lack of posts. I have been quite busy with, how you say, life, and I just haven't had time to formulate my formal rantings. Until now.

What inspired me for this post is an article I read about a right wing group that is protesting the new flavor of ice cream from Ben and Jerry's. The new flavor is called "Scweddy Balls", after the not-so-recent Saturday Night Live skit with Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon and Alec Baldwin. If you are not familiar with the skit, it is an NPR parody of an interview with Pete Sweddy who makes and sells all kinds of edible balls. Balls is the key word here as there are plenty of ball-mouth puns and relating hilarity.

In any case, apparently 'balls' has been deemed by these right wing lunatics as being 'offensive', 'vulgar', and 'repulsive'. Really people? You are so puritanical that the word 'balls' makes you feel weird inside? They give the argument that it is 'not exactly what you want a child asking for at the supermarket'. Yes, heavens forbid your child says the word 'balls' in front of you. But also please make sure they dont ask for any Cocoa Puffs, Oscar Meyer Weiners or any type of salted nuts, lest the be the total embarrassment of your day and immediately turn into a demoralized monster. Honestly, I bet that same kid makes jokes about balls and pee pee more than you realize and they will still grow up to be fine upstanding citizens.

I find it appallingly sad that people like this have nothing better to do than to tell others what they don't find to their liking. It is just another example of "if I don't like it, no one should be able to like it" type of thinking. It is also an example of people putting so much emphasis on being offended that they cannot think of anything beyond it. Is this ice cream that detrimental to your everyday life that you must organize a boycott to make it go away? Are these people haunted in their dreams by scheddy balls dancing in their heads (actually, with this level of sexual repression, it just might be the case)?

Just to be clear, the ice cream is a limited batch, so it will not be around forever. It is a funny little idea that supposedly cannot just be taken for what it is, but rather interpreted as an attack on morality. IT'S STUPID ICE CREAM WITH MALT BALLS IN IT. It is not 'Sweaty Testicle' ice cream. It's a pun. It's a joke. Your kid will survive to live another repressed day if he eats it and tells his friends about it. Lighten up. Have some ice cream.

Here's the link: http://wonkette.com/453431/american-family-association-freaks-out-over-ice-cream-named-after-testicles
I put the wonkette link because of all the great comments.