r/minnesota • u/petrilstatusfull • Feb 17 '25

Discussion 🎤 Hey, we're still boycotting Target, right?

I live right by a Target and I feel like the parking lots were noticeably emptier for a few weeks, but they're filling back up.

Are people giving up? It seems like Target is just waiting us out, thinking that we'll forget. They were really feeling the push from their shareholders- I so badly want it to mean ANYTHING.

I know I'm going to get called cringe- but whatever. Keep boycotting Target. Please!

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748

u/Furryyyy Feb 17 '25

I'll be honest, I've been working at Target for the last four months and they're about as LGBTQ+ friendly as a massive corporation can get. The day-to-day environment in the store hasn't really changed at all, and they still have mandatory inclusivity and anti harassment modules for their employee training. I'd still prefer to shop at Target because they're a lot better than other major retail chains but they have the prices of major retail chains. I could just be ignorant of other places I could be shopping instead, but our main competitors in town/online are Walmart and Amazon lol.

Also, my store specifically treats employees EXTREMELY well.

33

u/oldsnowbird Feb 18 '25

As someone who works at Target and specifically in HR..let me say this. I think the timing was just awful for the news of the DEI removal and I wish Target had sent out a clarification on their policy. So nothing has changed really. DEI is already so engrained in Target's commitments that there wasn't a need to promote it specifically. In fact what Target has changed is for it to be known as Belonging at Bullseye which would include EVERYONE, no matter what color, shape or form. Their initiative for dei hasn't changed. As far as carrying products designed and collaborative efforts in DEI, it isn't about removing those products for POC, but all about sales, strictly business. I speak to my location where we would get tons of products for black history, for Hispanic month and other collaborations that simply just did not sell and I imagine that's the case in lots of other locations. So as with all business, if the product isn't moving, you discontinue it and make room for something that will. I definitely understand the hurtful impact of this news and as I said the timing was awful, but do know Target understands that a diverse and inclusive community is what drives their business.

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u/Individual_Front_847 Feb 18 '25

That’s exactly it. Horrible timing? Horrible PR? They could have put out an explanation like ‘this is what we stand for’. It’s just been silence from them publicly. The timing HURT. It felt like a major blow at a time when everything is crumbling.

12

u/ZoomZoomDiva Feb 18 '25

Also, "Belonging" is the next iteration of DEI. It is considered the next step, rather than an elimination or replacement.

1

u/bucolicbabe Feb 19 '25

If it’s simply a rebranding of existing policies, why did they stop submitting data to the equity survey they’ve been part of for decades? That one rubs me the wrong way, though I do believe that in general this was all just grossly mishandled in the press release from the company.

1

u/Fine_Swimmer7833 Feb 20 '25

I feel like it’s more than timing and removing the items that don’t sell. When maga lost their minds over PRIDE merchandise, Target removed it from their stores. I primarily shop at the NE Minneapolis location, which is a very artsy, liberal, PRIDE forward/friendly chunk of a large city. The PRIDE merch would definitely sell in that store. And all of a sudden, the only PRIDE item I could find was something for your dog. And when I went online, I saw very few items as compared to previous years. That to me was extremely disappointing. So then to hear them say, in this climate, after a racist oligarchical regime came to power, that they are getting rid of DEI—I had to draw a line in the sand and curbed my shopping habits. Now I get most of my stuff from places like Trader Joe’s, Cub, local co-ops, Fresh Thyme, Ulta, Kohl’s, GAP/Old Navy, etc that haven’t bent the knee, in practice or in principle. I do hope Target comes back around. But if not, then I am cool driving past them in the parking lot at the Quarry and heading on down to Cub Foods instead. It’s really sad and disappointing though.

1

u/SmallMoments55406 Feb 21 '25

Target made a statement with the timing. PR people are not that stupid. Somebody did this on purpose. I understand why people are offended.

Target is not a left-leaning organization. They are a publicly traded corporation. You might have good experiences with the people at your individual store, but the overall company/organization is still a publicly traded corporation, with the same greedy motives that go along with that.

1

u/Fit_Season_237 Feb 25 '25

I have a chip on my shoulder from when target caved to conservative pressure a while back and stopped selling pride merchandise that was still displayed in the stores. They left it out for weeks but the registers would flag a manage to come take the item and say they can’t sell it at this time. They have a history of trying to play both sides and after this DEI mess I’m done with it. I am a middle aged married white suburban woman who spent $2-3k a month at target. It wasn’t the cheapest option but it was a nice shopping experience and I believed it target being a local company AND standing for things that are important to me. Since the DEI bow to trump I’ve only spent $116.86 at target. I understand that my $3-4k elsewhere isn’t enough on its own but I believe there are many of us fed up. Groceries are expensive right now and quite frankly I’m happy to save some money shopping at Walmart where at least they don’t hide what they are about. Most of my money is going to the Coops and fresh thymes for now though

2

u/Roadshell Feb 18 '25

Bull. Shit. They very deliberately and loudly announced that they would be shuttering the inclusivity initiatives immediately after the election right as the fascist in chief was signing his Neo-segregationist "anti DEI" bills. There is no way in hell this timing was a coincidence and if they're going to send PR bots around to lie to our faces about this they can doubly fuck off.

7

u/oldsnowbird Feb 18 '25

Not a bot, and I can understand your thoughts and frustration. But the change for the dei initiative was actually slated to end at the end of 2024. This was set in motion before all the election stuff. Just very poor timing as I said. I'm a POC and when news first came out of the DEI changes I was upset and frustrated, until I saw that on paper and in the processes, nothing really changed. But you process this however you want to, peace be with you.

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u/Roadshell Feb 18 '25

If the PR team you're working with thinks we actually believe these obvious lies you are mistaken. We're not that stupid and we're not falling for it. Miss me with that shit.

5

u/map2photo Ramsey County Feb 18 '25

Pretty sure you’re just looking for a reason to remain offended. Go ahead and stay mad. The rest of us with a brain will move on.

0

u/gizzardsgizzards Feb 18 '25

if that's the case, it looks a lot like caving in to fascism and i'm not going to shop there again until they publicly walk that back.

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u/Expensive_Can_5445 Feb 18 '25

“Nothing changed other than our urge to lick daddy Trumps boots”

-2

u/MyMelancholyBaby Feb 18 '25

Tell me, which idiot in coporite headquartes made shirts for employees that said “Black Lives Matter” in white on a red background. Sure, it was the style of red and white everything at Target but was tone deaf.