Sending Target a loud, clear message: Don’t mess with our children
OPINION:
Ok, I’ll admit it: I like Target.
I don’t know if it’s just because it’s a better aesthetic experience compared to the cavernous warehouse that is Walmart. Maybe it’s the Starbucks. Or that I know I can grab a package of socks and be out of there in 4 minutes flat?
Women especially seem to love it. So much so that it has become an inescapable meme. They luxuriate in its aisles, finding reasons to stay just a little bit longer. You can see the average mom floating through Chip and Joanna’s home goods, absent-mindedly touching candles and bowls.
Let’s be honest, it’s happened to us all. Before we know it the cart is full. They’ve done their research and their store set up works some kind of bizarre magic on us. We had come for bananas and baby wipes, but we’re leaving with a new wardrobe for each of our kids, a coffee maker we don’t need, and a pair of $20 sunglasses to replace the ones we left at the park.
As a millennial, Target has become a sort of second home. And for those of us with kids it has come over the years to represent the daily details of family life.
From melatonin gummies to televisions. Deodorant to home decor.
But now, conservatives find themselves in a predicament regarding where they spend their money these days. Pretty much every corporation have gone the way of the woke agenda. And most of us have been able to roll our eyes at the rainbow displays and just get on with life.
But then Target crossed a line that made many parents wake up. They brazenly reached for our kids with trans ideology.
Last year it was chest binders for girls. This year it is female styled “tuck-friendly” bathing suits for men and pride onesies for babies.
And it was recently revealed that Target has been donating millions of dollars to the radical K-12 trans activists GLSEN, who among other things, lobby school boards to allow children to transition without informing parents.
So I have a question for Target.
Why did you have to bring my kids into pride month? Why did you have to put these displays targeting children right at the entrance of your store?
And your vehement support for trans ideology is also a line too far. Because it denies the basic tenets of God’s created order. The truth that we are created either male or female, and that gender cannot be separated from our biology.
We let down our guard and you took advantage of it. You know how strong your brand is, and you thought you were untouchable. But we’re showing you that you’re not an invincible force who can do what you want to our families.
As I am writing this article, Target has seen a $12 billion drop in their market capitalization in just two weeks after families decided to boycott their store.
While it’s nearly impossible to keep all of our money from going to woke corporations, there is a time for strategic boycotts that send a message — one that makes an example out of companies who are blatantly pushing gender confusion and sexual expression on the most vulnerable people in society, children.
Target has been unrepentant about this and I believe it’s time for us to show them real consequences. (They agreed to pare down the pride sections a bit, but only by falsely blaming conservatives for threats of violence. In fact the only threats of violence on their stores have been by LGBTQ+ activists.)
We must not let up.
Pulling our support from companies on principal is important and we should each follow our convictions on that. But this boycott is different. It is a strategic blow to an evil agenda that is coming for our families. A window of opportunity that finally
reached critical mass when enough people got fed up and are making the nation notice.
We can spend our money wherever we like and we have the power to send shock waves through corporate America. Especially in a financial climate like this, where Fortune 500 companies are nervous.
Let’s send a message to other corporations like Target who may be planning similar antics. And the message is clear: “Don’t mess with children.”
Jack Mooring is a pastor at Celebration of Life Church: Nashville. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram @jackmooring.
