There were a few boycotts in 2023, but when it comes to companies making terrible woke economic decisions, Bud Light and Target top the list by a long way.
For those who need a reminder, last year Target included controversial items in its Pride Month collection, including tucked swimsuits and tight-fitting clothing (some for children), which quickly led to a boycott that resulted in the company losing “$10 billion in market cap in 10 days.”
A year later, Glenn Beck The publication published inside information shared by anonymous Target employees, including leaked internal messages between members of Target’s “Pride + Business Council.”
“Last year, our team was given exclusive access to the ‘Pride + Business Council’ internal messaging that took place on Target’s Slack channel,” he says.
Below are some of the messages exchanged between employees following a town hall meeting focused on cutting back on some of the company’s controversial products.
- “LT seems to want to keep their support secret, so they can point it out if people make a fuss, but don’t want to advertise it for people who might disagree.”
- “See? To increase sales, we need to cater more to bigots.”
- “It was the most gaslighting, dystopian thing I’ve seen in a while.”
- “We need to protect ourselves. Hateful speech and attitudes have consequences.”
- “I am still in shock and disgust!!!!!!!!!!!!”
- “I think there are a lot of people out there who are considering whether they want to remain part of the team after this.”
- “After that it was kind of hard going back to work.”
“While Target said they were going too far, employees were upset that they weren’t doing enough,” Glenn translated, adding, “We don’t know what Target management said, but it must have been some sexist and racist rant that sparked this whole mess.”
However, some employees spoke out against the idea. Here are some of their messages:
- “I am a Christian and do not support violence against guests or TMs, and I do not hate people who think differently than I do, but it is by no means inclusive that some people find my biblical views offensive.”
- “Those in the chat should look at past Pride assortments and compare them to this year’s. This year’s backlash has been gender and child specific. To suggest that leaders are now caving to ‘bigots’ is deeply offensive!”
- “Because not everyone agrees that giving children hormones (which only leads to long-term health problems) is a good thing. So does inclusivity mean ignoring 95% of the population so the other 5% can continue to raise children?”
- “Just read some of the stories of girls who had mastectomies at 13 and are now in their 20s and have terrible health problems because of the hormones they took. I don’t care what adults do, but leave children alone.”
- “Our management has to make difficult decisions. They are accountable to what they call ‘shareholders’. It’s unfair to accuse them of bowing down one month out of 12. We are also responsible for the employment of thousands of team members. Please don’t attack management or team members without knowing how they feel. We are a business and this is capitalism.”
In response to these and other comments, Target’s executives sent a company-wide letter condemning the messages and reiterating that the company “does not tolerate discrimination or hate speech of any kind.”
But the Pride + Business Council was not satisfied and sent the leadership team a list of demands, including “acknowledgement of the harm, a sincere apology, and a clear statement of unwavering support for the LGBTQ+ community.”
The department memo also stated: “We have always viewed Target as an inclusive and progressive company, but recent events have called into question the company’s commitment to these values.”
“It is unfortunate and sad that parts of the Pride collection were removed, and in order for the company to make amends, Target should document the harm it has caused to the LGBTQ+ community (specifically transgender and non-binary members of the community), partner with prominent LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, immediately reinstate the Pride collection in full, donate to LGBTQ+ causes, provide sensitivity training to employees, and stop all donations to politicians and organizations that do not support the LGBTQ+ community,” Glenn said, adding, “This is just not right.”
The bottom line: Target, even at the height of its Pride collection (let’s not forget the company also partnered with a transgender Satan-worshipping artist), wasn’t woke enough for many employees.
If you want to hear the full story, check out the clip below.
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