Weighing in on the Target Boycott

OK, I haven't shopped at Target since this thing hit the fan a few weeks ago. I wanted to make sure I had more facts before I flouted a popular boycott. That's right, I don't support the boycott against Target. But hear me out. As far as I can tell, this boycott is a response from progressives to protest a political donation made by the company to help elect an anti-gay governor in Minnesota, right? But how many corporations have donated to that campaign, or the campaigns of any other anti-gay, right-wing,socially regressive politician in this country? Do we even know? According to the Chamber of Commerce corporate support of political campaigns is at an all time high in 2010: $75 Million, contrasted with the $35 Million in2008. So the $150K that Target spent is but a grain of sand on the bleak beach of donations to conservative causes. This increase in political funding is primarily thanks to two recent Supreme Court decisions that unleashed corporate spending in political campaigns. The first in 2007 "lifted the ban on political issue advertising close to an election, allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited sums on these ads at the last minute."(1) The second in 2010 found "that corporations and unions could spend directly on elections, overturning a century of laws limiting such spending." (1)


Furthermore, it is well known in financial circles that gay people have money and, by and large, they want to invest and spend it wisely with corporations and companies that support progressive politics and social justice to some extent. The Human Rights Campaign fund keeps a list of the top 100 companies who support both their LGBT employees as well as the community at large. Target is one of those companies.
http://www.hrc.org/issues/best-places-to-work-2010.htm

Certainly no ranking system is uncomplicated by broader standards of human rights. The clothes we buy at Target (and pretty much everywhere else, unless otherwise labeled) are still made by underpaid, possibly under-age, workers in poor, underrepresented areas of the world. And, as we've seen, companies who support mostly progressive causes may also on occasion give to a conservative one.

So, in my view, the problem is not donations from an individual corporation (Target) as it is the overall campaign finance system that allows corporations to use unlimited funds to support campaigns. Target is not the only, nor the worst, culprit here. How many of you who are boycotting Target still order pizza from Dominos? Or shopped at Nordstrom, Best Buy, Krispy Kreme, McDonald's? According to BuyBlue.org, these corporations donate to ONLY conservative causes and campaigns. That's 100% of their donations going to anti-gay campaigns. Boycott them! You better believe the conservatives and religious right are supporting those companies. (http://rightwingtroll.blogspot.com/2005/07/support-conservative-companies.html)



The Huffington Post brings us a list of the 10 worst companies for LGBT worker which includes Auto Zone and Cracker Barrel. Don't spend your money there, folks! (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/09/the-least-lgbt-worst-plac_n_454745.html)



While it may be true that the money you don't spend at any of the companies you boycott won't amount to much, the Target Boycott promotion has shown us that simply putting media pressure on these companies, and threatening their bottom line, has an impact. So buy wisely, vote with every dollar, and,most importantly, tell your friends.





(1) Corporate Campaign Cash Floods US Elections

Conservative fundraising commitment has stunned Democrats

by Tom Hamburger


For more reading on the subject:

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46426http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloggingstocks.com%2F2008%2F05%2F17%2Fgay-investors-support-gay-friendly-corporations%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2006%2F04%2F25%2Fmagazines%2Ffortune%2Fpluggedin_fortune%2Findex.htmhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fheadline%2F2010%2F08%2F02-0