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Boycotting Target & Best Buy |
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Posted 8/20/2010 at 11:51 AM by Bradlee A |
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A few days ago I received an ad in the mail from Target. On the front was a coupon for a free 12-dozen, large, grade A eggs. I flipped it over to see what I had to buy, and I was surprised to see that it didn't require me to buy anything.
Hmmm, why would they do that, I asked myself and the answer came quickly, to get folks to the store, where they would probably buy more items.
And, maybe it was to boost their sales because of the current boycott of Target that is going on.
I'm from Minnesota, and I really like Target & Best Buy because of all the great things they do for the communities they are located in. They started in Minnesota, so I was incredibly disappointed to hear they gave a total of $250,000 to help elect an anti-gay, anti-immigrant candidate that is running for Governor of my home state.
A little background:
The Donations: The $150,000 (target) and $100,000 (Best Buy) donations were made to a 527 Political Action Committee. The sole purpose of a 527 is to influence the nomination, election, appointment of a candidate (i.e. The "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" group that smeared John Kerry in the election of 2004. Side note: I didn't vote for Kerry for this reason (I was duped!)). In this case, the 527 group is specific 527 is Minnesota Forward and they are already running ads for the candidate.
The reason for the donations? According to both Target & Best Buy is because of the candidate's pro-business stances (job creation, economic stimulation, etc.). Unfortunately, you can't sever those beliefs from these:
The candidate: Tom Emmer
-Emmer supports the Arizona Immigration law calling it "a wonderful first step."
-Emmer says marriage "is the union between one man and one woman" and he supports the constitutional marriage amendment defining marriage as such. Per Abe Sauer
-"Emmer supports legislation that would allow pharmacists to decline contraception to whomever they deem unfit, an anti-family-planning position Emmer doesn't just endorse, he lives: he has seven children." -Per Sauer
-wanted to cut minimum wage for service employees (waiters, waitresses, bartenders, etc.)
THE GREATER ISSUE:
On January 21st, the United States Supreme Court ruled that corporations are basically equivalent to a citizen, allowing them to pour unlimited amounts of money into 527 groups, thus buying elections. Do you want big oil pouring unlimited amounts of money into ad campaigns to influence elections? I don't.
The greater issue here, is to send a message to not only Target and Best Buy, but to corporations nation wide that they cannot buy elections and if they try, their bottom line, their image, with be affected negatively.
What I did about it:
Two days ago I went into Target, got my free eggs and then asked for a manager. There were two lines of people behind waiting to get checked out. Both groups of people were in earshot of my conversation with the "front" manager, and all stopped to listen when I said "I won't be shopping at Target anymore." I told her (the manager) that I'm from Minnesota and I like Target, but they made a $150,000 donation to an anti-gay, anti-immigrant candidate and his beliefs don't align with mine, therefore I will not be shopping at Target anymore. "That's your opinion and I obviously can't change that," she said with hesitation in her voice. "I am obligated to tell my boss."
I just called managers at a Target store and a Best Buy store to tell them I will not be shopping there any longer.
Target Manager: "Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about that. I'll pass this information along and we're sorry to lose your business."
Best Buy Manager: He said that the donation was made with the intent of boosting the economy through job creation. He said they've supported LGBT rights and the like and have a very high rating. I told him that unfortunately when a company makes a donation in support of a candidate they buy into every view of that candidate. I told him I don't feel that corporations should be trying to influence election
Please join me in a boycott of Target and Best Buy by calling them or, even better, stopping buy to tell them you will no longer be shopping at their stores because they donated money in support of an anti-gay, anti-immigrant candidate.
To find Target stores:
http://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/page.jsp?title=store_locator_new
To find Best Buy stores:
http://stores.bestbuy.com/382/ |
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