Why I can't boycott Target
I understand that Target has recently donated $150K to Tom Emmer's campaign, and he's a slimebag of epic proportions. I'd love to boycott everyone who made giant donations to the campaigns of slimebags of epic proportions, but I can't.
Well, I guess I could, but it would be extremely difficult, and here's why:
I live in Minnesota.
No, you really don't understand.
First, one of the other gubernatorial candidates, a Democrat, is named Mark Dayton. As in Dayton-Hudson Corporation, the original name of the parent company of Target. I'm guessing that some of his money for his campaign also came from Target, albeit a bit indirectly. So I can't vote for him. (Not that I was going to, but still.)
Second, Target donates to EVERYTHING in Minnesota. Our field is Target Field. There's also a Target Center right next door. I would have to stop watching baseball, basketball, and hockey (I think) in order to boycott Target properly. Oh, and also PBS, both on the TV and radio. I know they're big donors there. Also, I'd have to stop going to law school, since Target somehow gives epic amounts of money to my school in various forms. Oh, and free night at the Walker Art Museum? It's called "Target Family Night." I bet there's one at the zoo, and the historical museum, and everywhere else cultural in town. Also all the orchestras and outdoor concert series. It's possible that Target even partially funds the cultural grants, one of which went to the band I play in. The gay band I play in. I'm seriously not kidding at the depth of their fingers in everything around here.
Third, and probably most importantly, I'm not made of money. I'm really not. There are certain things in the world that can only be got at the proper prices at either Target or Wal-Mart, and I've been boycotting Wal-Mart -- which has done significantly worse things than donate $150K to one campaign over the last 30 years -- for about nine years now. So I can boycott Target for essentially one epically big fuckup, or I can boycott Wal-Mart for thirty-plus years of awful things they've done to the environment, to local economies, to human rights (like the right to organize without being intimidated and threatened with violence), and yes, to the gay community.
This does not mean I'm not a fucking ally. I'm pretty sure that the sum total of my actions are a bit greater than whether I can fucking afford to boycott the only other store that sells cat food at affordable prices. I've marched in eight gay pride parades now, plus four AIDS Walks (including one where I was music director). I've played a couple dozen concerts with gay bands. I've donated money, time, and resources to fight the fight. I own t-shirts, read books, call out other people on wrong things they say, etc. so forth.
So no, I'm not going to boycott Target. I'll send them a strongly-worded letter saying how I feel about their choice to back Tom Emmer, and I'll vote the hell for his opponent, whoever that turns out to be (I kind of want it to be Margaret Kelliher, but I'm not strongly opposed to Entenza). But when the choice comes down to, oh, I don't know, paying for law school (to give me more tools to fight the good fight) or boycotting a company that was doing not so bad up to this point (according to the HRC), I'm going with the sensible choice.
Well, I guess I could, but it would be extremely difficult, and here's why:
I live in Minnesota.
No, you really don't understand.
First, one of the other gubernatorial candidates, a Democrat, is named Mark Dayton. As in Dayton-Hudson Corporation, the original name of the parent company of Target. I'm guessing that some of his money for his campaign also came from Target, albeit a bit indirectly. So I can't vote for him. (Not that I was going to, but still.)
Second, Target donates to EVERYTHING in Minnesota. Our field is Target Field. There's also a Target Center right next door. I would have to stop watching baseball, basketball, and hockey (I think) in order to boycott Target properly. Oh, and also PBS, both on the TV and radio. I know they're big donors there. Also, I'd have to stop going to law school, since Target somehow gives epic amounts of money to my school in various forms. Oh, and free night at the Walker Art Museum? It's called "Target Family Night." I bet there's one at the zoo, and the historical museum, and everywhere else cultural in town. Also all the orchestras and outdoor concert series. It's possible that Target even partially funds the cultural grants, one of which went to the band I play in. The gay band I play in. I'm seriously not kidding at the depth of their fingers in everything around here.
Third, and probably most importantly, I'm not made of money. I'm really not. There are certain things in the world that can only be got at the proper prices at either Target or Wal-Mart, and I've been boycotting Wal-Mart -- which has done significantly worse things than donate $150K to one campaign over the last 30 years -- for about nine years now. So I can boycott Target for essentially one epically big fuckup, or I can boycott Wal-Mart for thirty-plus years of awful things they've done to the environment, to local economies, to human rights (like the right to organize without being intimidated and threatened with violence), and yes, to the gay community.
This does not mean I'm not a fucking ally. I'm pretty sure that the sum total of my actions are a bit greater than whether I can fucking afford to boycott the only other store that sells cat food at affordable prices. I've marched in eight gay pride parades now, plus four AIDS Walks (including one where I was music director). I've played a couple dozen concerts with gay bands. I've donated money, time, and resources to fight the fight. I own t-shirts, read books, call out other people on wrong things they say, etc. so forth.
So no, I'm not going to boycott Target. I'll send them a strongly-worded letter saying how I feel about their choice to back Tom Emmer, and I'll vote the hell for his opponent, whoever that turns out to be (I kind of want it to be Margaret Kelliher, but I'm not strongly opposed to Entenza). But when the choice comes down to, oh, I don't know, paying for law school (to give me more tools to fight the good fight) or boycotting a company that was doing not so bad up to this point (according to the HRC), I'm going with the sensible choice.