So what is all this hoohah over boycotting Target? It’s clear some people just don’t get it, and I find that sadder than the deed itself.
You see, it all started when a bunch of big money interests figured out a way to allow corporations to openly give to political candidates. In order to use the typical doublespeak to lull the masses into blind patriotic adoration, the big money worked its magic through “Citizens United.” After all, what could be wrong with a group of ordinary citizens uniting for a better country? Problem is, that’s not what they are. They are pro-big business, and are content to let the REAL citizens be at the whim and fancy of CEO
s and the politicians they buy. Getting the Supreme Court to say that corporations are the same as “the people” probably had these guys giggling like school girls the night before the big dance. But that’s another discussion for another day.
With the ruling, companies like Target are allowed to give money as if they are individual voters. They can use the money they make from customers to buy and control politicians, making their interests far more important than the customers that gave them the money to begin with. Trust me, a hundred donations of $1500 from regular people mean NOTHING compared to one donation of $150,000 from one corporation. Anyone who thinks differently should withdraw from the real world completely, because you clearly don’t live there anymore.
So, Target decided that a certain candidate in Minnesota will further their interests more than his opponent. That part of the motive is understandable, but a $150,000 donation gives them an unfair advantage over the people who will actually go out and vote. It gives them an unfair advantage over the little mom-and-pop store down on Main Street as well. (You see, these days, “pro-business” really means “pro-corporation.” Don’t be fooled.) The donation is easily enough to sway an election for a state-level official. This newly legal corporate meddling will be the downfall of our representative government long before any of the “boogie-men” the “right” is currently in a frenzy over–and the lemmings don’t realize how badly they are being duped. If you think the “evil socialism” is bad, wait until the corporate Plutocracy sets in. At least in socialism, the PEOPLE make the choices, in a Plutocracy the few that control the money, control the decisions. Target’s donation is one move closer to that.
As if that’s not bad enough, their dream candidate has a few dirty secrets, only they’re not really secrets. Though he probably screams about government interference or about liberals hating freedom, he believes the government should, in fact, restrict freedom. He’s perfectly content with the government dictating what a family is. He’s perfectly content with restricting civil rights of tax-paying citizens to placate tax-dodging religious organizations, all in the name of a few votes. And Target is perfectly happy with supporting such a creep, while preaching in its ads that we should all be unique and different and while giving money to every kind of organization imaginable. Target has been good to people, donating to great causes over the years, and setting aside 5% of its profits to the communities in which it operates. This is unheard of in the corporate world. This is what makes the whole thing so unbelievable.
The hypocrisy of giving to a bigot stinks of rotten filth, and Target should sincerely be ashamed of the donation on those grounds, if no other. Imagine the outrage on the “right” if Target had given money, not simply to a gay pride parade as they have in the past (that doesn’t infringe on anyone’s civil rights), but to a candidate who wanted to tax all churches except his own. Perhaps he wants to flat-out make his own religion THE religion, and everyone who refuses to convert would have fewer civil rights. Perhaps everyone with blue eyes (or green, or brown) would have fewer civil rights simply because of how they were born. Sounds ludicrous… just as ludicrous as the “right’s” objection to equal civil rights for gay couples. Had the government not interfered with marriage over the years, there would be no civil benefits attached to it, and the entire argument would be moot. But it is a valid argument in the society we’ve inherited. With this donation, Target puts its interest in lower minimum wage and lower corporate taxes over the equal rights of its customers.
I choose to not shop at a store that is proud of their donation to a candidate who is content to restrict rights on any group of people for how they were born. PERIOD. I choose not to shop at a store that supports the unraveling of our individual rights as taxpaying voters. And I certainly choose not to shop at a store who arrogantly does both… and can’t imagine what they’ve done wrong.
So, goodbye Target. It was nice knowing you. This was a pretty big shopping month for me, with quite a few “catch up” purchases on top of the typical groceries. My $400 went elsewhere this month…and will continue to do so.
For the latest on the story: See Yahoo News.