Now they get it.
Fox News headlines this from Target: https://www.foxnews.com/media/
Target CEO calls Pride Month display backlash ‘first time’ team felt ‘not safe’ at work
The retail giant was forced to remove LGBTQ displays after growing online controversy
Fox reports:
“ Target CEO Brian Cornell suggested that the backlash the retail giant faced back in May over its LGBTQ Pride displays was the first time some team members claimed it was ‘not safe’ at work.
Cornell appeared on CNBC Thursday where he discussed declining sales, particularly following protests and critiques of its Pride Month merchandise. While on the topic, he insisted that employees felt more unsafe during the controversy than they did during natural disasters and violent Black Lives Matter protests.
‘This is my 10th holiday season at Target. You and I have been talking almost every quarter during those ten years. We’ve seen natural disasters. We’ve seen the impact of COVID leading up to the pandemic, some of the violence that took place after George Floyd’s murder. But I would tell you what I saw back in May is the first time since I’ve been in this job where I had store team members saying it’s not safe to come to work,’ Cornell said. Target rolled out its annual Pride Month displays in May and faced greater scrutiny after customers found “tuck-friendly” women’s swimsuits for transgender people as well as items marketed towards children and infants. After images went viral, Target stores quickly began removing Pride displays and placing them in less prominent areas.
Cornell defended the move despite facing a new backlash from several LGBTQ organizations for allegedly caving in to extremists.’
‘But it was a difficult time. But in the environment we said, look, let’s focus on de-escalating the issue, taking care of our team, celebrating the moment, and take the learning as we go forward. And we talked during our recent earnings call. We’ll manage these moments very differently. These heritage moments, whether it is Pride or Hispanic heritage or Black history, we’ll time them differently,’ Cornell said.”
This kind of nonsense, one would think, should be self-evidently dumb for a department store or any other business to be involved with. Well aside from the sheer idiocy of involving Target in the most hot button political issues of the day, easily offending at least some of its customers who go into the store just to shop – not to be lectured on politics.
Aside from that the leftist bent to this is inescapable.
Cornell says Target celebrates Pride, Hispanic heritage and Black history, along with the celebration of LGBTQ. Notice anything missing? Where’s “White History Month”? Or “Jewish History Month”? Or “Celebrate Israel Month”? Or “Heterosexual Month”? Obviously Target would sooner close-up shop than celebrate causes they would doubtless claim to be racist, bigoted and more.
Again, the obvious. Why in the world would Target or any other business that needs the general public as its customers go out of their way to inject politics into their daily business. Target executives and employees are all private citizens. When they leave work for the day they are perfectly free to pay as much politics as they want in their private lives. It’s no one else’s business.
But when they go out of their way to make their politics their customers business – they will pay a price. And have.