Champions of Crackheadedness: Target CEO's $150K Donation & His Response to Critics

After watching this video of one Minnesota Mother and Grandmother's trip to Target and her beautifully poetic protest of buying and immediately returning her $220+ purchase (explaining that because of Target's $150,000 to Minnesota Forward she will no longer patronize the store.), I was touched and knew that I would be boycotting Target until this act was reversed.



From The Huffington Post: The Human Rights Campaign, which previously gave Target a 100 percent approval rating for their treatment of LGBT employees, issued this statement Monday:

"Target has worked hard to create a fair and equitable workplace for its LGBT employees, and should be proud of its leadership in this area. It is for this reason that HRC is very disappointed in Target's significant monetary contribution to Minnesota Forward, a group supporting the most clearly anti-LGBT candidate for Governor in Minnesota. We have reached out to Target to express our concern over this contribution. While political contributions to support candidates are not a factor in HRC Foundation's Corporate Equality Index, HRC finds it puzzling that Target would take great steps to support LGBT inclusiveness while simultaneously helping a candidate who shamelessly rejects equality for LGBT Minnesotans."

What really made me angry was the half-assed reply from Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel-in an email to his staff:

"We rarely endorse all advocated positions of the organizations or candidates we support, and we do not have a political or social agenda," Steinhafel wrote. "As you know, Target has a history of supporting organizations and candidates, on both sides of the aisle, who seek to advance policies aligned with our business objectives, such as job creation and economic growth...Let me be very clear, Target's support of the GLBT community is unwavering, and inclusiveness remains a core value of our company."

I agree with Chicago state Rep. Greg Harris (who is openly gay),who said the following to ChicagoPride.com:

"Companies like Target need to understand that they can't have it both ways when it comes to issues of our basic rights, and that the facts will eventually come out. I hope that they will rethink this contribution and find a way to make it right,"

And I have added my voice to the others who have protested this decision and have affirmed their desire to boycott the company, by signing the petition at Change.org.

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/demand_target_stop_donating_to_anti-gay_politicians