Target caves in to hater complaints

[Magical Realist]

Target is caving into death threats made by anonymous haters who dislike their new LGBTQ-positive clothes line. They're pulling all of it. The rainbows and everything. If I ever needed a better reason for not shopping at Target this would be it. Is this really the corporate image they want to project? The craven company that cracked under the pressure of being boycotted by a few customers for supporting gay pride?

[C C]

[...] Is this really the corporate image they want to project? The craven company that cracked under the pressure of being boycotted by a few customers for supporting gay pride?

Not entirely surprising, though. If it was virtual signaling motives (capitalist exploitation of social justice) that propelled them to be supportive to begin with.

Target, one of the largest retailers in the country, was selling Pride-themed merchandise to customers who wanted to buy them. It’s capitalism and ultimately a business decision in the interest of enriching Target’s shareholders. [...] 'It’s helping us drive sales...' (link)

Progressives (especially owners of companies) are capitalists first and opportunistic imitators of the legit left second. So potential inconsistency and unreliability is to be expected from them.

What would truly be against the grain or an outrage is if social democrats did the equivalent of a Bud Light backtrack. Whereas with sainthood posturing progressives... maybe disgusting, but pretty much what one expects from tactical, secular versions of Jim Bakker or con artist clubs.

[Syne]

Welcome to the boycott, MR!

Target caved to losing 6 billion in market capitalization in just a week.
They're just using supposed and unnamed threats to keep people like you shopping there.

But tell me. Do you think gay pride must include indoctrinating toddlers and children with an LGBT agenda?
Children can't really understand the LGBT slogans on clothes. So it's either using children as political puppets or outright grooming them.

[Magical Realist]

Children can't really understand the LGBT slogans on clothes. So it's either using children as political puppets or outright grooming them.

Adolescents can. I hardly think that we should use children as an excuse for banning politically-charged T shirts and caps. What happened to free speech?

[Syne]

Children can't really understand the LGBT slogans on clothes. So it's either using children as political puppets or outright grooming them.

Adolescents can. I hardly think that we should use children as an excuse for banning politically-charged T shirts and caps. What happened to free speech?

I don't know. Ask all those retailers who removed Confederate flags, Make America Great Again hats, etc..

Maybe businesses, interested in making money, are leery of alienating customers, especially with politically charged slogans in a very politically divided culture. They're pretty much guaranteed to lose about half their customers.


People of any age can find such pride wear online, from retailers who specialize in that market. Why jeopardize an entire unrelated business for one niche market?
Only virtue-signalling. And up until now, that's worked well, as leftists are more enthusiastic about shopping with such companies. But that math only works out as long as they don't alienate the right.

And if adolescents are the only children who can understand, why are they selling such clothes for toddlers?

[Magical Realist]

Ask all those retailers who removed Confederate flags, Make America Great Again hats, etc..

I wasn't aware any retailers did that. I wasn't aware they started selling those items in the first place.

And if adolescents are the only children who can understand, why are they selling such clothes for toddlers?

I wasn't aware this was part of their toddler wear. Do you have any evidence of this?

[Syne]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015.../29153957/

Just check their website.
Toddlers: https://www.target.com/c/toddler-clothin...3cj2Zt4bgn
Children: https://www.target.com/c/kids/lgbt-pride...coz4Zt4bgn

[Magical Realist]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015.../29153957/

Just check their website.
Toddlers: https://www.target.com/c/toddler-clothin...3cj2Zt4bgn
Children: https://www.target.com/c/kids/lgbt-pride...coz4Zt4bgn

It's all in the nature of the message I guess. Rainbow patterns and pride slogans support inclusion and compassion for all human beings. Rebel flags and swastikas and "Make America Great Again" slogans support division and ostracization. Besides, being LGBTQ isn't a mere political position. It's an existential position taken in the face of a relentless historical effort to keep them oppressed and "in the closet". That is a positive message, not a divisive one. It's simply asserting that "Being LGBTQ is okay with me". What's so harmful about that? BLM slogan shirts are also sold on Amazon. That too is an affirmative message. It's a statement on social justice and equality. "Don't kill me because I'm black." Is there anything less offensive than that?

[Syne]

Rainbow patterns and pride slogans are expressly LGBT, which means they are grooming children to be more open to alternate sexualities. Rebel flags and MAGA are not comparable to swastikas. Rebel flags are, to most, just their heritage. Claiming that is inherently divisive, in itself, is like claiming a dashiki is divisive. Wanting America to be great is only divisive to those who want America to fail.

Trying to indoctrinate children to be/accept LGBT is absolutely political. And doing so just illustrates that the old arguments about slippery slopes turned out to be true. Use to, gays said "how is what we do affecting you or your children." Now they're trying to teach children about LGBT in elementary schools, hide children's gender expression from their own parents, and push the social contagion on social media.

I get that you're gay, but why push it on children? Why are you so interested in the sexuality of children?

[Magical Realist]

Rainbow patterns and pride slogans are expressly LGBT, which means they are grooming children to be more open to alternate sexualities. Rebel flags and MAGA are not comparable to swastikas. Rebel flags are, to most, just their heritage. Claiming that is inherently divisive, in itself, is like claiming a dashiki is divisive. Wanting America to be great is only divisive to those who want America to fail.

Trying to indoctrinate children to be/accept LGBT is absolutely political. And doing so just illustrates that the old arguments about slippery slopes turned out to be true. Use to, gays said "how is what we do affecting you or your children." Now they're trying to teach children about LGBT in elementary schools, hide children's gender expression from their own parents, and push the social contagion on social media.

I get that you're gay, but why push it on children? Why are you so interested in the sexuality of children?

I get it. It's part of homophobic paranoia to sexualize and criminalize gay people, just as blacks were. Being gay is more than about sex. It's about who you can love and be happy with. It's a social and cultural identity, not a mental illness or a perverted sex act as was once taught. So the message that it is okay and even a virtue directly contradicts that hateful attitude. And a child wearing it, as long as it is their choice, is completely in line with that. The outrage is not that children are wearing them. It is that there are still hateful people out there who condemn LGBTQ as some sort of illness or defect. The outrage is that being LGBTQ is still controversial and still viewed as a corruption against nature. That such affirmative messaging is even still needed in our world in the 21st century is the real shame.