Did a Toffee Company Send Rocks to Republican Senator, Tom Cotton?
Resisting comes in many forms
“I don’t care how cold it is. It is not too cold to be petty,” the TikTok begins, showing a video of someone picking up snow-dusted rocks off the ground. Then putting them into a small cardboard box.
I was in.
Where is this?
Who are you mad at?
Wait.
You’re banning customers?
Let’s go.
Tell me all about it.
The guys from Dave’s Toffee are pissed. They’re super mad - at Tom Cotton, Senator from Arkansas. Cotton was a vocal opponent of TikTok. He referred to it as the “Chinese communist spy app” on Twitter. His post also said, “I blocked this effort because TikTok is a harmful app that endangers our national security and poisons our children.”
I’d backlink that for you, but I no longer direct any traffic to Twitter. Yes, I still call it Twitter. I promise, it’s up there.
So, Dave’s was mad at Tom for banning TikTok and because he was trying to silence all the small business owners and creators. Many people have made a substantial living from TikTok, and these people were rightfully mad.
The description of that snowy rocks-in-a-box video includes commentary like this from Dave’s:
“We’re in our Mean Girls era. Smash the oligarchy pretending to be democracy, and if you happen to buy our delicious toffee along the way, that’s cool too.”
In the video, the Dave’s crew fill their toffee bags with rocks, pack them in a box, and send them to Tom Cotton to tell him to “go kick rocks.” Tom is officially banned from ordering anything from the company. He’s not allowed to enjoy Dave’s toffee.
Okay, yes to this.
Dave’s Sweet Tooth Toffee is a small-batch, family-owned company in Michigan. Dave is a retired Detroit firefighter. He began making almond toffee as a hobby, but the snack quickly became a town favorite.
His son, Andrew, created the business behind Dave’s in 2011. Today, the company ships their toffee all over the United States and Canada.
They also make charming TikToks.
Tom Cotton intends to do a lot more damage than just advocating for banning an app.
Cotton’s votes in the Senate are what you’d expect from a hardline Republican from the south.
He’s voted yes on every Republican thing, including confirming every person in this current administration's cabinet. He voted NO on things like:
A bill to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization
Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
Reproductive Freedom for Women Act
Right to Contraception Act
What a charmer.
You can see his entire voting record here.
Dave’s Toffee is not limiting their pettiness to senators only.
A recent post from Dave’s showed the guys from the company telling Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, to go “pound sand” because he “killed DEI in Texas.” They said they were going to send him a bag of sand.
They also pointed out that DEI helps ensure public spaces are accessible to people in wheelchairs - and - Abbott - is - in - a - wheelchair.
Sigh.
It never ceases to amaze me how white people will vote against their own best interest when the laws are written to include other shades of people.
What the actual?
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So, did they really do it? Did Dave’s Toffee really send rocks packaged in toffee bags to Tom Cotton with a note that said, “Go kick rocks!”?
I don’t know. They say they did. But if you go to their website or online shop, you cannot actually order any rocks. Or sand.
They did have this note posted on one of their videos:
“If you want to send rocks, yes real rocks, to whomever you think is terrible, you’ll have to mosey over to our shop page. This video is 100% for our handmade almond toffee…not promoting the fact that we can now send rocks to your favorite douche canoe politician. Send them to anyone you think should kick rocks.”
Their first video about rocks did get flagged by TikTok because they sell toffee, not rocks. So, were they making rock videos to bypass the algorithm, or can we really send rocks to politicians?
I can’t find an answer yet.
But, we need more companies to resist like this.
We need them to enter their Mean Girls era. Be loud about it.
All out. Hell NO to this fascist regime taking over our country. And have a little fun while you’re out there resisting. Eat some toffee.
Dave’s has shown us the way.
Thank you - you delicious resisters.
Kit Campoy is an accomplished retail expert and author. She leverages her two decades of leadership experience to inform and inspire.
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Yes! Love this and love them!!
And a million more creative and brilliant acts of rebellion need to happen! Thanks for spreading the call to action.
Every company should aspire to this level of petty.