Cowardice- The Need To Push A Class Of People Down So You Can Walk On Them

Target caves to bullies, haters, and bigots...and succeeds only in pissing off everyone

Haters and bullies are always cowards, you know. They like to pick on little guys.

• Scylar Tyberius, Sebastian the Great

In self-defense and in defense of the innocent, cowardice is the only sin.

• Dean Koontz

I never cease to be amazed at how quickly courage dissolves into cowardice. Sometimes it happens with such speed that I wonder whether I initially saw courage or merely deluded myself into seeing what I wanted.

Earlier this week, I wrote about Target’s Pride collection featuring the work of a Satanist. Not that his work- at least what was being sold by Target- was Satanist by design, but merely that he wasn’t a White Conservative Christian heterosexual was enough to set off the haters, bigots, and homophobes.

GROOMERS!!! THEY’RE TARGETING OUR PRECIOUS SNOWFLAKES!!!

Of course, those folks detonate this time of year, anyway. Pride month makes them feel all sorts of icky inside, so they take it out on any retailer who dares to carry Pride-themed merchandise or support the LGBTQ community in any way. Target’s an obvious target (see what I did there??) because of the company’s size and efforts to reach out to the LGBTQ community.

That was SO two or three days ago because Target has decided to cave to the haters rather than face their wrath. The company is saying that their “associates” (employees) have been threatened, so they’re erring on the side of protecting them. Right….

This is where I’m going to call bullshit on Target. I worked for a Target in east Portland over the Christmas holiday about a decade ago. I’m here to tell you that Target doesn’t give a f**k about its “associates,” whom they generally consider to be disposable and/or interchangeable. So, bullshit. They caved to the haters because they didn’t want the bad PR. And, in caving, they’ve only succeeded in making the shitstorm worse.

Did no one in their corporate PR department take Crisis Management 101?

The news today is that terrorists are threatening Target because it's selling some clothes they don't like, and Target is caving to their demands. That's it, distilled to its simplest form.

To get more specific, garbage human conservative MAGA supporters, some of whom buy into QAnon conspiracy theories, but also others who are just Matt Walsh types, are making very real threats of violence against Target stores, because of the Pride merchandise they've been selling. This is part of their full-on Nazi war against all LGBTQ+ people, but especially kids.

And Target, citing genuine fear for its people, is acceding to some of the terrorists' demands, removing certain unspecified apparel items from its shelves.

As with everything white fascist Christian conservatives believe, this all started with easily debunked lies, lies they might not believe if they were capable of occasionally stopping and asking themselves questions like "Really? Is my brain broken right now? What is goddamn wrong with me?"

Sadly, the White Conservative Christian heterosexual fascists in question are generally incapable of the sort of introspection referred to above. Nor are they capable of critically thinking about or reflecting upon an issue. Instead, their mental processing barely rises above reptilian reactions.

Rarely do they take the time to consider that there might be a valid point of view or lifestyle outside of their narrow, biased frame of reference. Some of them honestly believe that they’re conducting a holy war against the forces of sin and evil. This means that, ipso facto, God is on their side.

Yeah, these folks are profoundly, deeply messed up…and there’s no reasoning with them.

Justin Baragona at the Daily Beast explains that MAGA trash and their media organs started going wild the past few days with claims that Target was selling "tuck-friendly" swimsuits for toddlers. You know how toddlers are.

This is not true. Target has swimsuits like that for adults, as part of its Pride line, as the Associated Press explains in an article that's accessible to anybody who can read or who can flag down a policeman or a grownup to read it to them. They have extra fabric in the crotch, it says. Let's start a war.

And that's what the squealing pigs are doing, spreading their bullshit online and threatening Target stores in person. And Target is unfortunately giving in, apparently moving some Pride displays to different sections of its stores, and announcing changes to its merchandise:

“For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month,” a spokesperson for Target told The Daily Beast.

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”

Target said that despite the removal of Pride-positive merchandise, “our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”

Translation: We’re caving to the terrorists because we’re too cowardly to stand up to the haters and bigots and support the LGBTQ community as we have for years. So, our message to our LGBTQ associates and the community, in general, is, “Don’t come looking to us for support. You’re on your own. We’re trying to cover our own asses here.”

Target has security in its stores, but rather than confronting people damaging Pride merchandise displays and seeing that they’re charged with vandalism, they’re appeasing the bullies. How messed up is that?

I realize corporations aren’t generally known for bravery and/or moral fortitude, but Target’s cowardice in the face of hatred and homophobia is appalling.

Once upon a time, Target distinguished itself for stepping out front in supporting the LGBTQ community at a time when not many large corporations were willing to do so.

NEW YORK — Target once distinguished itself as being boldly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

Now, it has tarnished that status after removing some LGBTQ+-themed products and relocating Pride Month displays to the back of stores in certain Southern locations in response to online complaints and in-store confrontations that it says were a threat to employees’ well-being.

Target is facing a second backlash from customers who are upset by the discount retailer’s reaction to aggressive, anti-LGBTQ+ activism, which has also been sweeping through Republican state legislatures. Civil rights groups chided the company on Wednesday for caving to anti-LGBTQ+ customers who tipped over displays and expressed outrage over gender-fluid bathing suits.

“Target should put the products back on the shelves and ensure their Pride displays are visible on the floors, not pushed into the proverbial closet,” Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a statement. “That’s what the bullies want.”

Target succeeded in angering everyone concerned by caving to the bullies and giving them what they demanded. The bullies will always want more, and they’ll never be happy until they badger Target into denouncing the LGBTQ community, which won’t happen. And now customers- both straight and LGBTQ- are upset at Target’s cowardice in the face of bullying and bigotry.

And others, of course, are demanding that good, God-fearing White Conservative Christian heterosexuals boycott the chain. This is what you get when you cave to bullies.

Appeasing haters never ends well for the person or organization doing the mollifying. You look spineless, weak, and devoid of conviction. Not only that, the next time a controversy emerges- and it will happen- there will be a pre-existing blueprint for how to force you into submission.

And falling back on a “threat to the well-being of your employees” only confirms your cowardice.

So now the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups can reasonably ask an important question: Does Target stand for LGBTQ rights or not?

Just weeks after launching its Pride collection this year, Target announced Wednesday that it is removing certain items altogether and moving the remaining merchandise to the back in some Southern stores because of “threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work.” The collection this year includes a series of T-shirts with LGBTQ-related images like a rainbow-colored brain with the words “Sorry, can’t think straight” and home decor such as a pillow designed by independent LGBTQ artists among other items.

The item provoking the most transphobic backlash online is the collection’s “tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits that allow trans women, who have not had gender-affirming surgery, to conceal their genitalia. Some people online have proffered misleading claims that the tuck-friendly bathing suit is sold for children. It is not. Some have also lashed out at the retailer’s partnership with the UK-based brand Abprallen, which they claim sells Satanic merchandise on its company website. Abprallen’s pieces in the Target collection include an image of a snake with the line, “Cure transphobia, not trans people.” A search on Target’s website on Wednesday didn’t bring up the bathing suit, though Reuters reported that only the Abprallen merchandise had been removed while other pieces are under review. 

It’s easy to see how these items would light up transphobic conversations. We’re living in a country where conservatives have pushed through or proposed dozens of laws at the state level that force the use of certain bathrooms, restrict discussions of issues like sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, and outlaw gender-affirming healthcare for minors. What’s been exposed is a fundamental disagreement about whether transgender and queer people deserve humanity, and at what age they can be acknowledged to exist and access healthcare.

Clothing might not seem like a big deal on the surface, but it’s of a piece with the much larger question of whether LGBTQ people deserve to be acknowledged and allowed to exist.

Of course, if you’re reading this, you probably feel, as I do, that LGBTQ people MUST be acknowledged and allowed to exist. From where I sit, that’s a ridiculous question…but some would happily see the entire community wiped off the face of the Earth. And many of these people call themselves “Christians.”

LGBTQ people are people. Anyone seriously questioning that assertion needs to have their values and humanity re-examined.

Clothing leads to larger questions like gender identity and gender-affirming healthcare. These should not be controversial issues, yet they are for many who consider them “sinful” and/or “abnormal.” Unfortunately, there are way too many people who are far too concerned with how others live and love.

It makes me wonder what they’re so afraid of, if the real questions don’t have more to do with themselves, and what personal dilemmas they may be afraid to face. Of course, it’s always easier to direct that uncertainty outward than to do the hard work of honestly looking at oneself…because there’s always the chance the answers may not be what one hopes for.

Respecting clothing choices that give the community dignity and pride is a small piece of a nastier battle. In the wake of anti-trans laws, some doctors who offer gender-affirming healthcare have received death threats and regularly check whether or not they have been doxxed online. One school received bomb threats after Fox News articles targeted a teacher that it said posted on TikTok about the classroom’s queer library. 

Amid this type of violence, there is no middle ground. It calls for a whole new corporate playbook. Take the recent backlash against Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, which promoted its Bud Light beer with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Conservatives vowed to boycott the company while LGBTQ consumers called on Anheuser-Busch to take a stand against the transphobia behind the outcry. Instead, the company tweeted a six paragraph statement that neither condemned the transphobic backlash nor apologized for partnering with Mulvaney. It played the middle and lost sales.

The problem with LGBTQ issues is that you can’t play the middle and have any hope of success. You can’t hope to be all things to all people; in the end, you’ll be nothing to anyone. Unfortunately, that’s precisely what happened to Anheuser-Busch. They believed they could appease everyone and ultimately hoisted themselves on their own pétard.

It wasn't pleasant, but not undeserved. You’d think trained PR professionals would know better, but you don’t negotiate with terrorists, and you don’t bullshit reasonable people. That will only guarantee no one leaves happy.

While the controversy is still fresh, Target has an opportunity to use its infrastructure to push back on misinformation about its products, and protect its workers and Pride collection shoppers with extra security. It has a large and loyal customer base and the attention of people across the country because of the uproar. It should clarify what actions it took and why. It also has the means to protect workers and shoppers. It has a vast surveillance system and support from local police that it uses to control retail theft. Why not draw on those resources to maintain a safe place for people to shop?

Indeed. Target’s massive security operation has cameras in every one of its stores linked to a centralized security center in Seattle. As a result, the company can monitor its store operations sufficiently to protect employees and customers. Suppose they’re serious about standing up for those who shop its Pride collection. In that case, it can use those security cameras and its in-store security presence to ensure that vandals and those harassing shoppers are apprehended and prosecuted.

This shouldn’t be a heavy lift for a company with Target’s resources. They have the resources to do the right thing; the question they must answer now is simple: Will they?

Target simply can’t allow idiots in MAGA hats or homophobes in any form to roam their stores destroying Pride displays and/or harassing customers and employees. People engaging in those activities can and should be prosecuted. The company needs to demonstrate to the LGBTQ community that they take the community and its concerns seriously.

Trust, once broken, can be difficult to restore, but it can be done. It takes time, transparency, and commitment. The question, of course, is whether Target possesses the courage and commitment to work to rebuild that trust.