The Huffington Post reports that the Target corporation has donated $150,000 to to Minnesota state representative Tom Emmer, a conservative who is an opponent of gay marriage. And according to the Associated Press, Emmer also supports Arizona's anti-immigration bill. No word on the public stoning of women.
If you're shopping for back-to-school stuff or anything else, you might consider shopping elsewhere. (But not Walmart.)
Update 7.31.10: If you're on Facebook, click onto Boycott Target Until They Cease Funding Anti-Gay Politics
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17 comments:
Please tell me Ikea is ok. Those Skandies are usually fairly enlightened.
Oriane,
I'm hoping Ikea, Home Depot and BBB are OK.
Sigh...unfortunately, I believe most people don't care My list of places to patronize is getting shorter and shorter. Curves and Domino's Pizza are anti-choice and now THIS from Target. Bah. That's THAT for me.
Blood Bath and Beyond?
The Container Store is one of my staples.
Target tries to present itself as stylish, urban and hip. Not that I am the most politically astute camper on the planet, I saw through Target when Walmart defended their wages as being comparable to Target's. Just because they give money to museums and sell cheap-line reidel glasses does not make Target an admirable corporation.
I'm hoping that the outcry against Target will get them to mend their dumb-ass, bigoted ways. I thought they were enlightened because of their 5% policy, but Noooooo.
And now that corporations can give unlimited funds to political campaigns it's even more important that we hold them accountable.
There is no Target store in my area. And I'm glad, yes there are so many places I won't shop. And now Target is on top of my list, even though I can't shop there, but if I could I wouldn't! Glad you posted that-- had not heard, there is just so much to try to be aware of!
That's very strange. I wonder how they think they'll make money off of this move.
Home Depot's owner, Bernie Marcus, is notorious for buying judges. He will take a moderate judge who is not gung ho for tort reform and the finance the campaign for someone who is. In Georgia, he targeted Supreme Court Justice Carol Hunstein and donated over a million dollars to a guy who didn't even live in Georgia but was part of Bush's Homeland Security. Prior to this, $300,000 was more than enough to run a campaign. Marcus' candidate raised $1.2 mil. Hunstein, BTW, ran an incredibly "dirty" (& accurate) ad against him and won. Marcus was more successful in other states.
Wait, wait. I read the article and understood it as the CEO, not the corporation, was giving money. That is a horse of a different color! Am I wrong? I haven't seen any evidence to support that the company itself is donating to anti-gay politicians.
Check out Target for yourself here: http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031700
Just an FYI, HD cut that support program for their Olympians that they touted so much in commercials. But they have a community building program, grants for such, and money for those seeking education in the building trades.
As far as Ikea goes, I'm putting my fingers in my ears and enjoying my almond torte. :P
@LG: The CEO of a corporation is not just a worker in it. S/he is the face of the company. If that "face" is donating to anti-gay candidates, I have every reason to belkieve that that person's beliefs will color the was s/he runs the company.
@Anon: So do you think there was no need for Civil Rights legislation in the Sixties because it gave the government "more control" of our lives?
How refreshing you are!!!!! Did you see WSJ article where Walmart is set to put RFID chip into clothing so that they can track people and hook up the credit transaction of the bank to their physical location? I don't shop at Walmart, but just an FYI. If this is in the making, other companies will do it as well. Aren't Sam's Costco and Walmart owned by the same people?
Is there no end to the bad?
Walmart and Sam's Club are owned by Sam Walton and his billionaire family whom, it is well documented, pay their workers so little that they--the workers, of course--rank among the working poor.
Costo, according to an MSN article I Googled, is the "anti-Walmart," paying its workers a reasonable wage and decent benefits. Jim Sinegal is the CEO of the company, which is publicly traded company, which means it's owned by shareholders. Now does anyone know if those enlightened business practices translate into an enlightened social consciousness?
Target has been off my shopping list since it came to Wasilla (you know Sarahas hometown) because they sell stupid French clothes and support even dumber political ideas.
You clearly have no understanding of Minnesota business and politics. Target contributed to Emmer's campaign because the company is based in Minneapolis and Emmer is running for governor of Minnesota. Your sensationalist assumptions are pathetic and your brand ignorance of the real facts is what makes this world almost intolerable.
@ Anonymous 3:06.
If you don't have the courage of your convictions to identify yourself, your negative opinion is not worth much here.
@ Girl Talk: You say, "Target contributed to Emmer's campaign because the company is based in Minneapolis and Emmer is running for governor of Minnesota."
So if Hitler ran for president of the United States, I should support him because I am an American? Your reasoning is flawed.
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