You Too, Target?
As people who follow my blog know, I have no problem advertising for companies that I think are doing a good job socially or environmentally... I want to reward that by bringing it to the attention of everyone in my blog's sphere of influence*. However, I also think it's responsible to make some noise when a company I've supported decides to make what I consider poor choices.
*Both of you.
Case in point: earlier this week Target made a donation of $150,000 to an organization called MN Forward, which is running ads for gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Emmer. For those who don't know anything about him (that was me this morning), I found this glaring problem on his web site...
"I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, I have consistently supported the constitutional marriage amendment that protects traditional marriage."
What's disappointing about this situation** is that Target has long been considered an advocate and supporter of GLBT rights. In his response to the controversy this has caused, Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel said, "Let me be very clear, Target's support of the [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender] community is unwavering, and inclusiveness remains a core value of our company."
**Besides the fact that we continue to have legislators who are trying to keep the GLBT population oppressed...
That's not the message this recent donation sends. Instead, the money they have donated says that they support someone who is anti-gay marriage and by extension anti-equality. They are willing to sacrifice the rights of a people group in favor of electing someone who will do everything in his power to keep them down.
To be clear, Target has the right to support whomever they want to... but not with my money. While it pains me to say it (because of the inconvenience it will create), I will no longer be shopping at Target until they decide to undo the damage that's been done. It will be a challenge because of the money I save there and the convenience of location, but I will continue to shop at the local grocery stores and I will find a local K-Mart and the world will continue to spin.
I'll end this entry with a video I was directed to earlier today. It's not very long, but it's a touching and practical way one woman responded to the news:
Thanks for sharing this (though it's been posted for a while). I also stopped shopping at Target when this happened. I don't think that donations should be made to political candidates anyway. They should be made to groups promoting people's lives. Habitat for Humanity, Feed America, etc. Groups that are doing good for all people, not single people with agendas. It just doesn't seem like a donation that way.
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