I’m a simple man. If I like something, I try not to overthink it. So long as it’s not actively damaging to my mind or body, I’ll enjoy it on my own accord and not pay much mind to whatever politics or popular attitudes are aligned with it.
Trust me, if you make it through middle school and high school being open about your love of Pokémon and superhero comics, you can be relatively confident in the thickness of your skin.
But when it comes to something as innocuous as pumpkin spice, it feels like the internet and meme culture have given it a less-than-flattering reputation. It tends to happen whenever the calendar turns to September. That’s when you notice that all things pumpkin spice showing up in grocery stores, along with Halloween decor. It just went along with the changing seasons, becoming this thing we in the United States associate with fall.
And it’s true that some companies go overboard, trying to incorporate pumpkin spice into damn near everything. But that’s nothing new for profit-seeking companies. It’s not their fault that we keep consuming pumpkin spice, nor is it their fault that it tastes so delicious. Rest assure, they wouldn’t keep overhyping it every fall if it didn’t help their profits in a non-insignificant way.
That still doesn’t stop some people from bemoaning pumpkin spice as this inherently insufferable seasonal phenomenon, associating it with annoying yuppie stereotypes who make ordering lattes at a coffee shop akin to arguing their Masters Thesis. That’s not to say those people don’t exist. I’ve met those people. They can be annoying. But I’ll gladly endure standing in line with them over those who just exist to complain about everything and everyone during every season.
I suppose it also helps that I, personally, love pumpkin spice as a flavor. I’m also a big fan of pumpkin spice lattes, in particular. Whenever I’m feeling restless or lethargic in the morning, I’ll treat myself to a pumpkin spice latte and immediately feel a little better. I often do the same if the previous night was rough and I didn’t get much sleep.
It’s not a political statement or a surrender to the trends dictated by our cultural and corporate overloords.
It just fucking tastes good. Can we just leave it at that?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get myself a pumpkin spice latte and I’m going to enjoy it.
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