It’s hard to keep up with all the conservative boycotts these days. Between the Starbucks boycott that actually promotes purchasing Starbucks products and the Hamilton boycott that targets a sold-out show over its cast asking Vice President-elect Mike Pence to uphold everyone’s inalienable rights, Trump supporters are brainstorming boycott ideas left and right to show capitalism and the arts who’s boss. As the list grows to include companies like GrubHub, Pepsi, Netflix, and Amazon, a new name has emerged: Target.
The Target boycott is not a result of some feud with or condemnation of Trump by an executive’s refusal to indulge his rhetoric. No, it’s a resurgence of the religious right’s hatred for Target’s gender-neutral bathroom policy announced earlier this year. In a YouTube video called #AnywhereButTarget, some white dude explains the details of the boycott.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fswQbP_J4YA
“When Target decides to let men and women into each other’s restrooms, they put their customers at risk,” Lance Wray, of conservative watchdog group 2ndVote, says. “They also show they don’t care about what we think, about our safety, or about our values. Well, we don’t want to pay for Target’s liberal agenda.”
To further emphasize how liberal this agenda is, the Anywhere But Target website reminds us that the radical, First Amendment-disrespecting left and their corporate supporters don’t deserve business this Christmas (a bold red “Christmas,” in fact, not to be confused with “the holidays”).
However, those who do have “radical,” “liberal,” or “LGBT agendas” are seeing this boycott as a sort of early gift.
Dear Haters,
— Jaybelle (@_Jaybelle) November 23, 2016
Make a list of where you're boycotting so that we can peacefully shop bigot-free. #AnywhereButTARGET
https://twitter.com/OliviaHungers/status/801179555503468545
I'll be shopping @Target this Christmas season due to their courageous defense of LGBTQ rights. Thanks #anywherebuttarget for the heads up.
— Crystal The Pistol (She/Her) (@TheNativeAngel) November 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/Mike_Jung/status/801317665809776644
I'm not shopping #AnywhereButTARGET this Christmas! I'm shopping there BIGLY! @Target thank you
— 🌻ParoDia de Gatos🍓💀🐈⬛🔥🤬 (@dory_derry) November 23, 2016
Not only may Target be safe from hate-spewing strangers this season, but SNL also highlighted how easy it is to make the store a safe space from your religious right or Trump-supporting relatives.