Dear Target…
Target, Target, Target. Where to begin?
First, I want to tell you this probably hurts me more than it hurts you. For more than ten years now, I have really loved you. I discovered you on a visit to Texas back in the late 1990s, when I was living in New York City. The clothes! At those prices! I was besotted. When we moved to Western Mass a few years later, I was overjoyed to see that big red Target symbol right off I-91.
The love affair never flagged. My kids mostly wear hand-me-downs or gifts from Grandma, but when I buy them something new, it’s almost always been from you, Target. And it goes well beyond wardrobe. My house is filled with your wares, necessities and frivolities alike. Our cabinets are stocked with your dishes. My clothes (which are mostly yours, remember) rest in one of your wooden-ish dressers. When someone asks me, Where did you get that fabulous ___, the answer is almost always you.
But that’s all come to a crashing halt, hasn’t it, now?
Here’s the thing: When you use my money to support a politician bent on discrimination, I stop giving my money to you. Full stop.
Can you fix this? I think you can. You can issue an apology to your shocked and heartbroken patrons. Even better, you can give a like donation to an organization that promotes equal rights. Best of all, you can keep out of such incendiary politicians’ pockets from here on out. Will you do it?
By the way: This is not a question of “freedom of speech,” as Tom Emmer tried to frame it. You clearly have freedom of speech. And I have it, too. I’m using it here. But I think you’ll hear the lack of my dollars more loudly.
Sincerely,
Naomi
