I've Stopped Shopping at Target

I no longer shop at Target. I'm asking my friends and colleagues to stop shopping at this hypocritical pseudo-hip retailer as well. Target has promoted itself as the style, fashion and design discount retailer, with a liberal tilt. It makes donations to community organizations, pays lip service to equality with pro-gay employment practices, and stages edgy fashion shows in the windows of the Standard Hotel above the Highline. (Is that a slap in the face or what, right on the edge of Chelsea? And shame on the dozens of models who took part for not turning down the gig.) But Target is nothing more than a profit driven corporate behemoth masquerading under a patina of slick design.

Last month, ostensibly pro-gay Target made a $150,000 donation to the campaign of Tom Emmer, an anti-gay marriage Republican running for governor of Minnesota. (Emmer is also a supporter of the Arizona anti-immigration law and a darling of the Tea Party movement. So I expect Latinos will be exiting Target's aisles in droves as well.) Note the amount of the donation. Not $5,000. Not $10,000. $150,000. That indicates some serious support among Target honchos for this candidate and his beliefs.

Following a growing nationwide uproar about Target by gay people and our friends, and mounting pressure from investors, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel issued a p.r. driven pseudo apology for the donation. But the company has yet to do anything more concrete, and the hollow apology seems little more than spin crafted by high priced p.r. hacks.

I'll miss Target. I like shopping there and I like their stuff. But no matter how much I like it, I don't want even a fraction of a penny of every dollar I spend there being funneled to anti-gay political candidates. So I've stopped shopping at Target. And I hope you do as well.

Check out this clever agit-pro video from YouTube with a catchy tune "Target Ain't People"

Comments

[ar]

More can be done. The New York state pension system owns more than 2 million shares of Target. The guy who runs the system, Thomas DiNapoli,is an elected politician. Elected, as in every vote counts. Here's his website --

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/index.htm

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1111502160]

Amen brother! (or uncle, in this case...) Well stated!

[Mike Ross]

I'm not sure about this Target thing at all... "But Target is nothing more than a profit driven corporate behemoth..." Gee. Aren't they all? What did you think, that they were run by Mother Theresa? The whole thing smacks of 'you can't be HIS friend and MINE too' - playground politics. I get where you're coming from but I don't like where it leads to.

[David Knudsen]

But Mike, as an American, about the only power I feel I sometimes have is where to spend my money. And the only thing that corporations seem to pay attention to is with the withdrawl of that money by consumers. They sure don't give a rats ass about ethics. So I've chosen to withdraw my consumer vote from Target. In the same way I didn't drink Coors beer for a decade.