“Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble”

Shakespeare’s Witches in MacBeth

April 2, 2018

Update: At least three mainstream media outlets have provided balanced reporting on Sweet Jesus Ice Cream in the last two days. The combined reporting of BlogTO, the Baltimore Sun and the New York Post stated the issues of satanic, occult symbols and images of kids in Sweet Jesus Ice Cream’s branding and advertising; and, fact checked some of its claims.

BlogTO’s article is a balanced representation of the issues. The images of kids used in the advertising of Sweet Jesus Ice Cream’s profit-making venture are provided so that people can decide for themselves what it all means.  https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2018/03/christians-boycotting-sweet-jesus-ice-cream/

The New York Post also scooped the unsavoury side of the Sweet Jesus Ice Cream story. It didn’t sugar coat Sweet Jesus Ice Cream like the Canadian media who would have us believe they are a great bunch of guys just trying to sell some ice cream and facing backlash from self-righteous Christians. https://nypost.com/2018/03/31/christians-wage-war-against-sweet-jesus/

A Sweet Jesus Ice Cream employee in the Maryland location told the Baltimore Sun that they were threatened because someone asked if their store at the airport was behind the security gates. The dutiful fact checking U.S. reporter found that no security reports had been made by Sweet Jesus Ice Cream.http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/baltimore-diner-blog/bs-fe-sweet-jesus-bwi-boycott-threats-20180329-story.html

Interesting note: I happened to have received a tweet from a fan of Sweet Jesus Ice Cream wanting them to be more accessibly in front of the security gates at the airport. It was fan mail, not a threat.

What should also be sobering for all is that these mainstream media outlets, Toronto Blog, Baltimore Sun and the New York Post don’t exactly scream “Christian rights” – far left from it. This reporting from the left-leaning shows just how out of left field Sweet Jesus Ice Cream has gone.

According to the New York Post, Sweet Jesus Ice Cream executives are having a bit of a melt down from the fire and fury of average people screaming ice-cream at them to remove their satanic occultish suggestive imagery with kids. It then mentions the big ice cream brands: Baskin-Robbins, Dairy Queen and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. It leaves one with the tacit impression they are not buying Sweet Jesus Ice Cream’s story as a reasonable rival to the other ice cream makers where you can go, and just buy ice cream without having it topped with satanic, occultish flavourings.

Also shocking is that Sweet Jesus Ice Cream executives are firm that they will make no changes. They’ve heard the outcry and have deliberately chosen to stick to their satanic-occultish style cones and messaging using kids.

This is staggering considering the possibilities. For example, Sweet Jesus Ice Cream could have said something like: “sorry if you misinterpreted what we were doing. We missed the mark for our customer if that is the impression we left you with, and have heard you. We’ll do better, etc, etc.”  You know, the kind of spiel a marketing PR person might say to get their client out of a sticky mess, while allowing them to save face, and the money invested in their marketing campaign.

Instead, Sweet Jesus Ice Cream is literally banking on the hope that the public, non-Christian left and middle, will tolerate the satanic, occultish, images of children branding, and choke down their ice cream despite how distasteful the whole thing is.

This is stunning. There’s doubling down on an issue in which someone has an honest and genuine belief, and then there’s the “’double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble’ Shakespearean witch chant on contradictions and double meanings. Sweet Jesus Ice Cream is choosing the latter. Luke 17:1. Pray for them. There is still time for them to change their minds. Jesus forgives.