A Woman Who Supports Gay Rights & Marriage Equality Boycotts Target
I applaud this woman for publicly withdrawing her purchasing power from Target.
Recently the corporation donated $150,000 to the Republican candidate for the gubernatorial campaign in Minnesota, Target's home state. This sparked ire from LGBT groups, who demanded to know how Target could support an anti-marriage equality candidate at the same time as they supported gay rights and causes.
As mentioned by Randi Reitan, boycotting Target will be hard, because it's convenient to shop there and it's a handy place to pick up gifts for kids and grandkids. Soon it'll be time to stock up on back-to-school stuff. But I admire her allegiance to her cherished LGBT family members and friends, and her quiet, principled stand.
Corporations and marketers want to court women because they know we control the purse strings. Sometimes I detest being treated as if I'm merely Giddy Shopper Lady. (I mean, I am all that, AND more. Heh.) What if we could take that same power of the purse strings and use it for good, not evil? Together we could really get Target's attention. Maybe we could even get them to do the right thing--be consistent in their support of LGBT causes.
Cynematic's cobwebby blog is P i l l o w b o o k.
I love Randi Reitan! Her son Jacob is also an inspiring activist and it's people and families like theirs that inspire me everyday to support boycotts like this. Thanks for posting Cyn!
Posted by: Meghan Harvey | July 30, 2010 at 11:45 AM
It's important to note that Tom Emmer, the candidate that Target has funded (via a PAC called MN Forward) is not just anti-LGBT. Emmer is also anti-choice but pro-death penalty. He wants an amendment to the Minnesota constitution which would allow the state to exempt itself from any Federal laws it just doesn't like, including healthcare reform and all federal firearms laws. And that's just the beginning.
I've enumerated many of Emmer's regressive stances at my blog here: http://amaditalks.tumblr.com/post/870717700/its-not-a-single-issue-thing -- any and all progressive or liberal people should be extremely troubled that this is someone that Target is putting our dollars, as Target shoppers, behind. I'm joining Randi Reitan in boycotting Target until they make this right, and encouraging all progressive folks to do likewise. (Which is rough, when so many of us are already boycotting WalMart. KMart, however, still seems to be a viable choice in this sector.)
Posted by: Amadi | July 30, 2010 at 01:13 PM
@Meghan, I was inspired by her simple act of defiance. I thought she made her point politely and firmly.
@Amadi, Thanks for pointing all the other ways Emmer is a vile, extreme candidate. All excellent reasons to question why Target would forsake its moderate audience to back someone that ideological. From what I understand, it wasn't only the corporation, but the CEO Gregg Steinhafel personally contributed $2000 to Emmer's campaign.
Posted by: Cynematic | July 30, 2010 at 05:17 PM
Argh! I've been boycotting WalMart since 1995 and we don't have any K-Marts here. It's gonna be rough going.
Posted by: Lawyer Mama | July 31, 2010 at 05:49 AM
I had hoped Target was better than that. I am disappointed that they have proven to be like every other corporation. They want to play on both sides of the fence, donating to conflicting causes, in hopes that they attract more customers thereby increasing profits. Are there ANY American Corporations that have a core value system that they are willing to adhere to all the time and not just when it is convenient?
Posted by: Debbie Owensby Moore | July 31, 2010 at 04:44 PM
I'm like Lawyer Mama. I don't shop at WalMart. Now I won't shop at Target. I stay away from LL Bean and Dominos Pizza for similar reasons. Is there anything more we can do to let Target know we're mamas who won't be shopping at Target anymore?
Posted by: Melissa S. | August 02, 2010 at 07:45 PM
@Melissa: Change.org and MoveOn.org have petitions you can sign http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/target_boycott_goes_way_beyond_minnesota. I think there may also be email and phone numbers to contact the company directly.
Apology, shmapology: http://bit.ly/9NNrVd. What accounts for Gregg & Denise Steinhafel's personal contributions of $5000 each to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann??? http://bit.ly/d7NUaq
Posted by: Cynematic | August 05, 2010 at 04:07 PM
You have the truth, this is amazing courage. A lot of man could learn from this woman
Posted by: Health blog | August 15, 2010 at 08:55 AM
From what I understand, it wasn't only the corporation, but the CEO Gregg Steinhafel personally contributed $2000 to Emmer's campaign.
Posted by: Sputnik | May 09, 2011 at 04:54 AM