I can’t even begin to calculate the amount of money I’ve spent at Target in my lifetime. What I’ve spent on cleaning supplies alone would probably support a small country for a year. Then there are the toys. Not only have I bought bits of plastic for myself over the years, but also for my niece, nephews and all the other kids that my straight friends keep producing. Plus, I could always buy cool comic book t-shirts for the FBOTM photo shoots there. Honestly, you could find me at Target at least twice a week.
Well, several weeks have passed now, and I haven’t stepped foot inside a Target store. Since Target brazenly donated $150,000 to Minnesota Forward for the purpose of supporting anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, I, along with millions of other LGBT consumers, have felt betrayed. Target’s actions are particularly painful, because, let’s face it, we’ve always considered them to be “our” store. When Long-Suffering Boyfriend Michael and I used to make our weekly sojourns there, we’d often play a rousing game of “count the gays.” Like Home Depot, Target was always gay central. And that’s not even counting the West Hollywood location, which could qualify as its own circuit party most of the time.
Target has proclaimed that while they don’t support Emmer’s stance on gay rights, they do like his stance on job creation and, oh yeah, slashing the minimum wage in Minnesota. Everyone has the right to hate whoever they want to and use whatever power they have to subjugate and destroy others. Fine. But if Target is telling me that when I hand them my money, they turn around and hand it to some nut job who wants to block or take away my rights, then we have a problem.
The bigger issue here, of course, is that while the democracy we enjoy in America has always been influenced by people and corporations with power and money, it was never blatantly written into law until the Supreme Court (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) eased restrictions on how and when corporations can contribute to political candidates. Luckily, there’s also disclosure, which is how and why we found out about this contribution in the first place.
Target has issued a couple of tepid apologies, but stands by its donation. This week, talks broke down between Target and the Human Rights Campaign (and don’t even get me started on them; that’s a whole other bucket of crazy). So, Target is sticking to their guns and are, presumably, hoping this will all blow over, and that the gays will come back and give them more money that they can then use to limit or eliminate our rights.
I know it’s hard to change habits, especially when they involve fanboy passions, like action figures and DVDs and music and really cute Superman t-shirts. And I know that corporations like Target and Best Buy are hoping we just shrug and go back to shopping, business as usual. But until Target takes responsibility for the damage they’ve caused and really do something to make it right, I can shop elsewhere. I’ve been driving out of my way, making more stops than usual, and either spending more or doing without, but I believe it’s worth it. If, in this struggle for equality, I can’t deal with a little inconvenience for the cause, then I don’t deserve equality. So, I’m boycotting.
That’s my stand. That’s FBOTU’s stand. I hope you’ll give it some thought, read up on the issue and take a stand as well.
You can learn more about the Target boycott at MoveOn.org or on Facebook.
This is great Chance! Thanks for helping to spread the word I heard about it a month ago through facebook and was shocked and appalled to discover their donations and worse yet the disgusting recipient. Targets defense of ‘we like his business ideas not his gay stance’ is bullshit and like Johnny M said proves their gay ‘friendliness’ was just a way of get their hands on our disposable income. Target had been my favorite store since I was kid their toy selections were awesome and has been my one stop destination for all my christmas and birthday gifts which was upped since I stopped buying at WalMart for backing Prop8 and other antigay actions. It’s actually ironic that I read your post today as my brother had a bitch fit when I told him I wouldn’t take him to either store to which he yelled ‘you can’t make a difference and you won’t change the world you and your damn crusades’ while I’ve only been able to convince a single family member to join my boycott I’m standing strong and I hope the rest of the community will too. Everyone thinks donations don’t matter but they do the Yes on 8 campaign blew us out of the water because of all the donations from not only citizens and mormons but corporations they had 3 to 4 times as many ads as the No on 8 campaigns and in the end we lost they won and even after overturning it they stopped weddings again. We must stay strong and if anyone loves deals like I do Costco is filthy with cheap buys and that includes booze the rela stuff and not just boxed and cheap watered down wine like target
Chad 08/20/2010 05:10 pm
Thanks for the update, Chance. It is a step in the right direction.
Separate from the GLBT issues related to Target and Best Buy’s donations, the donation to MN Forward has anti-labor, anti-tax implications that I hope people also would consider and condemn.
Thanks to pressure from the community, plus a good reprimand by Michaelangelo Signorile, the HRC announced today they’re removing Target and Best Buy from the Buyer’s Guide. While still not officially endorsing a boycott, it’s a step in the right direction.
Rebis69 08/20/2010 12:30 pm
Thanks for this post. I had, of course, heard about this already (in fact I’ve done lots of reading on it, and encouraged my friends, whatever their orientation, to boycott), but I’m happy to see people talking about it less-likely places, like FBOTU. It makes me happy to see you spreading the word, and also presenting a really intelligent summary of the issues (including the dreadful Citizens United ruling and the inefficacy of HRC).
This is an excellent summation of the Target controversy (and a detailed list of Emmer’s anti-gay positions) from the Twin Cities’ gay mag, Lavender Magazine: http://www.lavendermagazine.com/this-issue/featured-articles/target-antigay-contribution-stirs-up-hornet’s-nest/
smcandsmc 08/19/2010 05:39 pm
I agree and am also boycotting them and contacted them to say so; it does pain me though- they were my alternative to Wal-Mart.
Chad 08/19/2010 03:25 pm
Tallstar - Thanks for sharing that video. I love these sorts of actions.
Consider me another queer hippie boycotting Target and Best Buy and Google (re: net neutrality) and…
Being a conscious consumer can be a major pain sometimes, but it’s the only way things will ever change.
Jurryl: Except Target just gave money to help elect a man to the governor’s office who has done everything in his power to cut off funding for AIDS organizations. Tom Emmer has dedicated a portion of his political career to cutting GLBT people and those with HIV/AIDS out of the picture. He has tried numerous times to marginalize, disenfranchise, and otherwise deny us our rights. For Target to support him, whatever the reason, reveals that their gay-friendly stances are nothing but public relations spin and ways to draw plentiful gay dollars their way.
Jurryl 08/18/2010 08:34 pm
EXCEPT…they’ve given a TON of money to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Actor’s Fund over the past 10 years.
Prometheus0138 08/18/2010 06:17 pm
I hate hate hate doing without Target and Best Buy. They are 2 of my all time fav stores but I too am on board with this boycott. I will not stand by while they slap me in the face and take my money. I reserve that for very hot guys.
This has been big in the news over here since Target and Best Buy have their headquarters in the Twin Cities. In fact, several of my friends work at Best Buy Corporate. Until this happened, both of them had pretty pristine reputations among the local gays, but now we’re pretty evenly divided between people who are offended and are boycotting to people who don’t think it’s a big deal.
I haven’t shopped at Target or Best Buy since it happened. I may end up going back to Best Buy after the election (assuming Mark Dayton wins…and by all accounts he should if he’s as smart as we think he is) but I’ll never shop at Target again. Ever. I have determined that I will shop at other stores, favorite smaller chains or local stores.
Emmer isn’t just anti-gay marriage or pro-cutting taxes for the rich. He’s made a career out of trying to crush the GLBT community at every turn. He even tried to cut off all funding for the Minnesota AIDS Project. Clearly, if Target thinks this man should be the next governor of Minnesota, they don’t deserve a single penny from me.
Life Without Target
By Chance
August 18, 2010 at 12:41PM EDT
I can’t even begin to calculate the amount of money I’ve spent at Target in my lifetime. What I’ve spent on cleaning supplies alone would probably support a small country for a year. Then there are the toys. Not only have I bought bits of plastic for myself over the years, but also for my niece, nephews and all the other kids that my straight friends keep producing. Plus, I could always buy cool comic book t-shirts for the FBOTM photo shoots there. Honestly, you could find me at Target at least twice a week.
Well, several weeks have passed now, and I haven’t stepped foot inside a Target store. Since Target brazenly donated $150,000 to Minnesota Forward for the purpose of supporting anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, I, along with millions of other LGBT consumers, have felt betrayed. Target’s actions are particularly painful, because, let’s face it, we’ve always considered them to be “our” store. When Long-Suffering Boyfriend Michael and I used to make our weekly sojourns there, we’d often play a rousing game of “count the gays.” Like Home Depot, Target was always gay central. And that’s not even counting the West Hollywood location, which could qualify as its own circuit party most of the time.
Target has proclaimed that while they don’t support Emmer’s stance on gay rights, they do like his stance on job creation and, oh yeah, slashing the minimum wage in Minnesota. Everyone has the right to hate whoever they want to and use whatever power they have to subjugate and destroy others. Fine. But if Target is telling me that when I hand them my money, they turn around and hand it to some nut job who wants to block or take away my rights, then we have a problem.
The bigger issue here, of course, is that while the democracy we enjoy in America has always been influenced by people and corporations with power and money, it was never blatantly written into law until the Supreme Court (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) eased restrictions on how and when corporations can contribute to political candidates. Luckily, there’s also disclosure, which is how and why we found out about this contribution in the first place.
Target has issued a couple of tepid apologies, but stands by its donation. This week, talks broke down between Target and the Human Rights Campaign (and don’t even get me started on them; that’s a whole other bucket of crazy). So, Target is sticking to their guns and are, presumably, hoping this will all blow over, and that the gays will come back and give them more money that they can then use to limit or eliminate our rights.
I know it’s hard to change habits, especially when they involve fanboy passions, like action figures and DVDs and music and really cute Superman t-shirts. And I know that corporations like Target and Best Buy are hoping we just shrug and go back to shopping, business as usual. But until Target takes responsibility for the damage they’ve caused and really do something to make it right, I can shop elsewhere. I’ve been driving out of my way, making more stops than usual, and either spending more or doing without, but I believe it’s worth it. If, in this struggle for equality, I can’t deal with a little inconvenience for the cause, then I don’t deserve equality. So, I’m boycotting.
That’s my stand. That’s FBOTU’s stand. I hope you’ll give it some thought, read up on the issue and take a stand as well.
You can learn more about the Target boycott at MoveOn.org or on Facebook.
Comments
This is great Chance! Thanks for helping to spread the word I heard about it a month ago through facebook and was shocked and appalled to discover their donations and worse yet the disgusting recipient. Targets defense of ‘we like his business ideas not his gay stance’ is bullshit and like Johnny M said proves their gay ‘friendliness’ was just a way of get their hands on our disposable income. Target had been my favorite store since I was kid their toy selections were awesome and has been my one stop destination for all my christmas and birthday gifts which was upped since I stopped buying at WalMart for backing Prop8 and other antigay actions. It’s actually ironic that I read your post today as my brother had a bitch fit when I told him I wouldn’t take him to either store to which he yelled ‘you can’t make a difference and you won’t change the world you and your damn crusades’ while I’ve only been able to convince a single family member to join my boycott I’m standing strong and I hope the rest of the community will too. Everyone thinks donations don’t matter but they do the Yes on 8 campaign blew us out of the water because of all the donations from not only citizens and mormons but corporations they had 3 to 4 times as many ads as the No on 8 campaigns and in the end we lost they won and even after overturning it they stopped weddings again. We must stay strong and if anyone loves deals like I do Costco is filthy with cheap buys and that includes booze the rela stuff and not just boxed and cheap watered down wine like target
Thanks for the update, Chance. It is a step in the right direction.
Separate from the GLBT issues related to Target and Best Buy’s donations, the donation to MN Forward has anti-labor, anti-tax implications that I hope people also would consider and condemn.
Shop mom & pop when you can.
Thanks to pressure from the community, plus a good reprimand by Michaelangelo Signorile, the HRC announced today they’re removing Target and Best Buy from the Buyer’s Guide. While still not officially endorsing a boycott, it’s a step in the right direction.
Thanks for this post. I had, of course, heard about this already (in fact I’ve done lots of reading on it, and encouraged my friends, whatever their orientation, to boycott), but I’m happy to see people talking about it less-likely places, like FBOTU. It makes me happy to see you spreading the word, and also presenting a really intelligent summary of the issues (including the dreadful Citizens United ruling and the inefficacy of HRC).
This is an excellent summation of the Target controversy (and a detailed list of Emmer’s anti-gay positions) from the Twin Cities’ gay mag, Lavender Magazine: http://www.lavendermagazine.com/this-issue/featured-articles/target-antigay-contribution-stirs-up-hornet’s-nest/
I agree and am also boycotting them and contacted them to say so; it does pain me though- they were my alternative to Wal-Mart.
Tallstar - Thanks for sharing that video. I love these sorts of actions.
Consider me another queer hippie boycotting Target and Best Buy and Google (re: net neutrality) and…
Being a conscious consumer can be a major pain sometimes, but it’s the only way things will ever change.
Have you guys seen this yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FhMMmqzbD8
Jurryl: Except Target just gave money to help elect a man to the governor’s office who has done everything in his power to cut off funding for AIDS organizations. Tom Emmer has dedicated a portion of his political career to cutting GLBT people and those with HIV/AIDS out of the picture. He has tried numerous times to marginalize, disenfranchise, and otherwise deny us our rights. For Target to support him, whatever the reason, reveals that their gay-friendly stances are nothing but public relations spin and ways to draw plentiful gay dollars their way.
EXCEPT…they’ve given a TON of money to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Actor’s Fund over the past 10 years.
I hate hate hate doing without Target and Best Buy. They are 2 of my all time fav stores but I too am on board with this boycott. I will not stand by while they slap me in the face and take my money. I reserve that for very hot guys.
This has been big in the news over here since Target and Best Buy have their headquarters in the Twin Cities. In fact, several of my friends work at Best Buy Corporate. Until this happened, both of them had pretty pristine reputations among the local gays, but now we’re pretty evenly divided between people who are offended and are boycotting to people who don’t think it’s a big deal.
I haven’t shopped at Target or Best Buy since it happened. I may end up going back to Best Buy after the election (assuming Mark Dayton wins…and by all accounts he should if he’s as smart as we think he is) but I’ll never shop at Target again. Ever. I have determined that I will shop at other stores, favorite smaller chains or local stores.
Emmer isn’t just anti-gay marriage or pro-cutting taxes for the rich. He’s made a career out of trying to crush the GLBT community at every turn. He even tried to cut off all funding for the Minnesota AIDS Project. Clearly, if Target thinks this man should be the next governor of Minnesota, they don’t deserve a single penny from me.
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