Last week, I wrote you a heartfelt letter asking you to give me more information about how Target is going to counter its support for candidate Tom Emmer (via MNForward) by investing actual dollars into LGBT-friendly organizations or candidates. I told you that Target is my favourite store in the whole world, and that the idea of boycotting Target makes me really sad because I so genuinely love shopping at Target. I also told you that I had already read the statement from Gregg Steinhafel about why Target was supporting MN Forward and said “I get it… Target is a big business and it makes sense that it wants to support legislation and candidates that are friendly to corporations.” Okay… those weren’t my exact words, but that’s the gist of it. I understand Target’s point of view on that matter. And so that’s why I asked about “countering support for Tom Emmer by investing in LGBT-friendly organizations or candidates…” etc etc… see first line of this letter. What did I get back? A form letter that responds to none of my concerns and gives me absolutely no reason to go back to shopping at Target.

I understand. You’re busy. You’re getting hundreds, if not thousands, of letters about this. But I’m busy too. I’m driving all over the city to buy things I would usually buy at the Target five blocks from my house. Since I wrote to you last week, I’ve bought the following at other stores: diapers, contact lens solution, sand toys, veggie burgers, an inflatable raft, candy, plastic cups, a baby rattle, and flip flops. I guess it is lucky for my budget that the drugstores and grocery stores replacing my trips to Target don’t also sell cheap but stylish clothes, because I usually throw in a treat for myself when I go to Target. But still… It is a pain in my you-know-what, and I miss Target. I miss the convenience of a store where I can buy groceries, cute clothes, office supplies, video games, and contact lenses in one place. But I also miss the feeling of being at Target. It might sound crazy, but I miss the smell of Target. As I said in my previous letter, Target is the place I go when I want to feel better about things. I just like it there. And now you are implicitly supporting a candidate who rails against my gay lifestyle. My gay lifestyle, by the way, looks a lot like any other married couple’s lifestyle, including spending tons of money at Target buying Must Have Needs for the Home, Like Sponges and Decorative Towel Holders.

So please, give me a tangible reason to go back to shopping at Target. And by “tangible reason,” I mean concrete information about how you are countering your support for Tom Emmer’s big business but anti-gay agenda with dollars to a different organization or candidate who understands that gay people can be a powerful consumer base, especially when we’re not hiding from people like Tom Emmer or that band he loves, You Can Run But You Can’t Hide, which calls for stoning people like me. And Target: BELIEVE ME… I would not have started boycotting my very favourite store without doing my research, so please don’t send me back a form letter telling me that MN Forward is an equal opportunity supporter of diverse candidates.

I’m looking forward to hearing back from you. I’m hoping you tell me something so great I can go back to shopping at Target in time to pick up cute fall wardrobe staples. Until then, I’m going to keep posting these letters on my website, and drumming up support for the boycott. But I’d much, much, MUCH rather be shopping.

Sincerely,

Coya Paz

Concerned Shopper with an Awful Lot of Friends