Cold War:Ben Cohen vs. Ted Nugent

I’ve always admired Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. First off, as a little Vermont start-up, Ben & Jerry's became a textbook case for reputation marketing--prospering by being a good corporate citizen. As a regional boutique, it outplayed huge competitors in the marketplace, right up to the point when a huge competitor bought it. Cohen has been a consistent and articulate proponent of causes like the environment and redistributing Federal money from defense to education. He has a non-confrontational way of making compelling arguments that simultaneously eloquent and persuasive in their simplicity. For example, in an animation making e-mail rounds these days, he illustrates how tax money could be reallocated by illustrating the Federal funds as stacks of Oreo cookies. It would only slightly stretch the point to say, that Cohen, an unabashed liberal has secularized ice cream, keeping it well to the left of the motherhood-and-apple-pie crowd.

I’ve never admired Ted Nugent, the Heavy Metal luminary. In my personal musical development, Heavy Metal signalled the turning point where I would no longer follow rock wherever it went. To me Heavy Metal was more loud than melodic, the beat less sensual than a steam hammer and the lyrics rotated narrowly between violent and vile. The performers —always white, always male, always in leather, seemed to me to be sharing the same bad hair dresser. These guys looked like they should be pumping gas in Bakersfield. I came to dislike Nugent in particular, not for his music of which I remain thankfully ignorant, but for his unabashed love of guns and using them to kill unarmed furry creatures. Nugent has been a strong NRA gun lobbyist, taking pro-hunting messages to places where Charlton Heston would dread to tread. Nugent has authored a cookbook entitled “Kill It & Grill It,” which one Amazon.com reviewer enthused, “is filled with hunting anecdotes, detailed instructions on cleaning and dressing your game, helpful hints for those new to hunting and cooking wild game, nutritional information, and of course, recipes,” all for discerning, tasteful guys who get off by pumping buckshot into bunnies.

Nugent does not need my support. He has sold over 30 million albums, the royalties should keep him in brass and ammo for years to come. Ben Cohen sold lots of ice cream without my support as well, but that's only because I am a diabetic and must enjoy my Cherry Garcia in great moderation.

Nugent is leveraging his rock name to make new diversified fortunes. By contrast, Cohen's using his name and wealth to promote causes he believes better humanity. He’s giving a significant portion of his wealth back through True Majority, an organization he founded and financially supports.

Now, with Cohen out of the ice cream business, the gun folk seem to be setting their sites on taking it back, using Nugent as celebrity spokesperson for something called “Star Spangled Ice Cream—Ice Cream with a conservative flavor.” Nugent’s favorite flavor, he says, is Gun Nut. I assume the fading rock star is being compensated for this and I hope it makes him fat and happy—so fat perhaps, that he’ll just sit on a couch rather than traipse through the forests shooting at Bambi.

I'm a technology guy, so gun control is a bit out of my realm, but it does seem to me the issue is not really about the Constitution, a wonderful document, that from time to time, needs minor revision, The gun issue to me is more about public safety. People and animals should be able to live in in their respective habitats without the fear of getting shot.

Maybe ice cream can resolve the whole thing. Perhaps, when people disagree, they can face off at 10 paces then hurl ice cream at each other. Both victory and losing would be sweet and cool. Satisfaction could be gained without loss of life.

Comments

[Norm]

You're right, Ted Nugent is a complete asshole,
and his music sucked so you didn't miss anything.
I hope this jerk doesn't run for a political office.
Seems like the GOP has pretty good success with actors. hope they'll stop there.

[Travis]

Another thing ROCK on Ted you kick ass !!!!!

[Tim]

Sportsmen contribute $1.5 BILLION$ towards wildlife conservation annually.

Every year over 2 million Americans use firearms to preserve life and limb.

[Shane Murton]

Ted Nugent is a great American. His unrelenting support for the police, firefighters, the military, and everyone fighting to protect America should be a lesson to us all. He is adamently opposed to drugs and other harmful lifestyles and is an excellent role model for today's youth.

In contrast, Ben Cohen pays tribute to drugged out hippies like Jerry Garcia by naming ice cream after them.

I'll take Ted over Ben any day of the week.

[Rick Berry]

You said "The gun issue to me is more about public safety. People and animals should be able to live in in their respective habitats without the fear of getting shot."

First, animals live in their habitats and kill and eat one another. This is a fact of life, and you are a killer animal, whether you're honest enough to admit it. Find out where your diabetic insulin comes from (crib note: dead sheep) before complaining about people who embrace their position in the food chain.

Second, weapons ownership is about more than "public safety", but public safety is exactly the point for millions of law-abiding sane rational gun owners in America. Namely, the ability to be safe as they go about their lives, both at home and out in their communities (ie, habitats). The best way to protect yourself from gun-wielding criminals (ie, predators) is to arm yourself with an effective weapon. Such as a handgun. Fighting back is the best way to ensure your own safety. The weapons owned by other law-abiding sane rational people are no threat to you if you do not behave like a criminal and threaten them.
But Public Safety is not the only issue. Defense against the threat of tyrrany is a huge part of gun ownership. Another important aspect is freedom. Freedom to do as you like without asking for permission from anyone.

I _like_ being in the outdoors. I like hunting. It is an experience which encompasses far more than simply killing animals. I eat animals that I kill, both wild (game) animals and domestic animals. I am honest with myself about what food is and where it comes from. Ted Nugent is doing nothing more than attempting to share this love for the outdoors and hunting, and his love of freedom, with as many people as possible.

[Garret]

Maybe you should try doing a search for the charities Ted Nugent is involved in and supports. Maybe you'd gain a little respect for someone who deserves it instead of remaining "thankfully ignorant" just so you can despise someone who you know very little about.
Ted supports charities "the most important being youth charities for children with tragic health conditions...". Among others.
He's also an avid lover of the outdoors, which is partly why he hunts his own meat instead of buying it from some questionable slaughterhouse like the rest of us. Do you use zero animal products? Most of us eat some amount of meat, and Ted simply does it the most humane, efficient way possible.
Maybe you should try and respect that more instead of being just another pompous, ignorant jerk with a keyboard.